a journey through yemen land

8/14/2019 A Journey Through Yemen Land

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YEMENS LAND OF FORTRESS-VILLAGESby/ Habeeb Salloum

Now we will be travelling in the real Yemen. Our driver, Ahmad, was ecstatic when I informed him

that we would be travelling from Hodeidah through the Haraz mountains to Sana`a, the countrys

capital - 256 km (159 MI) away. After a day in the hot Yemeni Tihama coastline, Ahmad was eager for

the cool mountain air. However, I did not blame him. I too was anxious to leave the hot humid coast

behind.


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We made our way from steaming

Hodeidah, Yemens main Red Sea port,

through an arid land, almost invisible

due to the blowing sands. The heat

playing on the road before us caused

mirages to form, then disappear. A

short distance after Bajil, about 50 km

(31 mi) from Hodeidah, we entered the

mountains and - after the heat truly

another world. The rough paved road

wound its way, hugging the edge of a

cultivated valley until we were atop the

Haraz Mountains, farmed, in places, up

to their very summit.

The whole area through which we

were driving was an excellent example

of Yemeni terraced agriculture. At

times, these mountain fields of barley,

bean, lentil, millet, rye and wheat were

so impressive that we stood in awe

of the handiwork of generation after

generation of Yemeni farmers. When we

thought that we had seen the ultimate

in mountain cultivation, around a bend

in the road, an even more majestic scene

would greet us.

Yet, more impressive than the fields

were the villages, clinging like eagles

nests to sides of cliffs or towering

peaks.

Many appeared to be in the most

incredible and dangerous positions.

Their abodes were all built in a form

of fortified housing, with the wallsof the homes pressed against each

other, making each village a bastion. It

seemed that every mountain peak had

its citadel. Built from local stone, they

blended completely into the landscape.

It was often difficult to determine

when rocks ended and the tall houses

of the towns began. Their impressive

architecture atop unconquerable peaks,

overlooking the green terraced fields,

was a panorama of unique beauty.

As we wound our way across thefantastic landscape on a highway built by

the Chinese in the late 1950s and early

1960s we were entertained by Ahmad

telling us a story about this spectacular

achievement of engineering. He related

how the Chinese, after building the

first paved road in Yemen, felt they had

miscalculated the cost. When they asked

the then medieval-minded ruler, Ima

Ahmad for more money, he is reporte

to have said, Roll up your road and ta

it back with you, playing on the wordof an Arab saying for unwanted guest

Roll up your bed and depart.

About two hours after leavin

Hodeidah, we turned off the ma

road and drove for a few minutes

Manakhah, built in the saddle of th

Haraz Mountains. Here, the hot steam

Tihama was forgotten as we breathe


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the cool invigorating mountain air -

2,200 m (7,216 ft) above sea level.

Getting out of our auto, I looked

around at what is said to be the most

splendid scenery in the Yemen. This

was emphasized by the partially cloud

covered surrounding mountain range

which is the chief coffee growing

region in the country. Floating over

the picturesque villages and hugging

the slopes and pinnacles, the clouds

created a picture postcard of beauty.

Manakhah, the capital of the province

of Haraz, is located in the heart of a

spectacular massif - an Ismaili region

in the Yemen. The Ismailis were

introduced to the Haraz mountains

by the rulers of the Sulayids Dynasty,

famous for Queen Arwa who became

known as the second Sheba. In the

subsequent years, the members of

this Islamic sect which is considered

heretic by the majority of Muslims

had to fight for their lives. Hence,they built their unassailable villages

and farmed the mountain tops.

The some 5,000 Ismailis who now

live in Yemen, mostly in the Haraz

Mountains, centre their faith around

the village of Al Houdaib, 6 km (4 mi)

from Manakhah. It houses the tomb

of the revered Hatem ibn Ibrahim al-

Hamadani and is an important place

of pilgrimage for Ismailis from thefour corners of the world. Fiercely

independent, Yemens Ismailis have,

in their fortified villages, preserved

their religion and way of life against

all odds. Travellers have suggested

that nowhere else in the Yemen can

the haughty spirit of mountains and

mountaineers be felt so intensely as


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in the Manakhah region.

Back on the edge of the highway,

we dined in a peoples restaurant for

about $2. each on Salta, the main

Yemeni dish, and fresh baked bread.

Following this hearty meal, as is usual

in the country, it was now time for

qat - leaves of a non-addictive plant

which are chewed for leisure by the

vast majority of Yemenis. Ahmad had

bought his supply in Manakhah and

as he drove, he chewed on the bitterleaves. When I suggested that qat was

the evil of the Yemen, he said that

others had thought like me, quoting a

Yemeni poet who wrote:

Qat is only green grass in the

field,

Humans do not have for it a

need.

Leave them! They want to be

cows.

He chewed leisurely on as the road,

filled with trucks carrying the goods of

the world from Hodeidah to Sana`a,

wound their way through the now

barren hills. Soon we were ascending

again on a newly paved section of

the highway. At the Haima Pass, we

stopped to survey a breathtaking

scene below. The intensely cultivatedterraces climbed the mountain sides

as far as the eye could see. Even

more than around Manakhah, it was

a bewitching vista of Yemeni terrace

cultivation at its best.

A short distance onward, we were

at the village of Matna where to our

left we were overshadowed by the

3,760 m (12, 336 ft) high Mount Nabi

Shucayb, the highest mountain in the

whole of the Middle East. From here,

we left the high peaks behind and in

half an hour were in Sana`a, located in

the centre of the Yemeni mountains,

2,200 m (7,216 ft) above sea level.

Here, we were in another world - in

a city of beautiful architecture. The

ancient towering extraordinary homes

of the old city and the splendid new

villas of the wealthy, incorporatingmany features of the old, had replaced

Spartan fortified villages. Driving in

the cool dry air amid these marvellous

creations of man, Ahmad smiled, then

turned to me, Is this not better than

Tihamaa heat and blowing sand? I

nodded my head. There was no

comparison.

a journey through yemen land

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