Aden, Marseille - From one port to another, Arabia to the Mediterranean

Catalogue of the exhibition Aden, Marseille. From one port to another, between Arabia and the Mediterranean, presented at the Centre de la Vieille Charité, Marseille (21 November 2025 - 29 March 2026).

In Yemen, Aden's position between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean has made it a strategic location since ancient times. Its links with Marseille, initially driven by the coffee trade in the 18th century, were boosted by the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 and the arrival of merchants who were able to take advantage of the development of its port in a colonial context.

This catalogue traces the journey of some twenty works that these merchants donated to the museums of Marseille, supplemented by exceptional loans from the Louvre Museum, all of which bear witness to the rich civilisation that emerged in the 8th century BCE in the south of the Arabian Peninsula.

Also evoking the unique trajectories of young Yemenis who became sailors out of necessity, initially employed in the engine rooms of European ships, the book highlights the prosperity and past splendour of this country, now ravaged and divided by war. It also shows the attachment that French and Yemeni artists have for the country by revisiting the forms and images of its mythical history.

Contents

Warnings to the reader

Introduction

ANCIENT YEMEN: HISTORY AND COLLECTIONS

MARSEILLE AND THE RED SEA: TRAFFIC AND TRADE, 18TH-20TH CENTURIES

YEMENI HERITAGE IN PERIL

ARTISTS' PERSPECTIVES

APPENDICES