Saylān Cape

The southern Arabian coast east of Aden faces the Gulf of Aden, where dry headlands and sandy shore border a busy sea route. Ships approaching Aden from the Indian Ocean followed winds that changed with the monsoon seasons. The port served as an entrepôt between the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea, gathering merchants and goods from distant shores. Its position made the waters around it important to voyages between Arabia, Africa and Asia.