Weekend Adventures

So on Friday, the second day of the Yemeni weekend, we traveled to three cultural sights near Sana’a (yes Dad, of course it was in a well-trained army convoy). The first site was the palace of the former imam (he’s now in exile in London) and it’s essentially a compound. Big, impressively positioned built into a 70 foot rock, a virtual compound, but not very palace-like. No moats, no dungeons, no banquet halls of any sort—instead lots of white plaster, separate men’s and women’s rooms, fabulous stained glass and some fantastic food storage and cooling mechanisms that look really advanced until you realize the palace was inhabited until the 1960s. In 1820, that stuff would have been rockin’ cool technology!!! It was very picturesque perched on a rock near a high valley with guard stations above, men performing the local district’s dances with their jambeyas (daggers), and of course, everyone’s favorite photo opportunity: the blonde girl. I maintain that camera phones are the world’s worst invention cause there you are on a lovely starched white balcony overlooking small fields of qat trees, goats, and small children playing, and you suddenly realize that the 5 people “on their phones” are not actually on their phones, they’re taking a photo of me. Again. I would like to point out at I am, at the time, wearing hiking clothes and no makeup. Sexiness incarnate.
We next went to the village of Shibam, where we ate lunch at the only hotel and restaurant in Yemen owned by women. Since several of you have expressed concern that I am starving to death, I assure you I am not. There is lots of yummy bread and well-cooked vegetables in dishes that in North Africa would be called a tageen and here I’m not sure. And after lunch, we went up 3000 feet to a village located atop a plateau called Kawkaban just to enjoy the view and hike down (pronounced Coco Caban—it sounds like a Caribbean Island). Lots of fun geological features; don’t worry sissy, I took photos!
And finally, we went to Thilla, a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its unique tall, stone buildings and its location at the base of yet more cliff/hilly formations. In this town, I got to visit a little girl’s house, her baby kittens, and her family’s donkey; I was accosted by several children wanting me to buy stone bracelets (some of you are getting them as presents!); and I got to see old cisterns, hot springs, gorgeous architecture, alabaster windows and the architectural remnants of the city’s former Jewish population (who now largely live in Israel).
From this experience I have five key takeaways: 1. tall stone houses are pretty and a good idea in a rocky desert; 2. alabaster makes a better canopic jar than a window; 3. I am mashallah, just like scantily-clad Lebanese singers; 4. being told by no less than 6 men that they will dream of me and my blue eyes, which shine like the blue moon is a seriously creepy experience; and 5. I am worth FAR MORE than 50 camels. 50 camels? Seriously? While I have it on good authority that camels are worth more here than in Egypt ($5,000-7,000), my lifetime earning potential is greater than $250,000. Also, after one almost rolled over he and my mother, my dad hates camels. Alhumdelallah!
Much love…