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 Burūm, to the southwest, takes its place. A road from Al-Mukallā to Aden was completed in 1977. There is an airfield to the east-northeast. Pop. (2004) 176,942.