troubled provinces
Needless to say a lot of preconceptions surround the Unknown Arabia. Yemen, only slightly off the axis of evil, is a country that “harbors terrorists”, full of religious fanatics carrying daggers and kalashnikovs and kidnapping foreigners. Check this forum we started on Adventure Cycling if you need more ideas (“Why don’t you go to Australia if you want to do desert biking?”).
We won’t try to reverse those here. You’ll find out for yourself, as soon as you set foot on Yemeni soil.You’ll find out for example that family ties and tribe colors (and good quality qat) are far more important to the average Yemeni than the Koran. You’ll find Yemenis to be refreshingly independent-spirited, approaching you as individuals rather than ambassadors of a certain government. Only once we felt distinctly unwelcome. Also, remember that Yemen is the closest you'll get to a democracy on the Arabian Peninsula.
Pre-modern aspects of Yemeni society (individuals carrying guns and daggers (and cellphones and watches), rigid separation of sexes, mountain tribes sustaining quasi-feudal societies) might scare some of you away, yet at the same time they keep crime and poverty rates very low. And chrystallize into the raw authentic beauty of Yemen’s landscapes, architecture, and wardrobe.
In any case, we were happy not to have our destination determined by the Department of State.
But what about those kidnappings?
Even though in theory a democracy, Yemen is a complicated patchwork of tribal interests. Compared to the powerful mountain tribe coalitions, the ‘Bedouin’ tribes of desert provinces Marib and Shabwah feel they’re not getting what they deserve from the current government. Hence they resort to kidnapping foreigners. The BBC reports that “more than 100 westerners have been kidnapped by Yemeni tribesmen in the last five years - while the country has been trying to develop itself as a tourist destination. Western hostages are valuable negotiating tools for tribes demanding improved infrastructure and social services, such as new roads, schools and electricity. The kidnap gangs are renowned for treating their captives like honoured guests, explaining that their argument is with their own government and not the hostage. Nearly all previous hostages had been well treated and released unharmed.”
The government's response to the unruly Bedouins makes it hard to plan an itinerary through Yemen in advance, in particular crossing over to the Hadramawt. We were unlucky to have arrived during an increase in hostage crises in the ‘troubled’ provinces of Marib and Shabwah, inspiring the tourist police not to grant us the permits to travel by bus (independently) through those provinces. The replacement Yemeni Dreams 4x4 service to and back from the Hadramawt ended up costing us 20 times more than the planned busride…
Above, images from the trip across the desert to the Hadramawt with Abdulalem's 4x4 - one long day of sandy horizons, passing twenty-odd army checkpoints, with a visit to the rather modest sun temple in Marib on the way. We enter the slowly converging canyon of Wadi Hadramawt backed with a dramatic evening light (far right). Later that night, in Tarim, Adbulalem drops us off at hotel Kenya, recovers our suitcases, and... returns to Sana'a! Qat is definitely a stimulant...
Above, the checkpoint just out of Burum, close to the Shabwah border, the not so glamorous endpoint of our bike trip, from where we are escorted first to Bir Ali (left below), and later to Sana'a (right below).
Political games between the national authorities and the tribes make independent travel in eastern Yemen complicated, but so does… the famous Arabian hospitality.
In Shibam we were welcomed by a hotel manager who said he had been expecting us, even though we hadn't made a reservation. This made us realize for the first time that unaccompanied travelers in the Hadramawt are under a constant watchful eye of the police, assisted by well-meaning hotel managers and other upright citizens. Not that there's a lot of secrecy surrounding the Yemeni big brother - this form of control, to us Westerners often felt as obnoxious, is seen as a service to the lone traveler, as a part of the hospitality package.
Yemenis just don’t seem to be able to bend their minds around the idea of two complete strangers wanting to discover a country all by themselves. "Why are you traveling alone? I'll send my cousin with you!". However frustrating at times and an adventure in itself to escape, it's fairly innocent...
We won’t try to reverse those here. You’ll find out for yourself, as soon as you set foot on Yemeni soil.You’ll find out for example that family ties and tribe colors (and good quality qat) are far more important to the average Yemeni than the Koran. You’ll find Yemenis to be refreshingly independent-spirited, approaching you as individuals rather than ambassadors of a certain government. Only once we felt distinctly unwelcome. Also, remember that Yemen is the closest you'll get to a democracy on the Arabian Peninsula.
Pre-modern aspects of Yemeni society (individuals carrying guns and daggers (and cellphones and watches), rigid separation of sexes, mountain tribes sustaining quasi-feudal societies) might scare some of you away, yet at the same time they keep crime and poverty rates very low. And chrystallize into the raw authentic beauty of Yemen’s landscapes, architecture, and wardrobe.
In any case, we were happy not to have our destination determined by the Department of State.
But what about those kidnappings?
Even though in theory a democracy, Yemen is a complicated patchwork of tribal interests. Compared to the powerful mountain tribe coalitions, the ‘Bedouin’ tribes of desert provinces Marib and Shabwah feel they’re not getting what they deserve from the current government. Hence they resort to kidnapping foreigners. The BBC reports that “more than 100 westerners have been kidnapped by Yemeni tribesmen in the last five years - while the country has been trying to develop itself as a tourist destination. Western hostages are valuable negotiating tools for tribes demanding improved infrastructure and social services, such as new roads, schools and electricity. The kidnap gangs are renowned for treating their captives like honoured guests, explaining that their argument is with their own government and not the hostage. Nearly all previous hostages had been well treated and released unharmed.”
The government's response to the unruly Bedouins makes it hard to plan an itinerary through Yemen in advance, in particular crossing over to the Hadramawt. We were unlucky to have arrived during an increase in hostage crises in the ‘troubled’ provinces of Marib and Shabwah, inspiring the tourist police not to grant us the permits to travel by bus (independently) through those provinces. The replacement Yemeni Dreams 4x4 service to and back from the Hadramawt ended up costing us 20 times more than the planned busride…
Above, images from the trip across the desert to the Hadramawt with Abdulalem's 4x4 - one long day of sandy horizons, passing twenty-odd army checkpoints, with a visit to the rather modest sun temple in Marib on the way. We enter the slowly converging canyon of Wadi Hadramawt backed with a dramatic evening light (far right). Later that night, in Tarim, Adbulalem drops us off at hotel Kenya, recovers our suitcases, and... returns to Sana'a! Qat is definitely a stimulant...
Above, the checkpoint just out of Burum, close to the Shabwah border, the not so glamorous endpoint of our bike trip, from where we are escorted first to Bir Ali (left below), and later to Sana'a (right below).
Political games between the national authorities and the tribes make independent travel in eastern Yemen complicated, but so does… the famous Arabian hospitality.
In Shibam we were welcomed by a hotel manager who said he had been expecting us, even though we hadn't made a reservation. This made us realize for the first time that unaccompanied travelers in the Hadramawt are under a constant watchful eye of the police, assisted by well-meaning hotel managers and other upright citizens. Not that there's a lot of secrecy surrounding the Yemeni big brother - this form of control, to us Westerners often felt as obnoxious, is seen as a service to the lone traveler, as a part of the hospitality package.
Yemenis just don’t seem to be able to bend their minds around the idea of two complete strangers wanting to discover a country all by themselves. "Why are you traveling alone? I'll send my cousin with you!". However frustrating at times and an adventure in itself to escape, it's fairly innocent...
posted by Jan at 11:15 AM
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