Flying to Seiyun
After only one full day in Sana’a, Kim is now leaving with me to explore further afield in Yemen. Yesterday wouldn’t count as memorable with the National Museum and Military Museum. Perhaps the simple dinner at Ibrahim’s accompanied by the mini Yemeni baguettes and sweet tea was more memorable.
We woke at 0530. Kim’s sleep had been interrupted by lots of very noisy cats. The cats here are un-neutered and tend to go very wild at night with their noises. I crept to the rooftop for some photos of the old city before a simple breakfast of muesli.
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- From the hostel rooftop early in the morning.
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- From the hostel rooftop early in the morning.
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- From the hostel rooftop early in the morning.
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- From the hostel rooftop early in the morning.
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- From the hostel rooftop early in the morning.
We walked to Bab Shaub to catch a taxi to the airport to fly to Seiyun. Check-in was swift but since we were so early, it was a bit of a wait till departure. We boarded the Yemenia 737-800 from the rear and left about 15 mins late due to military movements at the airport.
The flight to Seiyun operated via Al Ghaydar which took 1h10. The second sector then backtracked us towards Seiyun. On both flights, we were actually airborne before the end of the safety demo video! And on the first, the crew scrambled to their seats as we were rolled for take-off.
We flew here as it would have taken a very long and uncomfortable trip through the desert by bus … and we would have had to pay for military escort too. There’s no need to pay for that kind of excitement twice as we’d be requiring their services for the next excursion to Shihara.
From the airport, we took a taxi to the Trade & Housing Tower Hotel which came with aircon and a pool. We walked to town for a lunch of fish and chicken on rice. We rested back at the hotel to avoid the heat, then swam in the pool.
Visiting Shibam
After the afternoon heat had passed, we took a taxi to Old Walled City of Shibam. It is sometimes described as Chicago or Manhattan of the Desert because it looks like skyscrapers made from mud in the vast sandy area.
It’s not to be confused with the Shibam not far from Sana’a, from which we climbed to Kawkaban!
Per Wikipedia: The houses of Shibam are all made out of mud brick, and about 500 of them are tower blocks, which rise 5 to 11 storeys high with each floor having one or two rooms. This architectural style was used in order to protect residents from Bedouin attacks. While Shibam has been in existence for an estimated 1,700 years, most of the city’s houses originate from the 16th century. Many, though, have been rebuilt numerous times in the last few centuries.
The city wall wasn’t too obvious in parts. Some parts are now open and wall-less, whereas in some parts the city wall and the wall of the skyscraper kinda merge.
With the main road in front of the village, and sun coming side-on, I couldn’t get the ambience that I had imagined … nor a picture of the facade. We walked to the side of the village that caught the light of the setting sun on the homes.
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- Shibam.
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- Shibam.
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- Shibam.
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- Shibam.
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- Inside Shibam’s walled city.
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- Inside Shibam’s walled city.
As we had intended to return to visit Shibam tomorrow, we made do with only a brief walk inside the old town. We walked down on to the dry river bed where kids were playing football. And that led us to the village opposite. It’s probably an annex to the old walled city of Shibam.
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- Looking across the river bed, opposite Shibam.
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- Across the river bed, opposite Shibam.
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- The dry river bed.
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- Football on the dry river bed.
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- Football on the dry river bed.
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- Football on the dry river bed. Walled city in the background.
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- Across the river bed, opposite Shibam.
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- Exploring across the other side.
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- It’s not too tidy in some parts.
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- Goats roam the alleys of the town.
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- Playful kids.
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- Back on the dry river bed.
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- Football on the dry river bed.
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- Walled city of Shibam.
We taxied back to the beautiful Al Hawtah Hotel for dinner. It was a delicious meal of devilled chicken (like a spicy sweet and sour) and tuna kebabs. Finally, we taxied back to Seiyun to settle in for the night. I was happy; I have finally visited, Shibam, a place that is quite elusive to many travellers.
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- Scenery leaving Shibam.
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- At Al Hawtah Hotel.
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- At Al Hawtah Hotel.
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- At Al Hawtah Hotel.
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- At Al Hawtah Hotel.
People in Hadhramawt
People in Seiyun and the Hadhramawt are very different from those in Sana’a. They’re much bigger in build and are darker. Some have somewhat Indian features and perhaps African as well. [Edit: But not as African as the people in the south-west which I visited later in the trip.]
The area is the ancestral home for many Arabs in South-East Asia. Some of those that went to Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia have made it back wealthy but others have chosen to settle there and marry the locals. Some of their descendents in Malaysia and Singapore now identify themselves as Malays rather than Arabs or Hadhrami Arabs.