If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 609

 

 

 

 

 

 

The court of Justice-Aden [Yemen] and Minaret, ca early 1900s

This is an unused I. Benghiat Son postcard featuring a black and white photograph of the Justice Court and the Aden Minaret.  I. Benghiat Son was a retailer and producer of postcards beginning in 1907 and presumed to be the son of J. Benghiat.  The card title is printed at the center on the top of the card and the number 5007 can be found at the lower left margin.  On the reverse is “Carte postale, Hôtel de l’Europe, Turkish Shop, I. BENGHIAT SON, ADEN.”  It is believed that J. or I. Benghiat was the owner or had leased the hotel in 1905.  It is known that I. Benghiat ran the Turkish Shop around 1915.  The name of the hotel was later changed to the Marina Hotel with the Turkish Shop becoming M. Yahooda’s Universal Bazaar. 

 

Since 2015 the port city of Aden has been the temporary capital of Yemen.  It gets its name from the Gulf of Aden and is situated near the eastern approach to the Red Sea.  The city has a population of about 800,000.  Local legends state that Aden may be as old as human history itself.  

 

From 1838 to 1967 Aden was a British colony.  In 1964 Britain announced its intention to grant independence.  This was a time of civil unrest and rioting between the National Liberation Front and the Front for the Liberation of Occupied South Yemen.  All British troops were evacuated by the end of 1967 and Aden ceased to be colony of the United Kingdom.  It then became the capital of the new state People’s Republic of South Yemen.  When northern and southern Yemen unified the country was renamed the People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen.

 

There were many mosques in Aden prior to the arrival of the British but not all have survived.  The famous Aden Minaret shown on the card is octagonal, 21 meters or 68 ft tall, has 6 stories, and a spiral staircase.  The Muadin climbs the stairs 5 times a day to issue the calls to prayer.  There is a light beacon on the top of the Minaret and it is believed that it may have served as a lighthouse during stormy weather in pre-Islamic times.  The Minaret was part of a large old mosque that demolished long ago. 

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aden

https://wikimapia.org/2503579/Minaret-of-Aden

https://peterpickering.wixsite.com/aden/hotel-de-l-europe

https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG220545