Thousands of visitors from all over Yemen headed to Aden to celebrate Eid Al Fitr last week, filling the city’s cafes, shops and restaurants for the first time since the war against Houthi rebels erupted in 2015.
Mostly from areas liberated from the rebels, people thronged to the seaside city for the four-day holiday that marks the end of Ramadan.
The crowds brought the city to life with families gathering at newly opened restaurants in the portside area of Kourmaksar, in the newly built modern malls and along the beaches. Around the area of Al Tawahi, long lines of traffic formed as families headed to sea-front resorts to watch concerts and shows.
This is the first year since 2015 that Aden has buzzed with holiday tourists who bring a sense of normalcy back to the city. Insecurity both on the roads to the hub but also bombings and attacks that have taken place in Aden have kept people away.
"I am very delighted because we celebrated the Eid vacation in Aden, the city we love but since the war erupted we weren't able to visit," Asrar Saleh, a girl from Taez who was visiting Aden with her family told The National.
“This year, the security situation in the city has greatly improved, which encouraged us to come to spend the Eid vacation here."
Residents say they are happy to see the people bring a sense of holiday spirit to the city.
"I am really happy to see such crowds of visitors celebrating Eid in our city, this is a blessing. We weren't expecting Aden to recover after years of bloody war," Mahmood Al Hudyani, an older resident who was with his children in the Fun City garden in Aden's Crater city, told The National.
Security services in the city have made strides in preventing terror attacks, foiling several potentially devastating plots. Police have received logistics support and training from the UAE as part of the Arab Coalition to return internationally recognised President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi to power.
In 2016, the UAE helped establish a dedicated anti-terror unit in Aden with the training and equipment to search out terror cells and prevent Al Qaeda and ISIS fighters attacking the city as well as find Houthi units operating undercover.
"Aden has come back to life due to the significant role played by our forces and the generous support which has been and still provided by our brothers in the UAE for logistics and in the training tasks," Capt Abdulrahman Al Nakeeb, the spokesman of Aden security department, told The National.
“Thousands of our soldiers along with soldiers from the Security Belt Forces were deployed in checkpoints, near the shores, on the roundabouts and the streets to secure those who celebrate the Eid event,” Capt Al Nakeeb added.
As the security situation has improved over the last year, the coastal city has been experiencing a private sector boom. Many businessmen have returned to the city after years overseas and started new ventures in the city. Hundreds of new restaurants, big shopping malls, cafes and entertainment centres and resorts have opened.
The newly opened facilities added a new face to the city which is still suffering because of the devastation left by the war," Saleh Al Shurafi, a resident shopping in a newly opened mall in Al Mansoura, told The National. "The new malls and resorts have given us a variety of places to visit during the Eid holidays."
