Visiting Aden Mall + Changing Money In Yemen
- Konrad Tillman
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Intro
During my visit to Aden, Yemen, there was a recurring theme of visiting Aden Mall every day, primarily due to it being the place to change money and for eating American food. So I figured I would make a post about it.
Brief History/Yemeni People
Aden Mall was the first main shopping mall to open in Aden back in September 2006. Like a lot of Aden, the main man behind financing the development was the richest man in Yemen: Shaher Abdudlak. This man is really interesting, and I recommend taking the time to read about him.
Back to the mall, over the years, it has been through some serious development and partnerships. However, one thing has always been prominent: this is the place to go for locals who have the money to spend.
Every night when we went to eat, the mall would be packed, the coffee shops would be busy, and the food court would be bustling. It was interesting, as most of the time it was only women who would be there, as I rarely even saw a man who wasn't working there.
Around The Mall
The Mall is a heavily fortified place. Whether you are coming from Crater or coming from the other direction, there is always a security checkpoint before going there. But once you do get there, you'd better try and secure a spot close by, as the brutal Yemeni heat will be a pain to walk through.
Okay, okay, now I will show you the inside!
So, you know about malls in Dubai, think of a mall in Dubai, but on a much smaller scale. Additionally, the mall in Aden might showcase having Louis Vuitton and Gucci, but unlike Dubai, these are all knockoffs (the only real name brand shop in the country is Baskin-Robbins: random).
It's a beautiful place, and extremely large. It honestly took us about 15 minutes to walk around the whole thing. Whether you are looking for honey (Yemen has the best honey), clothes, or just want to have a coffee, they have it all.
Now, here is what I found quite interesting. China has been doing a lot of trade with Yemen and East Africa recently, so I was expecting to see a Chinese-made car. Turns out, a Hyundai car was on display. Quite intriguing to me.
Of course, they had the food court, which I touched on in a different post.
And yeah, that is pretty much it... minus...
Changing Money
Now for the fun part: changing money. Being from the United States and in college, I am lucky if my bank account gets up above 10,000. So when we visited Aden Mall, headed to the back, and chose one of the vendors, it was crazy to believe what was about to unfold.
I handed in my 100$ bill, and got back, wait for it... 250,000 Yemeni Real. In fact, I actually got so much money out (100$), that the currency changer gave me a bag which I had to carry around for all of the money. This much cash doesn't exactly fit in your pocket, especially when the highest denomination is 1000...
I was a rich man, 250 large ones to my name. Wohooooo!
Note: they do not accept any notes that have a mark or are ripped, but they are happy to give you change (in USD) that is ripped 😅.
Final Thoughts
You know what, I really like Aden Mall, perhaps better than any mall in Saudi Arabia or Dubai, and I'll tell you why. You don't have all of the fancy stuff or anything, but you have reasonable prices and kind people throughout the whole mall. Combine that with the vast difference of what the rest of Aden is like, it is as if you are going from South Sudan to Doha. Crazy.
Also, apparently, I was the only caucasian person in the city at the time, so the next day, people were talking to me, saying how they saw me in the mall the day before 😅. People are so nice here, mannnn.
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