Highlights and Favorites

There are three "American" businesses in Yemen: KFC, Pizza Hut, and Baskin Robins. Hilariously they are hardly similar to the equivalent restaurant found here. For instance, when you go to KFC the only choices are fried chicken, fries, and a biscuit, which of course isn't out of the norm, but the fact that that is basically the only choice on the entire menu cracked me up--almost as much of this photo which includes the KFC with the President's Mosque in the distance.
I love Henna, all day every day. It strangely reminds me of my obsession with doodling on my hands and arms in sharpie markers in middle school, except better--OBVIOUSLY!

You get really creative when attempting to entertain yourselves in Yemen. So, there was a "Deadwood Saloon" Murder Mystery dinner party, which rocked. We took it very seriously if you couldn't tell by our sweet costumes. What you cannot tell by these photos is who awesomely in character we remained the entire evening. Such great fun and soon to come to Austin!

Hanging out in the guard shack speaking Arabic with the guards, specifically Hesham and Marzuq, until the wee hours of the morning is something that I miss the most. When you make friends in another language there is just something extra-special about it.
The highway that is also used for irrigation and drainage during the rainy season is sometimes both at once when unsuspecting drivers find themselves trapped in a flash-flood type situation!

Qat in Yemen

Chewing Qat in Yemen is a national past time, but one that has become severely detrimental to the already fragile Yemeni economy. For those of you who are not familiar, Qat is a plant whose leaves are chewed and stored in a large mass in the cheek for hours on end (the Arabic verb used to describe the chewing of Qat is تخزن which literally means 'to store') . This stimulant's side-effects are comparable to those of most Amphetamines (like Adderall). The chewer experiences excitement and a medically recognized "euphoric state" as well as lack of appetite. Many first time users report that they can remain awake for days, but sometime experience headaches when the effects of the Qat are wearing off. As you can see in this graph that charts the physical harm and dependence level of Qat (Khat), it remains far less "dangerous" than alcohol, tobacco, or cannabis (The Lancet, January 2008, British medical journal). That is one reason why it is puzzling that it is an illegal/prohibited substance in most developed counties, excluding the UK and Israel.

Why is Qat so popular in Yemen? First of all, the trees are evergreen and can be harvested 3-5 times per year which means that the farmer has a year-round source of income (the trees need to be heavily watered, but other than that the trees require little attention), and a reliable one at that. Reliable income? Yes, because an extremely large percentage of the population chews, according to the Encyclopedia of Yemen, 2003, 70-80% of people in Yemen between the ages of 18-50 chew Qat. I can confirm this with my own experience there--I literally met 5 people who did not chew Qat the entire time I was there.

So, what is the point here? The point is, that Yemen is predicted to be one of the first countries to ever "run out of water," and their main cash crop is sucking up all of the water. And not far behind water, is running out of oil. And thus, any exportable good. Which equals money, which equals more poverty...in the most impoverished nation in the Middle East. So, the US government decides to send Israel billions of dollars, so that we can simultaneously refuse to help the Yemenis and make them poorer. All the while keep in mind, that poverty breeds desperation and frustration, and we want to call Yemen the new "Al-Qaeda breeding ground," so that we can drop bombs and refuse to take partial responsibility for making them this way.

Lesson: dropping bombs is what you do when you screw up and you just want the proof of your transgressions to disappear.

The President's Mosque

One of the last things I did in Yemen was visit the President's Mosque which President Ali Abdullah Saleh spent $60 million dollars erecting. Unfortunately, Yemen is the poorest country in the Arab world and lacks even the most basic inner-city infrastructure (let alone anything outside ofSana'a ). So, while the Mosque is undeniably awe inspiring, there is something disgusting about exploring such extravagance in a place such as Yemen. I suppose I will let the photos speak for themselves.Don't forget to remove your shoes .

Taiz and Aden Trip: Part 2

We finally made it to Aden, and man was it worth it. We immediately dropped our belongings at the hotel, changed into our "swimming clothes" and left for the ocean. By swimming clothes, I literally mean clothes. Bathing suits are pretty much prohibited and I swam in pants and a long shirt--honestly, it makes it kind of difficult to enjoy the ocean when in so many clothes because the tide would catch your clothes and drag you or you would catch a small jellyfish in your pocket (yes, that happened to me). But, we took a little speedboat over to a small island right off the coast where we waded into the ocean with the rocky bottom and small, kind of cute, jellyfish. I really just enjoyed laying in the sand where the tide would come up just every now and again to wash over you and cover you with a new layer of sand and at the same time push you deeper into the coast until you couldn't see your body anymore-- and then climbing out! As you can see in the picture taken by someone on the boat, I really enjoyed the ride, as did Maxim! It was also nice to feel that hijab was not necessary when at the beach!

Then we went back to the hotel, washed up, grabbed some lunch and headed back out to see the city. We stopped at the cisterns, described in the picture below. They were awesomely large, but depressingly empty. It was also a bit touristy, but even lots of families from Aden were there walking around. A couple of women told me that came very often because, "why not?"
After this we commuted to the coast, near the fish market where half of us sat on this wall near the ocean and the other half walked to the top to see the view. Very unlike myself, I decided to stay at the bottom to watch the sunset. I was honestly just too exhausted to convince myself the view from above would be any better than the one sitting on the wall being sprayed by the ocean.

If I would not have stayed I would not have had the pleasure of meeting Rahmeh Abdul-Saleh, the adorably frail man pictured below who kindly answered some of my questions about the city and told me a very exciting story about once almost being washed into the ocean sitting on that very wall.

That evening we had dinner at a restaurant by the ocean and Asil and I had tea on the wall overlooking the sea with our feet dangling. I though, "what an absolutely perfect moment," but little did I know it would only get better. That evening we went down to the beach to have sheesha by the ocean. The tide was out and the beach was so wide and dark and we all sat crowded around a table and I dug my feet into the sand as I tried to teach myself to blow smoke-rings (failed). BUT, then we payed these Yemeni boys to let us ride their four-wheelers up and down the beach for a while; I felt fifteen again and it was fantastic! The wether was perfectly mild with a salty ocean wind and even though I was tired and ready to sleep, I really did not want to leave the beach, or Aden. But, alas, we left the next morning and spent ten hours in the "bus" getting back to Sana'a. Can you say stir-crazy?

Taiz and Aden Trip: Part 1

This past Wednesday I finished class and had delicious Indian food with JB,N,I, and M ...Oh, delicious (because unfortunately the traditional food here isn't all that great), and bough a very nice waist coat for 300 riyal, about $1.50USD, for the Western theme murder mystery dinner we are having in a few days. We left very early the next morning a group of about 11 of us for Aden, or so we though. Well, we eventually made it to Aden, but a couple of hours into our drive in the "bus" (i.e. a 15 passenger van) we stopped at probably the 3rd checkpoint in 2 hours and our driver and Abdul Kafi handed the solider our permission to pass, but something was wrong. Usually, we hand them our permission and they chat for a second, peer into the vehicle, and we pass-- but I always get just a little nervous driving up to the smaller check points in the middle of nowhere to be greeted by a bunch of (usually very kind) soldiers who have machine guns carelessly hanging over their shoulders. So we had to wait, and after waiting for some time we got out of the van and had tea at a nearby restaurant and a little bit of breakfast. We thought things were nearly resolved so we returned to the van after buying some water and other necessities. Unfortunately, we ended up getting back out of the van for more tea as Sabri Saleem, the President of our college, arrived to speak with the guards. We were soon told that it was fine for us to drive south to Taiz, but from Taiz to Aden on the south coast would not be safe to drive because of the recent clashes in the South (although, Aden itself was safe). We were all very disappointed, but we continued on to Taiz and stayed at a hotel there.
The city had a very different feel, the streets and pedestrian spaces were not at all similar to those in Sana'a. The streets were not full of cars, but instead full of people. Once we were there and settled in our rooms, we walked through the old Suq, which was simply incredible. The shops all overflowed into the streets and pails and burlap sacks of vibrant spices crowded the footpath. We even witnessed men making the beautiful scarves we've seen being sold all over Yemen, and I have a fantastic video of it to be posted at some point.


After walking throughout the market we visited Al-Ashrafiah Madrasa and Mosque that was under construction, but absolutely amazing.

The cisterns, used for washing before prayer were sadly dry because of construction.
The ceiling inside, being repainted and tiled, by hand. I wish this picture did it justice.

A wonderfully kind Yemeni man who greeted me on our way through the streets. I could not help myself, I just wanted to remember that smile!

Afterward, we made our way to the Kahira Fortress on a mountain overlooking the town, what a view.

The group (minus me, because of course I was taking the picture), which is seriously from all over the place. C (US), M (US), A (UK), Abdul Kafi (Yemen), S (Belgium), C (Mexico), C (Italy), M (Spain), M (France)

That evening while we were up late playing cards in the Mafraj of the hotel, we found out that we would be able to continue on to Aden after all. Alhumdulilah!! We left at 6 or so the next morning.

Unfortunately, because I am insanely exhausted and have homework to finish and class early tomorrow morning. I will continue on about Aden tomorrow, but it was fantastic!

This Week: Missing Tacos, Manakha, Hajjarah, and Hoteib

Wednesday was my first rough day in Yemen. I woke up craving a breakfast taco and it just went downhill from there. Other favorite things currently missing are avocados, queso (esp. with guac and pico in it...), veggie burgers, tofu, bicycles, my garden, ecstatic dance nights, PSC, and my favorite people. Also, I have a class to myself (just my Professor Nabil and I), which is great because I get to speak a lot and also get to focus on things I am particularly having a hard time with while moving quickly through things that are easy for me. Very efficient. But, I also feel as though I am obligated to keep things from him because that is the "culturally appropriate" thing to do. I mean I have to wear "appropriate clothes" to class because he is a Yemeni and that is respectful (and I am totally cool with that), but I feel like we have kind of developed a friendship now, and I am limited in what I can tell him about myself. Slightly frustrating, but class is fantastic besides that.

Anyhow, so after my pity-fest and reading comics in my bed for a couple of hours, I went up to the roof and ate a bowl of Cheerios, drank some apple juice and looked out at the view. The view completely mended my bad mood, seriously. Looking out at the city and the mountains in the distance was just perfect enough to motivate me to get my 5 hours of homework done before class.

Friday, five of us: Stijn, Kamal, Maxim, Alyse, and I went with Aiman and Professor Fadl to Manakha, Hajjarah, and Hoteib. All of these places are perfect examples of how Yemenis have attempted, yet again, to build beautiful structures in impossible places. We left Sana'a at about 8am and headed southeast into the Harraz Mountains, where we saw (drove and climbed) some of the largest mountains on the Arabian Peninsula. We arrived in Hajjarah where a young man named Mohammed immediately grabbed my hand and declared himself my tour guide.


Hajjarah was important for two main reasons, it was a major suq on the road between Hodeidah and Sana'a and also a place where Jews and Muslims lived peacefully together in the past. "before all of the Jews left for Israel," my tour guide explained. There were even stars of David still carved into doors of some of the oldest houses in the village, and the people there would not remove them because "it is a part of the city." Here is the oldest house in the village, over 200 years old.
Simply lovely.

Alyse and I bought some scarves and other hand embroidered crafts from the locals.
We then went into the city of Manakha were we arrived at a hotel to eat lunch, chew qat, and watch some traditional Yemeni dancing/ were forced to dance.

Now, on to my favorite part of the trip, the small village of Hoteib. This is an Ismaili Pilgrimage site on the eastern side of Jebal Messar. Ismaili pilgrims come to Al Hoteib to visit the tomb of the 6th century (H) Ismaili scholar Hattem bin Ibrahim bin al Hussein al Hamadi. Thousands of pilgrims visit every year from Pakistan, India, America, and other places. The Bukhara Ismailis of Bombay financed the paved road to the village because of their yearly pilgrimage there ( and thank goodness for that road!!).

The tomb at the bottom of Jebal Messar.

The small masjid at the top of the mountain, and yes, we climbed up there.
Stijn and I, climbing the eroded stairs to the top as the huge cloud moved in on us.
That cloud rolling over the mountain (and onto us) adjacent from the masjid was perhaps the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my life.
Alyse and I at the masjid atop of Jebal Messar!!Professor Fadl
Aiman
Kamal
Maxim and I
The ride home jamming to a sweet variety of Arabic music!! What an amazing trip.