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!