Yemeni administrative areas, found on the map
Learn twenty-one governorates and the separate capital municipality. Socotra is included as its own governorate; Sana’a city is distinct from the surrounding governorate. These are administrative reference areas, not lines of control.
22 to find, 8 a run.
3 rounds, 6 of 8 to pass each. Pass one and its places are yours.
Every one on the map
Every place listed below can be asked in this game. Places you find in a passed round drop out of your remaining pool.
- Abyan
- Ad Dali
- Aden
- Al Bayda
- Al Hudaydah
- Al Jawf
- Al Mahrah
- Al Mahwit
- Amran
- Capital Municipality
- Dhamar
- Hadhramaut
- Hajjah
- Ibb
- Lahij
- Marib
- Raymah
- Sa’dah
- Sana’a
- Shabwah
- Socotra
- Taiz
What the map tells you about each one
The paragraph the game shows when you find each one. Reading them first is not cheating.
- Capital Municipality
- The municipality contains Sana’a city and is administered separately from the surrounding governorate.
- Sana’a
- This governorate includes Wadi Dhar and Haraz; the city municipality is a separate administrative unit.
- Aden
- Aden was the capital of South Yemen and is the internationally recognised government’s temporary capital.
- Lahij
- Lahij links coastal plains and inland hills; its administrative centre is the city of Lahij, also called Al Houta.
- Al Hudaydah
- The Tihamah coastal plain includes the port of Al Hudaydah and the World Heritage town of Zabid.
- Taiz
- The governorate extends from the Taiz highlands to the Red Sea coast and the approaches to Bab al Mandab.
- Shabwah
- Shabwah connects inland archaeological landscapes with the Gulf of Aden coast.
- Hadhramaut
- Mukalla is the coastal centre; inland, Sayun, Tarim and Shibam occupy Wadi Hadhramaut.
- Abyan
- Abyan stretches inland from the Gulf of Aden; Zinjibar is its administrative centre.
- Al Jawf
- Al Jawf contains archaeological landscapes associated with ancient South Arabian kingdoms.
- Ibb
- Ibb’s highland setting includes agricultural terraces and the historic town of Jibla.
- Al Bayda
- Al Bayda links the western highlands with the approaches to Shabwah and the eastern interior.
- Ad Dali
- Ad Dali is a governorate in the southern highlands, with its centre at the town of the same name.
- Al Mahwit
- Al Mahwit’s mountain settlements overlook cultivated slopes and valleys above the coastal plain.
- Sa’dah
- Sa’dah is both a historic highland city and the name of the governorate around it.
- Hajjah
- Hajjah spans mountain settlements and part of the Tihamah coastal plain near the Saudi border.
- Dhamar
- Dhamar lies on the high plateau, with agricultural landscapes and historic centres nearby.
- Amran
- Amran is a highland governorate north of the capital, with mountain settlements and farming areas.
- Al Mahrah
- Al Ghaydah is its administrative centre. Mehri is spoken in this region and across the Omani border.
- Marib
- The serial World Heritage property at Marib includes ancient settlements, temples and irrigation works.
- Raymah
- Raymah occupies steep western highlands above the Tihamah plain; Al Jabin is its administrative centre.
- Socotra
- Socotra became a separate governorate in 2013. The archipelago includes Socotra, Abd al Kuri, Samhah and Darsah.
How this one works
How many administrative areas are on the map?
22. Every one of them is on the map, and a run asks 8 of them. Pass a round and the places you found in it drop out of the pool, so the next run is what you have left.
What is a round?
A run of 8 questions, and 6 right passes it. 3 rounds cover the whole map, and the counter at the top of the Yemen page counts the ones behind you. Passing is what banks a round's finds: miss the mark and nothing is taken off the map, so every place that round asked about is still there to be asked again. A round is always the places you have not found yet, and when fewer than five are left it is topped up with a few you have found as review, so the last round is never one or two questions. Three quarters of it passes it.
Can I start the map over?
Yes. "Reset this map" under the counter puts all 22 back in the pool and sets the rounds to zero the moment you press it, so the whole map is there to be found again from nothing. It clears this map only; the other maps of Yemen keep their progress.
Do I need an account?
No. The game plays in the page, and a guest's progress is kept in their own browser. Signing in carries it between devices and earns XP for a run.
What happens when I get one wrong?
The map names what you actually hit, then lights up the right answer in green and tells you something about the place. Missing one is how most of this map gets learned.
The other maps of Yemen
Egypt has the same map in Egyptian governorates. Iraq has the same map in Governorates of Iraq. Jordan has the same map in Governorates of Jordan. Lebanon has the same map in Governorates of Lebanon. Oman has the same map in Governorates of Oman. Palestine has the same map in Governorates of Palestine. Syria has the same map in Governorates of Syria. Tunisia has the same map in Tunisian governorates. All three together on the Yemen atlas page, the country itself on the Yemen guide, and the other two hundred on the world map.