The breathtaking beauty of Yemen, a war-torn land

Yemen, the poorest country in the Middle East, came even closer to an all-out-war this week in a particularly complex conflict.
There are lots of complicated Yemeni rivalries at the heart of this conflict. But, essentially, local rebels, known as Houthis, are fighting the president who recently fled to neighboring Saudi Arabia. And there are now fears that this local conflict could turn into more region-wide sectarian hostilities.
On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia began bombing rebel positions in support of Yemen's embattled president. Iran, a Shiite-dominated country and a chief rival of Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia, reportedly supports the rebels.
The United States, meanwhile, is supporting Saudi Arabia with logistics and military intelligence. American officials have long argued that Yemen is home to one of al-Qaeda's most dangerous branches, al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

Amid all this talk of war and politics, it's easy to lose sight of the actual place — a breathtakingly beautiful country rich with history.
These are some images from Yemen, once described as the Happy Arabia.

The oasis in the Wadi Do'an.

 The Al-Saleh Mosque in Sana'a.

 Jebal Shugruf in the Haraz mountains. 

Dragon Blood Trees on the Dixam Plateau in Socotra.

 

• A village in the Manakhah District of the Haraz Mountains.

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  The Grand Mosque in Sana'a.

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  Bottle trees in bloom on the island of Socotra.

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  Colourful fishing boats in Qalansia on the west coast of Socotra.

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  Women shopping at the gold market in Sanaa.

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  Men work with a piece of metal in their shop in Ta'izz, or Taiz, a city in the Yemeni Highland.

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  Sana'a, the capital of the Republic of Yemen is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.

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  Travellers sleeping under the stars on top of sand dunes in the Zahik desert.