Crater (Aden) should not be confused with Aden Crater.
| Crater | |
| Native Name Lang: | ar |
| Other Name: | Kraytar |
| Official Name: | Seera District |
| Native Name: | مديرية صيرة |
| Settlement Type: | District |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  Yemen |
| Subdivision Type1: | Governorate |
| Subdivision Name1: | Aden Governorate |
| Population As Of: | 2003 |
| Population Footnotes: | [1] |
| Population Total: | 76,723 |
| Population Density Km2: | 13.00 |
| Timezone: | Yemen Standard Time |
| Utc Offset: | +3 |
Crater (; ar|كريتر, pronounced as /ar/), also Kraytar, is a district of the Aden Governorate, Yemen. Its official name is Seera (Arabic: صيرة Ṣīrah). It is situated in a crater of an ancient volcano which forms the Shamsan Mountains. As of 2003, the district had a population of 76,723 people.[1]
The city's name, Crater, derives from the English word of the same meaning, given by the British during their colonization of Aden, which is situated on an inactive volcano.[2]
See main article: Timeline of Aden.
See main article: Aden Emergency. In the closing days of British rule in 1967, Crater District became the focus of the Aden Emergency, sometimes called the last imperial war. After a mutiny of hundreds of soldiers in the South Arabian Federation Army on 20 June, all British forces withdrew from Crater. Crater was occupied by Arab fighters while British forces blocked off its two main entrances.
In 3 July 1967, The Battle of Crater began with the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders commanded by Lt-Col Colin Mitchell ("Mad Mitch") performing a night invasion of Crater, which he termed Operation Stirling Castle, after the Argylls’ regimental headquarters. The National Liberation Front was taken by surprise, and effective resistance ceased.[3] [4] [5] A particular sign of Mitchell’s confidence was his decision to order the pipe band to march down the main street of Crater, playing regimental tunes, for which the Pipe major was mentioned in despatches.[6] British troops remained in Crater until the end of the Emergency.
Crater's climate is dominated all year by the subtropical anticyclone, or subtropical high, with its descending air, elevated inversions and clear skies. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is BWh (Tropical and Subtropical Desert).[7]