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[[image - black & white photograph of the city of Mareb]] [[photograph credit - ARAB INFORMATION OFFICE]] [[caption]] Mareb, Sheba's Capital. [[/caption]] trade, is recorded two centuries later in the sixtieth chapter of Isaiah. During following centuries of the pre-Christian era, a succession of Sabean kings ruled Yemen, using Marib as their capital. In the fourth century B.C. Sabeans founded colonies along the shores of the Red Sea and throughout the territory of present-day Eritrea. Then, during the first centuries of the Christian era, Yemen extended its boundaries to the extent that its rulers became known as "Kings of Saba, Raydan, Hadramut and Yemen." It was during the sixth century of the Christian era that the first serious invasion of Yemen took place, undertaken by the Abyssinians. However, the invaders, who raided the country and destroyed its monuments, were soon routed by the Yemenites with the aid of the Persians. And after the year 628, Yemen became part of the newly formed Arab Moslem Empire. The modern history of Yemen witnessed an unsuccessful attempt at invasion by the Portuguese in 1513, followed by the Turks in 1528. During the next three centuries, the Ottomans repeatedly tried to occupy the country, without completely succeeding even once. Finally after repeated failures and heavy loss of life, the Turks surrendered to the late Imam Yahya, father of the present monarch. In 1912 a treaty was signed which clearly recognized Yemen's independence. Imam Yahya, understandably suspicious of foreign designs upon his country's newly-recognized sovereignty, pursued a policy of strict neutrality in the great power struggles which took place between the two World Wards of the twentieth century. But after the termination of World War II, the spirit of international cooperation expressed by the founding of the United Nations caused the Imam to lead his country into the council of nations. A charter member of the Arab League, Yemen also applied for admission to the UN where its application was unanimously approved by the Security Council and the General Assembly in 1947. Under the guidance of its present farsighted monarch, Imam Ahmed, the country is moving ahead with modernization projects in the fields of education, health, communications industry and agriculture. An industrious and intelligent people, the Yemenis are now laboring to live up to the historic name by which their country was known in ancient songs and stories -- Arabia Felix, or "Blissful Arabia." 32 MOSLEM WORLD & THE U.S.A. [[end page]] [[start page]] [[image - black & white photograph of three children]] [[photograph credit - TRANS WORLD AIRLINES]] [[caption]] Three youthful citizens of Libya, North Africa, smile for the camera. In background is a beautiful mosque. [[/caption]] Operation "Bootstrap" in Libya Libya, a rising Moslem power on the Mediterranean seaboard is currently involved in operation "bootstrap" -- a nation-wide effort to raise the country's national income by increasing its agricultural exports. In order to get Libyan fruit and vegetables to foreign markets, an impressive educational program has been carried out among the nation's farming population. When Libya was under foreign occupation, its vast desert areas were constantly encroaching upon the small percentage of arable land. And even in fertile sections of the country, fruits and vegetables where plagued by hordes of insect pests. However, Libya's farmers have now learned to spray their orchards with the proper insecticides to wipe out fruit pests. A cooperative composed of producers, exporters and traders of fruit enforces strict rules governing the selection, standardization, processing and packing of fruit for export. By the middle of 1955 one UN expert stationed in Libya called the results achieved "almost dramatic!" In 1953-54, the cooperative's first year, a net profit of $60,000 was realized from the increase AUGUST-SEPT. 1956 33
