The Red Sea to the west and the Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea to the south make up a 2000km long coastline. Across the Bab al Mandab Strait, Djibouti is the nearest African country and Oman is the neighbor to the east. Physical features The landscape changes dramatically as one moves eastward from the shores of the Red Sea and northward from the Gulf of Aden to the great desert . Five distinct geographical areas with climatic zones ranging from tropical to moderate can be distinguished. Quite fertile when irrigated, dates and cotton grow well here.
Reefs protect the coastline and there are many beautiful beaches.
A tourist infrastructure, however, has yet to be developed . The most popular are near Khawkha and on the Aden peninsula. The length of the coastal regions is about 2,000 km. These are the most spectacular feature of south Arabia . Rising steeply to 2000 m, they are lined with tens of thousands of intricately-fashioned terrace fields.