Last year when I was in Thailand, I met a man named Hussein. He was from Yemen. My friend Carmen and I decided to go on a tour through Yemen in 2007. Hussein and I out to eat Ethiopian food in Sana'a, the capital of Yemen.
One cannot really travel alone in Yemen because of the roads, limited mass transit and, of course, the potential danger. Therefore you have to go on a tour. Carmen and I joined up with a Dutch company called Djoser that was leading a group of fifteen Germans, plus me.
Typical toilet.
Our drivers; Achmed, Walid and Sale.
Street scenes.
The little boys play foosball or soccer in the streets after school.
Yemen is mostly known for its amazing architecture and this changes depending on where you are. Sana'a is most famous because of its "Old City," an Unesco Heritage site. The city is packed inside a protective wall with the occasional arched gated entrances. The buildings are all a red color painted with intricate white stucco designs.
The windows, called takhrim, are made from alabaster and stained glass.
At a market the multicolored grains and spices in enormous woven baskets are weighed out with centuries old methods and tools.
Chewing gat.
Buying meat.
Typical meal, salta.
Bread.
Bachelor party.
Dresses that are never seen, hidden under the abeya.
Our military escort.
Shahara is a village nearly three thousand meters up a mountain. The main attraction here is the last crossing of what used to be a three tiered stone bridge connecting the two mountains.
The women come daily to collect buckets of water.
In one village a woman showed me how to properly wrap my head scarf so it would completely cover my face.
These guys love to hand you their guns and take pictures with you!
The temples are also known as the Sun and Moon temples and are covered with Sabaean text. The Queen of Sheba may have come from here.
We stopped and ate with a family in their tents and hung with the camels a bit.
The village of Shibam, also known as the "Manhattan of the Desert."
Bir Ali. Paradise!
Gat chewing parlor. It was decorated with plush couches and pillows, furry walls, many-colored fabrics and had lots of hookah scattered about.
Cheap gas.
On top of Jebal Saber, the local mountain, the women wear bright wraps, often have their faces uncovered and do Henna on the hands and feet of the tourists.
We found what was called a "national park" and it had Yosemite-like cliffs, forests and oh my Allah, baboons!
Our final village before returning to Sana'a was Manakah.
One of the many beautiful dances the men do.
