Mythical magical Yemen

There is so much I could write about my recent 8-day holiday in Yemen. But I think the article below described it best!
Thank you Samad, Zaiton, Hisham, Humaid, Yahia, Omar, Sheikh Abdullah, Hamoud and Nasser (and the five omnipresent armed police/soldier escorts!) for making my visit to Yemen a most memorable and happy experience.

"There can’t be many places left in the world that could make God smile, but Yemen is one of them. Inhabited almost forever Yemen is, in many ways, the birthplace of all our lives. In days past, the sons of Noah knew it as the land of milk and honey, Gilgamesh came here to search for the secret of eternal life, wise men gathered frankincense and myrrh from its mountains and, most famously, a woman known simply as Sheba said Yemen was her home.

Yet since the book of mythology was closed, Yemen has remained largely locked away in a forgotten corner, oblivious to the world that was oblivious to it. Today, like a spring tortoise emerging from hibernation, Yemen is awaking from its slumber and slowly revealing its face. And what a face it is. Sitting at the crossroads of two continents, this country has a little of everything.

Its capital, San'a, is not only incredibly romantic and intriguing, but holds the distinction of being the world's oldest city. Meanwhile, the extraordinary island of Suqutra (off the coast of Eastern Yemen) is reputed to hold the secret of eternal life somewhere amongst its unique flora and fauna. The fortified mountain village of Shaharah is tough to get to (probably why it remained unconquered for centuries) but worth making the effort for; if you prefer your travel safer and easier - but equally rewarding - try the lush region of Southern Yemen. Then there's the Wadi Hadramawt oasis where you can't help but get caught up in the mythical magic of it all, and Zabid - Unesco World Heritage site andthe hottest city on earth. Need we go on?

With its shades of Afghanistan, reflections of Morocco, flavours of Africa and reminders of Arabia, Yemen is utterly unique and deeply romantic. To travel in this most traditional of Islamic countries, surrounded by a people whom the Prophet once described as ‘the most gentle-hearted of men’, is a privilege you will not quickly forget. But never mind what we have to say about it, let’s leave the last word to the man who made it.

Legend tells how one day God decided to check out how his creation was fairing: London, he decided, had changed a lot, Egypt was nothing like he remembered it, but Yemen, ‘Well’, he smiled, ‘that hasn’t changed since the day I created it’.

The Faces of Yemen

I just spent eight most interesting and fascinating days in Yemen. The country is mostly poor and besieged by security problems but its people are big-and-warm-hearted, friendly, generous and hospitable. It has the most spectacularly stunning landscape and scenery and unique villages and settlement, and of course a very long history. I was advised against going to some parts of the country but what I had covered will leave a lasting impression, especially the Wadi Do'an in Hadramawt. I took 500 photos but the most interesting ones were the faces of people I took (only men - women strictly a no-no and they were veiled in any case). Here are a few from the dozens I took of all the eager and willing subject!

Christmassy...

"Like the Moon and the Sun" - 10 Days in Spain

I spent ten pleasant days in Spain recently. It was my fourth visit to that country, the first in 1983 to Madrid and Barcelona, 2008 to Granada, Cordoba and Seville (Andalusia), February this year to Alicante, Torraviajo and Cartagena. This time around I covered quite a range within that ten days. Spain had developed by leaps and bounds since joining the EU and the prosperity was very apparent (though recently affected by the current economic downturn). Its diverse attractions drew some 60 million visitors in 2007.

On the second day, as I was walking the scenic streets of Toledo, I heard beautiful music from an instrument I could not make out. Walking on I came across the source, a beautiful lady playing an unfamiliar musical instrument. I stopped to listen to her and was enthralled enough to buy a CD of her music which she was also selling. The beautiful musician was Ana Alcaide and her music was Sephardic-inspired. And the instrument she was playing was the viola de techlas or ‘nyckelharpa’ which originated from Sweden.

My ten days in Spain is briefly complied in the video I have made below from photographs I took, and using Ana Alcaide’s lovely music which I feel had captured the mood of the places I visited! The title of this post 'Like the Moon and the Sun' is a translation of the name of her CD I bought -'Como la Luna y el Sol'.
See video : http://youtu.be/YnMySFpZRTQ

First snowfall

I came back from a very pleasant 10-day trip to Spain for the Hari Raya Haji break on Sunday to a dry, grey winter day. It was unlike last year when I returned from Lebanon after a week of similar break to a whole country covered with snow. But I woke up to snow yesterday morning and it persisted all day long interspersed with rain which melted most of the snow. I was up early this morning and lo, everything was white and snow-covered, and huge branches of two trees in my garden had fallen to the grown! Winter's definitely here.....