I got back to Khartoum yesterday after an 7 day visit to Yemen. So what stands out in my mind: rocks, goats, completely covered women, friendly people, khat, white sand beaches, desert roses, eccentric guides, beautiful sunrises, sunsets, bad goats, frankincense, dragonblood trees, the ocean, warm water ….
Yemen is a Muslim country. The women were generally fully covered, everything but their eyes. I felt safe but I would not travel in such a country alone. It may be that it’s perfectly safe to but I would not be comfortable traveling as a single woman without the company of a man in a country that fully covers its women and veils female children from a small age.
The national pastime in Yemen seems to be chewing khat, a stimulant. Boys and men walk around with cheekfuls of chewed leaves. From all accounts, many of the crops have been replaced with khat and both men and women chew it. I can’t comment on its use by women but in every village and city that we visited, there seemed to be a busy khat market and lots of men sitting around or walking around chewing khat.
In general, people in Yemen seemed friendly. The driving is crazy, like Sudan or maybe worst. Children everywhere asked for pens or pictures to be taken of them. Women often smiled at me and said hello. Men sometimes stopped and said hello and welcomed us to Yemen.
In Yemen, we visited Hajjara, Manaka, Kawkaban, Sana’a, and Carhill on the mainland and Dehamri, Homhill, Hadibo, Qalansia and Aomak beach in Socotra. The sites visited on the mainland boasts spectacular views of rock villages, houses, and terraces. Houses are generally built of rock which are naturally of various colors: red, purple, green and whitewashed to used to create designs. From a distance, the whitewash designs look like latticework. I’ve visited many places but I haven’t seen architecture quite like this.
Driving from spot to spot is Yemen overwhelming experience as your eyes are assaulted by one dramatic view after another. Thought I took many pictures, there were many times when I decided to relegate the view to memory as it would be impossible to capture the experience. Portions of the scenery reminded me of driving through Turkey and Petra but each place has its own distinct elements that make them special. The life of the people seems so isolated on top of rocks with forts/walls built to protect the village, but the isolation was a useful way of protecting the village from attacks. Many villages had only one door to and from it, and the door could be locked from the inside. There were differing views from guides and from online reading as to whether or not this practice is still in use.
Socotra, paradise. This is the comment that we got from all the people in Sana’a who we told that we would be visiting Socotra, whether they had been there or not. And Socotra is fairly close to being paradise. Beautiful beaches, stunning scenery, spectacular endemic plants, wonderful seafood. The goats all over the place add an element of character although they can be a nuisance. On the last morning, I left my book in breakfast area and went to watch the sun rise. While I was enjoying the sunrise, I remembered that I’d left the book in the open. It was no great surprise that a goat had eaten the last four pages by the time I returned. The greatest tragedy is that it is a library book. I also do not know the ending to the story. I was reading Red Azalea, the memoir of Anchee Min about the cuturual revolution in China. (Anyone want to tell me the ending?)
We stent three nights in Socotra. I think it was the perfect length. Any more than 3 days of camping in a tent and rough roads and the trip ends up being more stressful than relaxing. Would I make the trip again? Yes, but not in the near future as there are lots more places that I have not visited in the world. Furthermore, I’ll be leaving Sudan soon and it will be much more challenging to get to Yemen.
Pictures of my trip to Yemen
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