“Yemen! What the heck are you thinking? Have you not heard about how many people get kidnapped in Yemen? Naz, you’ve got two kids! This time your level of selfishness has reached new levels that, to be quite honest, I’m not comfortable with.”
My brother, for the first time in my life, was really and truly upset at me for apparently putting myself in harm’s way.
Two years ago when I told him I was going to Kayak around the Musundam in four weeks having never kayaked before he didn’t blink.
Last year when I boxed in the White Collar boxing event with just nine weeks fight experience he thought it was a challenge worth taking.
When later in the same year I said I was kayaking again, but this time in the potentially shark infested waters of Northern Madagascar he said “bring me back a tooth or summit”.
This time however he thought I’d crossed the line. “Why on earth would you want to go to Yemen?” he asked.
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To me it was obvious. A country with such history. A country with a people that were integral in the development of the Arab race thousands of years ago. A place that was the home of the Queen of Sheba as well as the place in which Noah apparently built his ark, surely had more to offer a tourist than the risk of being kidnapped!
As always I ignored all advice and booked my Air Arabia flight to Sana’a and my return on Al Jazeera back to Dubai.
I was to fly on Friday early morning and return on Sunday evening for a remarkable price of AED 650!
I then scoured the internet and found a hotel in Sana’a that had 12 trip advisor reviews all of which were 5/5 and when I contacted them I was told that it would cost me US $20 per night.
I almost didn’t book it. How on earth could a hotel room be a mere $20 a night? The trip advisor reviews persuaded me and I went ahead.
From the moment I landed I knew it was going to be fun. Sana’a airport was probably sparkling and new in the mid seventies, but hasn’t been touched since.
However, even its bareness and chintzy advertising excited me. The returning locals shouting at the immigration officers to hurry up could only happen in a country whose people were truly comfortable with their security.
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May 20, 2009 , United Arab Emirates
I liked your article about Yemen and the unforgetable experience which I am sure it was! I would have loved to see some pictures as well (so to speak). Thanks for the positive and encouraging words about Yemen and wish you more enjoyable trips to the "Felix Of Arabia" rgds