Cavers make first descent into Yemen desert’s ‘well of hell’

OMANI cavers have made what is believed to be the first descent to the bottom of Yemen’s Well of Barhout – a natural wonder shunned by locals, who believe it is a prison for genies.

The “well of hell”, whose dark, round aperture creates a 30m (100ft) wide hole in the desert floor of Yemen’s eastern province of Al-mahra, plunges approximately 112m (367ft) below the surface and gives off strange odours.

The Oman Cave Exploration Team found snakes, dead animals and cave pearls – but no sign of the supernatural.

“There were snakes, but they won’t bother you unless you bother them,” said Mohammed al-kindi, a geology professor at the German University of Technology in Oman.

Prof Kindi was among eight experienced cavers who rappelled down last week, while two colleagues remained at the surface.

Footage showed cave formations and grey and lime-green cave pearls, formed by dripping water.

“Passion drove us to do this, and we felt that this is something that will reveal a new wonder and part of Yemeni history,” said Prof Kindi.

Yemeni officials said in June that they did not know what lay in the depths of the pit, which they estimated to be “millions and millions” of years old, adding that they had never reached the bottom.

“We have gone to visit the area and entered the well, reaching more than 50-60m down,” Salah Babhair, from Mahra’s geological survey and mineral resources authority, said at the time.

“We noticed strange things inside. We also smelled something strange... It’s a mysterious situation.”

Over the centuries there have been stories of malign figures known as “jinns” or genies in the well, which some regard as the gate of hell.

Many people in the area are uneasy about visiting or even talking about the chasm, for fear doing so will bring ill fortune.

Yemenis have had enough bad luck as it is. The country has been embroiled in a civil war since 2014 that has triggered what the United Nations describes as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis with two-thirds of its 30 million population dependent on some form of aid.

112m

Approximate depth of strange-smelling 30m wide chasm which locals will not even talk about for fear of evil spirits