Yemen Trip Letter IIIa
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Yemen Trip Letter – January 2006
Part III covers the weekend outings, chewing qat, the people, and final thoughts
Part IIIa – Weekend to Shibaam / Kaukaban
Besides two weeks of classes, I also had two weekend excursions with a driver, 4wd vehicle, mountain guide, and hotel accommodations. The first weekend was to the Shibaam and Kaukaban area with stops along the way. Rhonda, another teacher from Al Hada, was also on the trip. The first stop was 45 minutes outside of Sana’a to Wadi Dar home to Dar Al Hajar, the Rock Palace. The Rock Palace gets its name from being built directly on top of a large rock. There is no room even to walk around the building. It was built by Iman Mansour Ali Bin Mehdi Abbas in 1786. In the 1930s, Yemen’s Iman Yahya Hameed Al Din added the upper stories and annexes and used it as a rest house. The palace has been renovated and is open for self guided tours. Rhonda and I wandered up the many stair cases leading to different levels of the palace. There are floors for the kitchen, men’s sitting area, women’s sitting area, bedrooms, and a formal room. From up high we watched a group of men dance to pounding drums on the courtyard below. I have read this is a famous spot for men to gather to perform the wedding dance if a wedding took place. Now I think they gather on Fridays for the tourists. I would not mind having a palace like this as a weekend rest house either. I will add this to my wish list after the Mafraj.
Heading back out on the same road we entered, we stopped to take in the views of an impressive canyon – their Grand Canyon. The views were good but the activity on the canyon’s edge got my attention. Rifles were set up with targets for a small fee. A Yemeni and his falcon were there to have one’s picture taken with the falcon for a small fee. Another Yemeni was there with his horse for the same purpose and a small fee. The poor and disabled held their hands out for a small fee. After a few snapshots we took off again.
The driver took Rhonda and me to a village known for its old houses but the driver didn’t tell us that. He didn’t tell us much in the way of what we would be seeing. He said we could walk into town from the outskirts and then meet him at a hotel. If we got lost we could ask anyone to guide us to the hotel. We walked through the village of Thula with several boys and men offering to show us around but not knowing what the driver had in mind as in would he guide us through it or did we get a guide here, we continued on our way through the village. Thula is a small village and it didn’t take us long to find the hotel and our vehicle but no driver. We heard he was having tea. We had tea while waiting for him. Upon his return we left not knowing why we stopped here at all.
Next was the village of Hababa. We drove along dusty roads littered with pink and blue plastic bags. This is a sad yet a common site of the many villages we drove through or stopped at. We stopped outside the wall of Hababa and I stepped down into a massive mound of litter piled up on my side of the road. The highlight in Hababa was the cistern in the center of the village. It had steps going down into it for easy access to get water or to go for a swim. The water is for the animals, washing clothes, swimming, and maybe irrigation. I am not sure because we had no guide. It was also a place for people to gather and rest. This was a nice spot and great for photos. I got a nice one of two girls perched on a step fetching water.
The driver announced we would have lunch in Shibaam. Shibaam is a trade town. It is also dusty and dirty. We were there on a Friday, their market day, and this place was crawling with small trucks, cars, jeeps, SUVs, and motorcycles. The driver led us to a hotel known for its local food. The place was packed with groups of men and some tourist groups. Turns out these hotels use the same rooms people sleep in as dining rooms during the day. We found an empty room with a long bench down the middle and plenty of cushions and armrests on the floor for sitting. A German/Italian couple joined us in the room. They are also teachers and have traveled extensively to remote countries during their many years of teaching. Enough food was brought for 10 people and we felt bad leaving so much behind since it was only 5 of us eating.
Not far down the road out of town was our hotel for the night. The top three floors seemed to be a recent addition and we had a room on one of these floors. It was clean, had two mattresses on the floor with blankets and pillows and a bathroom. We dropped off our bags and then headed out to the last stop of the day, Al Tawilah. This place, like most villages, sits high on a hill. It was here the children were really irksome and without a guide we wandered through the village not sure where to go looking like the pied piper as the kids trailed behind saying picture, pen, and money. We didn’t stay long here either.
The evening was quiet and pleasant. I guess we were the only tourists in the hotel because no one else joined us in the Mafraj on the top floor. This Mafraj was beautiful! The plaster was delicately carved and painted in pastel colors. The windows were huge and offered great views of the surrounding valley. From the big picture window facing south, I could see the remains of the huge rock slide that happened two days earlier. It was quite clear to see how part of a cliff came tumbling down on the village below. Cars were lining up on both sides of the road to walk to the area. Dinner and breakfast were served in the Mafraj for us rather than in the general area downstairs that resembles an auto mechanic shop without the cars. The poor worker had to climb up about 120 steps each time. After the evening meal he brought up an incense burner and showed us how you stand over it to get the smoke up into your clothes.
No water the next morning, I thought that only happened at Al Hada. Minus a shower we packed up and drove up the mountain behind Shibaam. The village on the top is called Kaukaban. Here the driver said we would get a guide to walk us down the steep trail back to Shibaam. The driver came across a young teenager pushing a wheelbarrow with his trinkets to sell to tourists. The teenager turned out to be our guide. We walked through the village and outside the gate to the trail. The path goes straight down and is made of many stone steps. I can tell this kid used this path often as he leaped and bounced down the trail as we plotted our every step ever so carefully. At one point he yelled for us to run down like he did. We said we would pass on the offer. The trail reminded me of my days in Nepal walking from village to village and marveling at how graceful the locals are walking down rugged terrain. Back in Shibaam we located our driver and drove back to Sana’a. I think he left out a few stops because we were back by noon time.
Stay tuned for the much more enjoyable weekend to Al Hajjarah with Sherpa Zaid, song, dance, and chewing qat.
Yemen Trip Letter – January 2006
Part III covers the weekend outings, chewing qat, the people, and final thoughts
Part IIIa – Weekend to Shibaam / Kaukaban
Besides two weeks of classes, I also had two weekend excursions with a driver, 4wd vehicle, mountain guide, and hotel accommodations. The first weekend was to the Shibaam and Kaukaban area with stops along the way. Rhonda, another teacher from Al Hada, was also on the trip. The first stop was 45 minutes outside of Sana’a to Wadi Dar home to Dar Al Hajar, the Rock Palace. The Rock Palace gets its name from being built directly on top of a large rock. There is no room even to walk around the building. It was built by Iman Mansour Ali Bin Mehdi Abbas in 1786. In the 1930s, Yemen’s Iman Yahya Hameed Al Din added the upper stories and annexes and used it as a rest house. The palace has been renovated and is open for self guided tours. Rhonda and I wandered up the many stair cases leading to different levels of the palace. There are floors for the kitchen, men’s sitting area, women’s sitting area, bedrooms, and a formal room. From up high we watched a group of men dance to pounding drums on the courtyard below. I have read this is a famous spot for men to gather to perform the wedding dance if a wedding took place. Now I think they gather on Fridays for the tourists. I would not mind having a palace like this as a weekend rest house either. I will add this to my wish list after the Mafraj.
Heading back out on the same road we entered, we stopped to take in the views of an impressive canyon – their Grand Canyon. The views were good but the activity on the canyon’s edge got my attention. Rifles were set up with targets for a small fee. A Yemeni and his falcon were there to have one’s picture taken with the falcon for a small fee. Another Yemeni was there with his horse for the same purpose and a small fee. The poor and disabled held their hands out for a small fee. After a few snapshots we took off again.
The driver took Rhonda and me to a village known for its old houses but the driver didn’t tell us that. He didn’t tell us much in the way of what we would be seeing. He said we could walk into town from the outskirts and then meet him at a hotel. If we got lost we could ask anyone to guide us to the hotel. We walked through the village of Thula with several boys and men offering to show us around but not knowing what the driver had in mind as in would he guide us through it or did we get a guide here, we continued on our way through the village. Thula is a small village and it didn’t take us long to find the hotel and our vehicle but no driver. We heard he was having tea. We had tea while waiting for him. Upon his return we left not knowing why we stopped here at all.
Next was the village of Hababa. We drove along dusty roads littered with pink and blue plastic bags. This is a sad yet a common site of the many villages we drove through or stopped at. We stopped outside the wall of Hababa and I stepped down into a massive mound of litter piled up on my side of the road. The highlight in Hababa was the cistern in the center of the village. It had steps going down into it for easy access to get water or to go for a swim. The water is for the animals, washing clothes, swimming, and maybe irrigation. I am not sure because we had no guide. It was also a place for people to gather and rest. This was a nice spot and great for photos. I got a nice one of two girls perched on a step fetching water.
The driver announced we would have lunch in Shibaam. Shibaam is a trade town. It is also dusty and dirty. We were there on a Friday, their market day, and this place was crawling with small trucks, cars, jeeps, SUVs, and motorcycles. The driver led us to a hotel known for its local food. The place was packed with groups of men and some tourist groups. Turns out these hotels use the same rooms people sleep in as dining rooms during the day. We found an empty room with a long bench down the middle and plenty of cushions and armrests on the floor for sitting. A German/Italian couple joined us in the room. They are also teachers and have traveled extensively to remote countries during their many years of teaching. Enough food was brought for 10 people and we felt bad leaving so much behind since it was only 5 of us eating.
Not far down the road out of town was our hotel for the night. The top three floors seemed to be a recent addition and we had a room on one of these floors. It was clean, had two mattresses on the floor with blankets and pillows and a bathroom. We dropped off our bags and then headed out to the last stop of the day, Al Tawilah. This place, like most villages, sits high on a hill. It was here the children were really irksome and without a guide we wandered through the village not sure where to go looking like the pied piper as the kids trailed behind saying picture, pen, and money. We didn’t stay long here either.
The evening was quiet and pleasant. I guess we were the only tourists in the hotel because no one else joined us in the Mafraj on the top floor. This Mafraj was beautiful! The plaster was delicately carved and painted in pastel colors. The windows were huge and offered great views of the surrounding valley. From the big picture window facing south, I could see the remains of the huge rock slide that happened two days earlier. It was quite clear to see how part of a cliff came tumbling down on the village below. Cars were lining up on both sides of the road to walk to the area. Dinner and breakfast were served in the Mafraj for us rather than in the general area downstairs that resembles an auto mechanic shop without the cars. The poor worker had to climb up about 120 steps each time. After the evening meal he brought up an incense burner and showed us how you stand over it to get the smoke up into your clothes.
No water the next morning, I thought that only happened at Al Hada. Minus a shower we packed up and drove up the mountain behind Shibaam. The village on the top is called Kaukaban. Here the driver said we would get a guide to walk us down the steep trail back to Shibaam. The driver came across a young teenager pushing a wheelbarrow with his trinkets to sell to tourists. The teenager turned out to be our guide. We walked through the village and outside the gate to the trail. The path goes straight down and is made of many stone steps. I can tell this kid used this path often as he leaped and bounced down the trail as we plotted our every step ever so carefully. At one point he yelled for us to run down like he did. We said we would pass on the offer. The trail reminded me of my days in Nepal walking from village to village and marveling at how graceful the locals are walking down rugged terrain. Back in Shibaam we located our driver and drove back to Sana’a. I think he left out a few stops because we were back by noon time.
Stay tuned for the much more enjoyable weekend to Al Hajjarah with Sherpa Zaid, song, dance, and chewing qat.
posted by Becky of Arabia at 7:36 PM
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