Bab Al Yemen

Well, we’re back! We flew to Sana’a Wednesday afternoon and immediately made our way to Old Sana’a (Bab Al Yemen – “The Gate of Yemen”) wherein we spent the majority of the weekend. This is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities on earth, there being some debate as to whether it’s older than Jerusalem. The streets of Bab Al Yemen form a vast and bustling market, divided regionally according to merchandise. The silver district is particularly beautiful, though Yemen’s present-day silversmiths can’t compare to those of past times. For hundreds of years the Jews were this country’s master artisans, but back in ’49 they all left in the middle of the night. The shops are filled with antiques – guns, swords, lamps, anything you can imagine- antique French rifles are going for $30-$40! It’s an intricate maze and we got turned around a time or two but found some great spots along the way. We also benefited from gaining a volunteer guide named Salim for a couple of hours. It all started when Sean ordered some food, and it kind of snowballed from there.

Yemenis (generally) are very friendly and eager to help you find whatever you’re looking for. After paying for our meal (Allah will reward him for his kindness) he showed us some great sights.



For example, this is a view from the roof of a gallery building, on the top floor of which we were able to buy a beautiful painting from the studio of a local artist. Last time we were in Sana’a Sean bought a Jambia (the ceremonial dagger worn by northern tribesmen - the color of the sheath often signifies which tribe you belong to; depending on their age and previous owners they can cost from $20 to $5,000 US), and this time he had a belt made for it. We also picked up a couple of gorgeous tablecloths, some frankincense, a set of tables from India and many other little treasures! The spice, raisin and date district (no puns please) was also a sight to see - I never knew there were so many types and colours of raisins, and to see spices in that quantity was quite amazing.

One of the highlights of the old city for me was bartering. I wish wehad this custom in Canada because it’s so much fun! In this male dominated society Sean usually takes the lead in our day-to-day transactions, but this was my time to shine. The shopkeepers usually increase prices by at least a third for foreigners, and sometimes even for Yemenis because bartering is expected. I was able to get the price down by that much every time, and even by half or more on occasion (Sean isn’t bad at it, but the vendors always know when he’s going to fold. Hee hee!).

We also found a Blockbuster (of sorts) which was opened by a guy who lived in America for a couple of years, and was apparently inspired. We weren’t surprised that our membership cards didn’t help us here;) It’s literally impossible to purchase legitimate electronic media in this country – CD’s, DVD’s, computer software – they just don’t exist in their original form, not even in the larger computer stores.

To sum up, we love long weekends, and Sana’a is a great place to spend them.

~Yemeni Cricket, the better half;)