Beautiful doors I saw in Yemen!

There are doors….and then there are doors! Some interesting doors that I saw as I travelled in Yemen.

This was one of the side door that I saw in Queen Arwa mosque, Jibla.

As I walked around Jibla village, this blue door caught my eye. It seemed quite old.

This was in Zabid….as I walked around the village….albeit a new door. A steel door but the design & the colours are fascinating!

Another steel door with beautiful colours in Zabid village.

The door of an old cinema house in Zabid, opposite to the house where the Italian film director Pier Paolo Pasolini used to live when he was shooting for his film in Yemen.

This is the door which leads to the sitting room of the house where Pier Paolo Pasolini (5th Mar 1992 - 2nd Nov 1975), the Italian Director lived during his days in Yemen while shooting for his film "Il fiore delle Mille e una Notte" (A Thousand and One Nights). He referred to Yemen as the most beautiful cities in the world and his pleas to UNESCO were instrumental in getting Zabid recognised as a World Heritage Site.

This was a door that I saw in Al Hajjarah village. It was built by the Turkish. Notice the star (6 points) just above the door.

Chewing Qat - Yeminis' national past time!

I had never heard of Qat till I landed in Yemen! All Yemeni men seem to be talking of Qat and preoccupied with getting a good quality bag of Qat leaves as post lunch they would indulge in chewing these leaves...putting in one side of the cheeks till the cheeks are bulging like a small ball!

Qat is a plant grown all over Yemen. Sometimes it is spelt as Kat or Khat. It seems the coffee plants which were being grown in some areas are now slowly being replaced by the Qat plants as they can harvest it many times unlike coffee. The fresh leaves when chewed makes one excited/ energetic as well as euphoric. It is described as lil stronger than drinking pots of strong coffee!

You will see markets for Qat only and one can be rest assured that this is a very busy market. It's serious business time here. The sellers will call out saying that they have very good Qat at a very good price. They will try to get your attention even if they have to push one another as you can see from the picture below!

The Yeminis will haggle and negotiate the price for their daily bag of Qat leaves. They will scout around for the best they can afford. Different quality has different prices.

After getting their bags of Qat for the day, they will wash the leaves, drain the water to let it dry while they wait for the lunch to arrive! (Though I have seen some chewing straight off from the market!)

My Driver offering me Qat as we drive along the Yemini countryside.

Did I try chewing Qat? Of course I sure did! See me in the photo below....chewing...nay eating! I say eating as I was not storing away in my cheek as I'm supposed to but in my stomach! I just chewed and swallowed it! The leaves are a lil strong but as one chews one gets used to the taste! One could easily get into the habit of chewing Qat!

In Jibla I even saw an old man pounding Qat leaves with a pestle.....preparing his Qat intake as he had no teeth to chew!

Did I like chewing Qat? Well, it was not bad. Fresh tender leaves with a distinct taste which grows on you....as you chew! I only chewed few hence didn't feel anything happening to my mood! For some effect to take place you would need to chew for hours storing away in one side of your cheek. 

Will I chew Qat again? Probably yes! In Yemen everyone does....it's a social activity. There's Qat sittings everywhere and to be one amongst them....I think I can chew some leaves! :)

Wandering in Hadibo

My last day at the island, after breakfast we head towards Hadibo (the capital).....see the local market...perhaps do some shopping for souvenirs before Abdullah takes me back to the Airport to catch my flight back home.

One evening Abdullah even takes me to a pre-wedding ceremony of a bride to be. I was so touched by all the warm welcome that I got from the ladies. Yes, it was women only. Abdullah dropped me at the door!

In all my wandering here in Yemen....I have hardly come across any women outside. It was the same in Hadibo town. However I did not feel any evil eye on me!

I went to a small shop selling head scarves amongst other things. In arabic, head scarves are called Shemagh or Ghutra or Kufiya depending which Gulf country. I chose 2....one typical Omani design and the other Arabic, black & white houndstooth pattern.....but Abdullah wouldn't allow me to pay for it. He did. Said it was a gift! How generous of him. I am so truly touched by the generosity I see all around here.

Men everywhere.......but they were so friendly!

A Socotran making bread (Kuboos)

Some colourful trunks

Lunch time!

A goat polishing off some crumbs on the table.

Fishermen's Village, Qalansiyah

Qalansiyah is a lil fisherman's village.  We went a boat ride out on the sea towards Shoab and see if we can catch sight of some dolphins!

The boat guy (behind Abdullah) who did not hesitate even for a minute before jumping into the sea to try recover my sun glasses which fell into the sea!

The old man and his family welcomed us with some "sulaimani chai". 

The old man and his family's house. Am touched by his hospitality.

The outside toilet

The sun was setting.....we were leaving....the old man doing the evening namaz (prayers).

Lunch...picnic style...by the sea. We joined other travellers/visitors to the island.

Taking in the view of the beach....from the top.

Abdullah even let me drive his SUV! 

Abdullah next took me to see the salt pits of Socotra. This is the 2nd time I am seeing these. My first was in mainland Yemen. It's still a beautiful sight.

Another shot of these beautiful Desert Rose!

Another day in Socotra!

The next day after breakfast, we head to Dixam plateau which is famous for the Dragon's Blood Trees. Then to the beautiful Aomak Beach. This is a beautiful stretch of white sand!

The beautiful stretch of road around the island! No traffic to worry of!

Dixam Plateau

                             

A stream I can see from the plateau.

Up close Dragon's Blood Tree....you can see the dark red resin where a cut was made.

Abdullah showing me red resin

For lunch we were asked to join a visiting Emirati (friend of the owner of the Deilisha Eco Lodge) in the cave. The cave I found was an ideal place to park your car yourself and enjoy the view from this height. This has been such a wonderful experience!

The cave up in the mountain

Inside the cave

One of the guys....setting up for lunch.

After lunch we head to Aomak Beach. The blue blue sea and the white sand..... matched by the blue blue sky with the white clouds.

It's such a lovely sight to see the Deserts Roses here on the rocky mountains. You see the thick brown trunks and then on top, you spy these tiny pink flowers!

Sunset on the island....end of another wonderful day!