Habban District


Habban District is a district of the Shabwah Governorate in Yemen. As of 2003, the district had a population of 29,846 inhabitants. The district takes its name after the town Habban which lies in "As sa'aid" district, located at 14o21'N. latitude, 47o04'E. longitude. The town is some 275 km. East by Northeast of Aden by air, some 75 km inland from the Gulf of Aden.
Habban, during the period of British influence, was a trading town of several thousand, located on the western border of the Wahidi Sultanate, which, for the British, defined the boundary of Eastern and Western Aden Protectorate. The British, who conquered Aden in 1839, made very few visits to the area and despite the presence of "air-fields" at nearby 'Ataq and Mahfid, with rare exceptions, left political and military control of the area to the local authorities.
The district was once the home of many Jews, who have since migrated to Israel.