DHAMAR

town, western Yemen, lying in the Yemen Highlands, in a valley 12 miles (19 km) wide between two volcanic peaks at 8,000 feet (2,400 m) above sea level. Although local tradition dates many of the sites in the district to biblical times, the first certain historical mention of Dhamar is by the Arab geographer and philologist Yaqut (11791229), who wrote of its fine public buildings and of the fertility of the surrounding countryside. Long the principal religious centre of the Zaydi sect of Islam, dominant in Yemen for many centuries, Dhamar was the seat of a renowned madrasah (theological school). As the former capital of the Central, or Dhamar, liwa' (province) under the monarchy, it was ruled as an emirate by the princely Al Wazir family until 1944, when the country's administration was reorganized. The town is built in two sections, divided by a belt of irrigated market gardens. There are some typical Yemeni multistory houses, but most dwellings are of one-story mud-brick construction; the town also has several fine mosques. Dhamar is a market centre for the surrounding grain-growing countryside and also has some handicraft industries. The area has long been renowned for its horses. Pop. (1986) 47,733.