Biblical wonderland............ .......... (San'a)

Member Name: strangepower

Product:	San'a
Date:	06/03/01 (61 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Qat and the people

Disadvantages: Food can not be to everyone's taste

"If people knew how much God blesses travellers, people would travel all the time". This adage written by Mohammed about 1400 years ago, rung particularly true during my soporific afternoons spent chewing qat in the ancient capital of Yemen. If I had heeded the words of the foreign office rather than the prophet, I might not have experienced the late afternoon sun shining through the colourful takhrim windows, creating kaleidoscopic swirls on the plaster walls. I might also have missed the view across the biblical architecture of the old city, the daily calls to prayer, the appley smell of tobacco burning in hookahs, the Sananites whose frowns and curved jambiyas (daggers) belie their gentle and unconditional hospitality.

Sana'a, if one is to believe history, is one of the oldest settlements on earth. It is said that the city was found by one of Noah's sons. In the 1960?s, its planetary significance was recognised and it was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This attracted much needed funds to preserve the Old City (or medina) whose narrow streets and souqs (markets) hark back to a day long forgotten in the western world.

Mornings can be spent walking around the colourful souqs, or wandering serendipitously around the city. Children occasionally latch on to you shouting "sura, sura" which means photo; they are more than happy to pose, which is great because their perfectly photogenic faces combined with the architectural backdrop, means that every photo is a potential award winner. In the afternoon, the streets quieten down. The reason for this is the leaf known as qat. It is the number one Yemeni pastime, more popular than their favourite son - Prince Naseem. The world is divided on qat. The US has banned it, the UK hasn't. The horn of Africa and Yemen think it is the flower of paradise, Saudi Arabia thinks it is the leaf of Satan. This author's opinion is that you've got to have a chew if you are in Yeme
n. Its effects are subtle and difficult to describe. But once you get hang of it, you will feel as though you have really made a great discovery. It is sociable and non-addictive, concentrating the mind and sharpening the senses. It is the perfect compliment to this biblical wonderland.

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