Taha Hammoud established other cinemas over the years, up until the 1950s: Al-Jadidah Cinema, in Al-Tawahi Radio Cinema, in the area of Al-Mualla and Al-Sharqiyah Cinema in Sheikh Othman. It originally had an area of approximately 600 square meters, which Taha doubled in 1942. It was built in Crater, near the neighborhood of Al-Midan, and called the Hurricane Cinema, after the British fighter plane. Mohammed al-HashemiвЂ™s son, Taha Hammoud вЂ“ known as вЂњthe King of CinemaвЂќ вЂ“ built the first movie theater in the city, in the 1930s. Meanwhile, Abdulaziz Khan screened movies in a square near the Ziko coffee shop, in the old city of Aden.

He also offered mobile screenings of silent films in the area of Al-Tawahi, in available halls and locations ranging from parking lots and yards.

The first local screenings were also held in Crater in 1910, by Mohammed Hammoud al-Hashemi, known as вЂњMaster Hammoud.вЂќ He began outdoor screenings of Charlie ChaplinвЂ™s silent movies in fields or small hangars. Soon, films began to be screened throughout the city. Movies first came to Aden in 1910, when British colonial authorities screened silent black-and-white films for soldiers stationed in the Crater district of the city, as well as British diplomatic and civil service employees and Adeni residents working in British protectorates throughout south Yemen. Cinema was introduced to the city during this time, and it would go on to become one of AdenвЂ™s hallmarks. Although this occupation entailed British influence and control of resources, it also heralded a kind of cultural and commercial renaissance. The British occupied Aden in 1839, seeking to secure their lines of commerce and communication with India. Sadly, prospects for a rebirth of that culture are slim at this time. At their height, there were 40 operating movie theaters in Aden. That culture, however, has largely disappeared - a victim of modern technology and YemenвЂ™s political troubles. Throughout much of the 20th century, the city played a prominent role in вЂ“ among other things вЂ“ cinema culture in Yemen and the Arabian Peninsula. Its setting, on the Gulf of Aden, at the confluence of the Red and Arabian seas, long brought trade and people to the city, making it a cosmopolitan hub. Aden has historically been a cultural and commercial crossroads, home to a famed port linking East and West.

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