Crater (Aden)

Not to be confused with Aden Crater.

District in Aden Governorate, Yemen

Crater

مديرية صيرة

Kraytar

District

Seera District

View of Aden from Sira Fortress

Country|  Yemen
Governorate| Aden Governorate
Population

(2003)[1]

• Total

| 76,723
• Density| 13.00/km2 (33.7/sq mi)
Time zone| UTC+3 (Yemen Standard Time)

Crater (/ˈkreɪtər/; Arabic: كريتر, [ˈkɾeːtəɾ]), also Kraytar, is a district of the Aden Governorate, Yemen. Its official name is Seera (Arabic: صيرة Ṣīrah). It is situated in a crater of an ancient volcano which forms the Shamsan Mountains. As of 2003, the district had a population of 76,723 people.[1]

## Etymology

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The city's name, Crater, derives from the English word of the same meaning, given by the British during their colonization of Aden, which is situated on an inactive volcano.[2]

## History

[edit]

Main article: Timeline of Aden

### Modern history

[edit]

Main article: Aden Emergency

Crater in the mid-1870s. Crater in 1962

In the closing days of British rule in 1967, Crater District became the focus of the Aden Emergency, sometimes called the last imperial war. After a mutiny of hundreds of soldiers in the South Arabian Federation Army on 20 June, all British forces withdrew from Crater. Crater was occupied by Arab fighters while British forces blocked off its two main entrances.

In 3 July 1967, the Battle of Crater began with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders commanded by Lt-Col Colin Mitchell ("Mad Mitch") performing a night invasion of Crater, which he termed Operation Stirling Castle, after the Argylls' regimental headquarters. The National Liberation Front was taken by surprise, and effective resistance ceased.[3][4][5] A particular sign of Mitchell's confidence was his decision to order the pipe band to march down the main street of Crater, playing regimental tunes, for which the Pipe major was mentioned in despatches.[6] British troops remained in Crater until the end of the Emergency.

## Tourist views

[edit]

Aban Mosque in Crater

* Sira Fortress
* Cisterns of Tawila
* Aden lighthouse
* Bab Aden
* Gate of Aden
* Legislative Council of Aden
* Aban Mosque
* Aidrus Mosque
* Abdali Sultan Palace

## Geography

[edit]

### Climate

[edit]

Crater's climate is dominated all year by the subtropical anticyclone, or subtropical high, with its descending air, elevated inversions and clear skies. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is BWh (Tropical and Subtropical Desert).[7]

Climate data for Crater, Yemen

Month  | Jan  | Feb  | Mar  | Apr  | May  | Jun  | Jul  | Aug  | Sep  | Oct  | Nov  | Dec  | Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)  | 32
(90)  | 32
(90)  | 34
(93)  | 35
(95)  | 38
(100)  | 39
(102)  | 39
(102)  | 39
(102)  | 38
(100)  | 35
(95)  | 33
(91)  | 32
(90)  | 36
(96)
Daily mean °C (°F)  | 27
(81)  | 27
(81)  | 29
(84)  | 30
(86)  | 33
(91)  | 34
(93)  | 34
(93)  | 33
(91)  | 32
(90)  | 29
(84)  | 28
(82)  | 27
(81)  | 30
(86)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)  | 22
(72)  | 22
(72)  | 24
(75)  | 25
(77)  | 27
(81)  | 28
(82)  | 28
(82)  | 27
(81)  | 27
(81)  | 24
(75)  | 23
(73)  | 22
(72)  | 25
(77)
Average precipitation mm (inches)  | 0
(0)  | 2
(0.1)  | 6
(0.2)  | 15
(0.6)  | 12
(0.5)  | 0
(0)  | 10
(0.4)  | 11
(0.4)  | 5
(0.2)  | 0
(0)  | 0
(0)  | 0
(0)  | 61
(2.4)
Average precipitation days  | 0  | 1  | 1  | 2  | 2  | 0  | 2  | 3  | 2  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 13
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 248  | 232  | 279  | 270  | 310  | 270  | 217  | 248  | 270  | 310  | 270  | 279  | 3,203
Source: weather2travel.com[8]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Districts of Yemen". Statoids. Retrieved October 17, 2010.
2. ^ Muḥammad, ʿAlī Nāṣir (2003). عدن: التاريخ و الحضارة [Aden: History and Civilization] (in Arabic). Abu Dhabi: Documentation and Research Center. ISBN 978-9948-05-047-6.
3. ^ "Aden Emergency". National Army Museum. Archived from the original on 2013-07-28. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
4. ^ Keys, Jim (21 November 2012). "Operation Stirling Castle". The History Herald. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
5. ^ Humphry, Derek. "How Mitch's tactics fanned Aden row." Sunday Times [London] 21 July 1968: 3. The Sunday Times Digital Archive. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.
6. ^ Mitchell, Colin (1969). "Chapter 11". Having Been a Soldier. Hamish Hamilton. pp. 179, 183. ISBN 978-0-241-01722-7.
7. ^ "Climate Summary for Crater, Yemen". Weatherbase. Retrieved 2013-05-11.
8. ^ "Aden weather by month: monthly climate averages". Weather2Travel.com. Retrieved 2013-05-11.

## External links

[edit]

* Media related to Crater (Aden) at Wikimedia Commons

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Aden Governorate

Capital: Aden

Districts|

* Al Buraiqeh district
* Al Mansura district
* Mualla district
* Sheikh Othman district
* Tawahi district
* Crater district
* Dar Sad district
* Khormaksar district

12°46′39″N 45°01′58″E﻿ / ﻿12.7775°N 45.0328°E﻿ / 12.7775; 45.0328
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