Yemen Trip Letter - Part I

Yemen 2006

Yemen Trip Letter – January 2006

Photos to be posted - inshallah - I think you can see them but I can't here in Saudi. More are posted at www.clubphoto.com Use tumicki23@yahoo.com to access my photos.

Part I covers general information, our introduction to Sana’a, the school, and classes.

Part II covers the buildings, the old souq, what to buy, and my favorite topic FOOD.

Part III covers the weekend outings, chewing kat, the people, and final thoughts

Part I

I went to Yemen for two weeks to learn Arabic, calligraphy, and to explore. I came away with many more Arabic words, grammar, tenses, writing like a true letter artist (the words from my teacher), new friends, gracious locals like Sherpa Zaid, Sultan and A’del the drivers, Jeehan my friend from Denver, my teachers Mokhtaar and Bushra and many favorable impressions of Arabia Felix, a name given to this place by the ancient Greek geographer Ptolemy meaning “fortunate Arabia” because of its relatively fertile land and adequate rain fall.

Interesting facts and tidbits I came across:
· The coffee trade started at the port of Al Moka
· Yemen is part of the Frankincense Road
· If you love raisins, this is the place for you. There are barrels and barrels of them every where and there is even a raisin souq.
· Yemen boasts the most expensive honey in the world. The honey store I stopped at said their most expensive sold for 8000 yemeni riyals for 1 kilo. That is about $40.
· 80% of the population chews the leaves from the kat tree. It is a way of life that has to be seen first hand.
· The majority of the tourists are from Italy
· I felt safe and welcomed the whole time

There is a nice glossy magazine called Arabia Felix I found in Al Huda supermarket where people go for western supplies. The magazine’s mission is to, “supply the world’s most complete, most revealing picture of Yemen by means of photography and professional writing. We want to explore the spirit of the country, its history and its resources.” The Yemen at a Glance page states:
· Population – 21,421,643 million according to the 2004 national census
· Population distribution – urban areas 26.5%, rural area 37.5% consisting of small agglomerations not exceeding 500 persons (I think they left something out – what about the other 36% of the population?)
· Annual growth rate – 3.02%
· Literacy rate – 55.7% of people over 15 years of age
· Land – 474,580 sq km (roughly the same size of France)
· Work force
o Agriculture – 53%
o Public Service – 17%
o Construction – 7%
o Manufacturing – 4%
o Other – 19%
· Natural Resources – Mineral, fisheries, natural gas
· Economy – Crude oil refining, cement, livestock, agricultural products (cereal, fruits and vegetables, cotton, coffee)
· Tourism – archeology, natural scenery, unique architecture, deserts
· Currency - $1 = 195 Yemeni Riyals (January 2006)
· Branches – Executive, Prime Minister with Cabinet
· Legislative – Bicameral legislative assembly with 111 seats, Shura council and 301 seats in the House of Representatives
· Hospitality – legendary, and one will often be offered to share in a meal or a bag of kat (I added this because it is very true and worth mentioning)
· Entry requirements - visitors from EU, USA, and Canada can now obtain entry visas at the airport

Rhonda, another teacher at Al Hada, and I arrived on December 24th a little past 9:00pm. Our driver was there at the airport and by the time we got out of the airport parking lot (imagine a mass exodus after a Dead concert) and drove around looking for a place to change money (turned out to be a man on a dark street), meeting with Ibrahim the travel agent I made the arrangements through, drinking mango juice drive up style (the driver got out and brought the glasses back to us), it was 11:00pm when we arrived at the school.

Both of us signed up for private language classes at the Center for Arabic Language and Eastern Studies (CALES) located in Old Sana’a. The school consists of an old building with many floors. The bottom floor is where the gatekeeper stays. The next two levels are for offices, classrooms, and a kitchen for the staff. The next two levels had rooms, bathrooms, a kitchen, and a mafraj (a sitting area usually located on the top floor). There was also a roof top with tables, chairs, a clothes line and great views of Old Sana’a with the mountains as a backdrop. I came up here many times to watch the sunrise, to get warm in the day time sun, or to watch the sunset.

The accommodations had hints of staying in a hostel with sharing toilets, shower areas and the kitchen. Sad to say the kitchen is abused by the students with food overflowing every where, dirty dished stacked up, and just plain messy. The rest of the school is cleaned daily by staff and they did an excellent job. My room was ideal! Two walls consisted of three large windows each donned with the symbolic semi circle stained glass window. The large room had a bed in one end and a table on the other end. There were hooks for hanging things. The room was sparse but very comfortable. I counted 47 stairs to climb to get to this level. The evenings got cold and the two thick blankets came in handy. Turns out this room doubles as a classroom in the summer when there are more students.

The first morning at 5:30 am I learned the imams performing the call to prayer could learn a thing or two from the ones here in Al Hada. Here it is poetic and soothing. There it is screechy, abrupt, and obnoxious. Think of finger nails on a blackboard amplified 100 times. Sleep did not return after the rude awakening and I had to wonder would I ever be able to sleep through such a cacophony in time? Turns out yes but how is still a wonder to me. Since I was up why not catch my first sunrise in Old Sana’a. The special glow that comes with the morning rays blending with the terra cotta buildings with the white gypsum trim radiated warmth. Below the streets and side alleys were coming to life with men walking around wrapped in jackets and shawls, the women flowing along in their black abayas or a traditional colorful cloth worn by the older woman, and the school kids cloaked in army green pants or dresses. I decided it was time for me to dress as well and to explore my new surrounding before the 9:00am class.

On my way out I ran into the Jameel, the director of the school, and he asked if I was free to meet from 8:00 – 11:00 with my Arabic teacher. Mafi mushkila since I was already up and ready to go and I still had time to hunt down breakfast. There are many small shops, food places, a bakery, daily farmer’s markets, and moveable food very close to the school. The food is cheap, convenient and pretty healthy so I ate out all the time. Turning left from the school, I walked down the street until I came across an open square that had shops, a place to sit inside for tea and food, and other small stands for specialty items like French fry sandwiches or potato chips or sweets. I got two French fry sandwiches at a small stand not knowing what I felt like but wanted something. I am not sure how much he charged because I was new to the money and handed out coins and he took what he needed. A few steps away men were sitting on the ground in front of a pile of small loaves of bread, the size of a fist. Turns out this bread is called solider bread because this is what the soldiers eat in the field. One of the men offered a loaf to me as a sample. It was similar to a hardy rye bread which I took a fancy to right away. Now that I had this chewy bread, I wanted something hot to drink to go with it. Kids pointed me to a place for tea and rather than sit inside with the few men I sat on a chair out in front. A perfect place for the school kids to see me on their way to school and they would practice saying hello, what is your name, and where you from. I realized when I finished the tea I did not pay attention to how I entered the square. After several attempts with walking down various streets I found the one that led to school.

Back at school I met my language teacher Mokhtaar. He also teaches Arabic to secondary students at a near by school. My head ached after each session with all the new material. He gave me three books all in Arabic and he spoke mostly Arabic. I had homework to do each night but there were other distractions keeping me from really understanding the material. Needless to say I felt overwhelmed most of the time but I did make progress. I can now say things in the present, past and future tenses using various pronouns.

A highlight of the sessions was going for a walk and talk through the old souq. He would point out locally made things along the way like pottery, stone ware, jambiyas (the decorative knife the men wear) followed by spices galore. I asked for frankincense but it is known by another name and it comes in two forms. One looks like tear drops and the other comes in a chunk. The shopkeeper says the tourists ask for the chunk form. Both come from tree resin from what I was told. I will let my cousin Father Ted decide if there is a difference between these two types. I enjoyed the walk getting to know the names of things and to explore other areas of Old Sana’a. We ended the walk at Bab Al Yemen. At the large gate Mokhtaar said to look up and I was surprised to see a large hole. He said it was from 1962 during the last conflict but I don’t remember which conflict.

My other teacher was Bushra for Arabic calligraphy. She was a young Yemeni woman of about 23 yrs of age. Bushra is a talented calligrapher and I enjoyed watching her write words with ease and style. We sat in a room with a solid door as opposed to glass so she could lift her veil when we worked. At times men would walk in without knocking and I noticed her reflex to pull down her veil was very quick if the door opened.

Bushra spoke mostly Arabic so once again my head would ache with trying to decipher what was being said. We had some good laughs with her translating something into English and it coming out as sheep but meaning to say shape and, as for me, when I meant to say page in Arabic, I was saying slap. Other teachers would happen to pass by and would notice I was writing and they asked to see my work. They would look and ask what was mine and what was the teacher’s; a nice complement. I did a final drawing of a Yemeni window with the words shukran jizilan (thank you very much) written in calligraphy for the director. I feel I had a good start with calligraphy and now need to get a better pen in Jeddah and to practice the strokes over and over. I will miss Bushra’s charm, warmth, and her sense of humor; having her as a teacher was an unexpected pleasure of the trip.