Travel Guide Bir Ali

Fisherman's hamlet 124 km from Moukalla. Its wide white sandy beach and the crystal clear water make it the ideal place to swim. It is sometimes possible to see dolphins offshore. Bir Ali is located near the ancient Qana, which was the largest port in the South Arabian kingdom of Hadramawt. On the nearby volcanic hill there is only a few ruins of the «Husn Al-Ghurab», the Raven's citadel. From this port of exchange there is nothing left, if not perfume, because it is said that «if one burns the sand, an odour of incense escapes…» You must stay at least one night and one day at Bir Ali. In the evening, the fish dinner is served on the beach, under the eyes of the crabs coming out of their hole. There is no noise; The sun rises very early, and you will soon sleep in the small huts made of peaks and palms. Morning rises early at 5 pm. What a pleasure to bathe in the crystal clear and transparent sea for the first bath of the day! If you have scheduled the excursion the day before, you can drive to the offshore islands at 45 min or 1 hours of navigation. In the middle of the corals, marine wildlife is intact. You can also walk to the fish market and see the catch of mackerel, small sharks, lines, lobster, spilled on the negotiating stalls. Fishing is too extensive, the inhabitants have forgotten that one of their old sultans, who was an ecologist before the hour, had banned fishing for three months of the year, the time that the fauna could regenerate. It is also a law that is still in force but not applied.