Amido writes about their sightseeing holiday in Yemen, twenty years ago. Photographs by Purushottama
There was some trepidation, at least for me (Purushottama is fearless!) when we left Sana’a, Yemen’s capital where we had stayed for a few days, to travel, mostly by bus, around Yemen.
Somehow, international etiquette is almost universally extended to the traveler, especially a not-particularly-young couple (we were in our 50s at the time)! I always wore a long-sleeved shirt, long pants, and a head covering (a baseball cap mostly) to respect the culture, something I had failed to do when much younger and more unconcerned.
Straight south from Sana’a was our first stop, Ibb. After a 5-hour drive or more, we arrived late in the morning. I plonked myself down with our luggage on a generous section of sidewalk, while Purushottama sallied forth to find us somewhere to stay. It seemed like an age – and it was! The luggage and I providing no small point of interest to passersby. Eventually Purushottama returned, after having found a place not too far away.
Located in the southwestern highlands of Yemen, Ibb sits at an elevation of about 5,000 feet (1,500 meters). Outside the city, at a lower elevation, is a fertile agricultural region. Thanks to its rich volcanic soil, there are cultivated terraces where wheat, barley, millet, fruits and vegetables are grown. Sheep are the main livestock. No wonder Ibb is known as the green jewel of Yemen.
During our short stay in Ibb, we took a day trip to Jibla, about a half-hour drive south. Jibla is, together with its surroundings, on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List.
The twin minarets of the Queen Arwa Mosque in Jibla – one of the oldest mosques in Yemen – dominate the town. Queen Arwa al-Sulayhi ruled most of what is now considered Yemen from 1067 to 1138 CE. She had exceptional political and diplomatic skills and is the only Muslim woman ever to hold both political and religious power in her own right (muslimpro.com – wikipedia.org). The mosque contains her mausoleum and so became a pilgrimage site.
Left: A timeless image of man in prayer. Right: The Palace of Queen Arwa, also known as the Palace of the Noble Queen, was her residence. We spent a few hours wandering through the ruins, and were not alone.
A closer view of Jibla.
Our next stop was Aden, 6 hours south of Ibb. A large port city on the Gulf of Aden, the hottest and most humid of places! We were particularly fussy about our accommodation that day and wandered around the city, soaked with sweat, backpacks on, up and down stairs looking at rooms! We eventually found one to our liking and then – completely dehydrated – discovered fresh lemon juice. The nectar of the Gods! The whole fruit is put in a blender – definitely with sugar, but I don’t know with what else. It’s so delicious, and exactly what was needed to compensate for our immense loss of electrolytes and fluids.
After an overnight stay in Aden, it was on to Al-Mukalla by bus, along the coast to the east.
I sometimes have difficulty differentiating between goats and sheep. These are definitely goats, since they have a reputation for being able to eat anything. It takes a country a long time to figure out how to deal with trash that is not biodegradable. Has any country succeeded in doing so?
What can be said? Such a huge stretch of barrenness, but what beauty, especially since small oases are visible in the mid-distance.
Whenever we traveled by bus and stopped for a break, one of the women would take me under her wing to make sure I knew how to find the toilets – and, equally importantly – how to find my way back to Purushottama and the bus. No language was needed. Just this wonderful goodwill that is so abundant.
An endless drive along the coast…
…until we had to stop. A truck had accidentally driven off the road, blocking it to traffic from both sides. The truck was unable to get back onto the road without help – which took some time to arrive. In the meantime we could leave the bus and mill around in the heat! Eventually everything was able to move.
We arrived at the port of Al-Mukalla, located about 340 miles (540 km) east of Aden. It’s the capital of Hadhramaut, Yemen’s largest and richest governate, with 80% of Yemen’s oil fields, gold deposits, and natural gas. It’s also the only port of significance in the eastern part of the county. Historically it was the main trading center between India and Africa. Al-Mukalla means to ‘preserve’ or ‘nurture’. Although we arrived in the evening, we easily found somewhere to stay.
Ports are fascinating! The Chinese had quite a strong presence in Al-Mukalla, busy working on new infrastructure projects.
From Al-Mukhalla we then headed up north, out into the desert, to Tarim. The governate of Hadhramaut is also Yemen’s most religious governate and Tarim is its religious center. (Incidentally, Tarim is the ancestral homeland of Osama Bin Laden – the birthplace of his father.)
We traveled through the desert in a shared taxi. It took us almost 5 hours to put those 150 miles (250 km) behind us.
It is not uncommon to see camels roaming around in the desert. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I first saw them. Did they belong to someone? Are they wild?
I had a slightly unpleasant experience after arriving in Tarim. As I was getting out of the taxi, a boy in his early teens started shouting at me in Arabic. Of course I was clueless about what he was saying, but eventually figured out he expected me to cover my face. An older gentleman nearby told him to stop, and he did.
A second incident happened there too. A young man, probably in his 20s, approached us with apparent friendliness; he shook Purushottama’s hand and then mine… but then would not let go of mine. He kept digging a finger behind a silver ring I was wearing, trying to leverage it off! I tried to keep my fingers tightly pressed together and disengage my hand. He would not let go! After several attempts he gave up the struggle. I still have that ring!
Then, at the hotel where we stayed, we met a lovely man from Madagascar. He was in Yemen on business; his wife was from Yemen. He was a Muslim. So open and with the warm sweetness so many Muslim people have.
Yemen does not have any permanent rivers but numerous dry riverbeds, called wadis. These are either permanently or intermittently dry, and can turn into lush valleys that stand in stark contrast to the arid desert around.
Although Yemen has underground water resources, the combination of a scant water supply with unregulated drilling of wells for agriculture is creating a water crisis. Ground water is used at twice the rate it is renewed. Additionally, 40% to 50% of the scarce water supply is used to grow khat, a mild narcotic that is chewed (mostly by men). It is addictive and profitable.
Young men with their khat.
During our stay in Tarim we took a day trip to Shibam, about 30 miles (50 km) to the west. Shibam is located in the Wadi Hadhramaut desert valley, framed by cliffs on two sides.
Shibam has been a World Heritage site since 1982 due to its stunning architecture and cultural importance. The sixteenth-century architects designed Shibam’s clustered tower houses (some seven stories high) on a grid pattern to maximize the use of space. The height of these 500-year-old skyscrapers and the lack of windows on the lower floors served to protect the occupants from raiders and business rivals.
Shibam is referred to as the ‘Manhattan’ or ‘Chicago of the desert’. The narrow streets favor motorcycles for transportation, but few people were out in the afternoon heat. It was in this town that I recognized the merits of wall-hugging to take advantage of every smidgen of shade.
Endlessly fascinating doorways.
A decorative detail.
While we were wandering through these streets there was so much that had caught our attention, but it was us who had become the object of curiosity for these children.
I found it so satisfying that a house of such substantial size could be built from materials that would return to the desert in the same form from which they had started. “From dust we come and to dust we shall return.”
After our 1-week excursion to the south and east of Yemen, we returned to Sana’a to catch our flight back to Dubai – but we could not have left without spending two more days photographing this beautiful city and its inhabitants.
Sweetness.
A newer part of Sana’a.
Such expressive faces.
Related article
- Ten days in Yemen – A visit to Sana’a in 2005 – Amido (text) and Purushottama (photographs)
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