A Slow start
Being Thursday, it is the weekend. I had arranged with British Tom and American Tom to join them on their day trip. At 1030, we walked to Medah Tahrir with the intention of catching a bus or shared taxi to Shibam (not the one in the east of the country but a town of the same name outside of Sana’a).
With luck not on our side with transportation we caught a dabab (minivan) to Bab Al Yemen to the minibus station there. There were lots of haggling which eventually turned out fruitless. Becky, being blonde and pretty, was stared at lots. Tom & Tom went off to find a taxi, and fortunately returned successful. All this had taken about 1h30 and we hadn’t even left town!
Shibam & Kawkaban
The taxi got us to Shibam around 1300. There wasn’t much we wanted to do in Shibam so started straight away our ascent to Kawkaban on the cliff or plateau 500m above.
It was a very tiring hike which saw us getting there after 1400. Becky started in her abayah (black robe and headscarf) but it was all too much in the midday heat and the layers came off until she was in her T-shirt and jeans. She did restore her full decency just before we reached the village at the top.
We were ready for lunch which we took at the Kawkaban Hotel. We shared a typical Yemeni meal of chicken, bread, rice and salta. Salta is the national dish of Yemen and consists of a hot (temperature) soupy dip of blended fenugreek. It may have other ingredients like egg or vegetables.
We wandered a little then took a taxi downhill back to Shibam. There, we organised a taxi to our next stop, Hababah.
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- We didn’t linger in Shibam but started to climb up to Kawkaban on the plateau above.
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- Becky started her climb in her abayah but was soon in her T-shirt and jeans.
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- With Tom, Evan and Tom. Becky taking the photo.
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- Kawkaban on top of the plateau above.
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- Looking back down at Shibam.
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- Stopping for a rest.
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- Arriving at Kawkaban.
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- Lunch at Kawkaban Hotel.
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- At Kawkaban.
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- View of the surrounding area from Kawkaban.
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- Kawkaban.
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- Kawkaban.
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- Looking back down at Shibam from Kawkaban.
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- View of the surrounding area from Kawkaban.
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- With Evan.
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- View of the surrounding area from Kawkaban.
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- View of the surrounding area from Kawkaban.
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- With friendly locals that wanted a photo.
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- Back down at Shibam looking up at Kawkaban above.
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- Back down at Shibam looking up at Kawkaban above.
Hababah & Thula
With only two hours of daylight left, Hababah looked very rundown. In places, the litter made the place look like a dump. Some homes were so rundown they looked worse than ruins.
Hababah is famous for its cistern. It looked quite pretty but the light wasn’t right for photos. I’ve seen pictures where the icky fluoro green waters looked amazing.
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- Hababah’s cistern.
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- By Hababah’s cistern.
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- Hababah.
We continued to Thula which was located on the foot of a large rocky outcrop. The outcrop looked very tall in some pictures on the internet, but perhaps we weren’t at the lowest side of the base? Supposedly, there is a fort at the top of the rock but it was getting too late for a hike up.
We made do with a wander around. There were lots of kids running around asking for pens. They’ve been spoilt by people who give pens (instead of sweets) and now it’s a game for them to ask and be given something.
Thula looked much cleaner than Hababah. A few locals wanted to buy Becky for us. USD200 seemed like a good price but one man offered USD1000 plus two shops! She is pretty, speaks very good Arabic with a different accent, making some locals think that she was Syrian or Lebanese. But she is English brought up in Dubai.
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- At Thula.
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- At Thula.
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- These floral garbs are what I see in vintage photos of Yemen. Not the black ones that’s now more common.
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- Kids wanting to be photographed and asking for pens.
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- At Thula.
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- At Thula.
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- Scenery on the way back to Sana’a.
Back to Sana’a
We continued in the same taxi back to Sana’a. It was late already. I grabbed a simple dinner of Fasulya (small white beans) and bread from Ibrahim’s nearby and ate it in my room.
After a bit of study, I went retired, feeling good from my day of adventure. I have to wake early tomorrow with another daytrip in store! What a life of adventure I have!
My new friends
The hostel has a good mix of people from the USA, UK, Western and Eastern Europe. Numbers wise, Americans dominate … which is really suprising as I’ve seldom encountered them in previous Middle Eastern trips (but we are talking about Syria and Iran).
Most are fluent in Arabic. Some are doing a circuit of courses through different countries to supplement their degree (language or political science usually) … a few have studied in Syria, are now in Yemen and plan to continue in Morocco.
While I’m often the linguist when travelling with Kim, I feel like a complete dumbo now. And its not just language-wise. Some of them have adapted so well:
- They wear the local mawa or futa (like sarong). They can even tuck their cellphone (and money) in the ‘knot’ of the sarong … and even retrieve it when it rings without unravelling the sarong or having it fall around their ankles.
- Some wear the traditional dagger or janbiya every day.
- They don’t use toilet paper but water (and left hand).
- They can tear chicken off the bone with a piece of bread in their right hand (without even raising their left or unclean hand).