MUKALLA, AL-

port, southeastern Yemen, on the Hadhramaut coast of the Gulf of Aden. The largest settlement and the only important port in the eastern part of the country, it is a centre of the fishing industry and has a fish-canning plant and a fish meal factory. It is also a marketplace for the interior. Fish products, tobacco, and other goods are exported, and boatbuilding is important. During the southwest monsoon (from June to September) when the town's usefulness as a port is limited, the more sheltered anchorage at Burum, to the southwest, takes its place. A road from al-Mukalla to Aden was completed in 1977. There is an airfield to the east-northeast. Pop. (1984 est.) 59,100.