Yemen Pictures
Travel Photos
A
gateway to private house in Sa'da, North Yemen.
Click on the image to enter the 16 page gallery of Yemen
Pictures
Yemen Travel
Safety:
In March 2009 four South Korean tourists were killed by a suicide bomber in Shibam, while nine tourists were abducted in summer 2009; some of their bodies have been found. We love the country but cannot recommend it for tourism at present.
For
up-to-date terrorist information please
check the excellent Foreign
Office [FO] world travel safety site [Yes, Americans too!].
North
Yemen is an almost perfect picture of medieval Arab life.
It has a long history, buildings are ancient, unique and spectacular,
the people are fierce but friendly, and social habits are curious.
But until a few years ago tourists were not allowed to travel
in this extraordinary country.
Buildings:
The most dramatic feature of Yemen today, especially in and around
the capital of Sana'a, is the buildings.
Sana'a, 2,300m above sea level, is considered to be architecturally
unique and has received $224m from UNESCO for its preservation.
Many houses are over 400 years old, and most are built in the
style of 1,000 years ago.
Five or six floor, brown mud and brick houses grow out of the
brown land, like huge square vegetables.
People
and Photos: Yemen people are as colourful as their homes.
Large, curved, silver daggers are the Yemen equivalent of the
western necktie, while Kalashnikov machine guns are carried with
the same frequency as cellphones in Tokyo, only with a deadlier
communicative purpose.
Since Yemen is a staunchly Islamic society the women dress in
black like negative ghosts and do not communicate at all. Trying
to take pictures of them is probably the most dangerous action
a traveller can do in this country.
The weapons the men carry are not just for show, but they generally
keep their gunplay away from foreigners and are the perfect hosts.
Inviting strangers into their homes for tea or sharing some narcotic
qat leaves with a curious traveller is not unusual.
Yemen
Information: Yemen
Guide | Yemen
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Yemen
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