The last maritime historical landmark in the city of Mukalla, through which the city gained its name and its historical status, has disappeared. It is considered a major witness to the stages during the eras since 1905 AD and contributed to the population, urban and commercial development of Mukalla. The reclamation works that took place recently to create a marine circular line have obliterated all landmarks. The old port of Mukalla, as happened years ago when the old customs and warehouse buildings in the old port were demolished, thus extinguishing the port, whose history extends back to 120 years.

Professor Marwan Muhammad Al-Yazidi published the book (The Port of Mukalla Between the Past) in 2017 AD. The book included great efforts in documenting the boundaries and description of the old port of Mukalla during the era of the Qu’aiti Sultanate and after it on pages (117 p. to 122 p.) and it contains engineering drawings and projections. For all the minute details, including the locations of the docks, the anchor cannons, the ships, the ladders, the lizard slide, the anchor rings, the customs offices, the warehouses, the gates, and the port yards.

What is wonderful about the book is that it gives a detailed explanation of the developments in the old port, including the shape of the buildings, squares, and docks during the era of the Qu’aiti Sultanate, the days of the Democratic Republic of Yemen, and after Yemeni unity. The last documentation of the old port was in 2017 AD.

The efforts of Professor Marwan Al-Yazidi will contribute to documenting the landmarks and sites that were inside the old port in the service of current and future researchers, scholars, and interested parties who will find a rich reference that they can rely on to know what the port looked like in different periods of time.