LAHIJ

also spelled Lahej, town, southwestern Yemen. Situated on the Wadi Tibban in the coastal plain, some 30 miles (45 km) north of Aden, it is the centre of an agricultural area. Its sparse rainfall occurs chiefly in the winter season. Under the former Aden Protectorate, a British-ruled area, it was capital of the 'Abdali Sultanate, abolished when Yemen (Aden) became independent in 1967. The sultan's palace is now a school of agriculture. For a brief period in the 1960s, the town was renamed Al-Hawtah or Al-Houta. Lahij is on the main road from Aden city to the northern parts of western Yemen and is a regional trade centre. Pop. (1971 est.) 11,000.