Perhaps the most photographed structure in all of Yemen.
My pics …
Our van load of gymnasts and coaches made the trip on Friday, Dec. 21st.
OK … more than a van load. 🙂
Dar Al Hajar (Rock Palace)
Category: travel
Old City – Sana’a, Yemen
I visited the Old City three times while in Sana’a.
Haunting, evocative architecture.
The old fortified city has been inhabited for more than 2,500 years and contains many intact architectural gems. It was declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations in 1986. Efforts are underway to preserve some of the oldest buildings some of which, such as the Samsarh and the Great Mosque of Sana’a, are more than 1,400 years old.
Surrounded by ancient clay walls which stand 9–14 metres (30–46 ft) high, the old city contains more than 100 mosques, 12 hammams (baths) and 6,500 houses. Many of the houses resemble ancient skyscrapers, reaching several stories high and topped with flat roofs. They are decorated with elaborate friezes and intricately carved frames and stained-glass windows.
It’s an active neighborhood. No museum.
my Yemini wedding
Unexpectedly — between sessions at my week long Gymnastics Coaching Camp in Yemen — I was invited to a wedding.
We walked over to an unassuming building. Inside were at least two floors filled with hundreds of feasting guests.
Tradition is to eat as quickly as possible, with only the right hand.
From there we walked over to a massive wedding hall.
Guests arriving on time — hours early as everything starts LATE here — relaxed, chatted and chewed Khat.
Disgusting Khat:
Khat consumption induces mild euphoria and excitement, similar to that conferred by strong coffee. Individuals become very talkative under the influence of the plant. … Khat can induce manic behaviors and hyperactivity
Khat is so popular in Yemen that its cultivation consumes much of the country’s agricultural resources. It is estimated that 40% of the country’s water supply goes towards irrigating it …
An estimated 10 million people globally use khat on a daily basis …
… Not healthy.
It darkens teeth, but doesn’t destroy them like betel. Yemenis have bad teeth, but it’s a consequence of not going to dentists.
… Oh yes. You might have noticed that there is not one woman or girl anywhere to be seen. Yet there must be at least one woman secreted away somewhere.
🙂
Saudi shopping malls
In Japan in the early 1990s, my most vivid memory is entering a shopping Mall when they first open in the morning. You are formally greeted by dozens, or hundreds, of employees. 🙂
Visiting the Riyadh Gallery Mall was interesting, too.
During Prayer — 5 times a day — all shops must close. Every customer — mostly women — mingle in the common areas. Or go to the Mall Mosque.
It’s a good time for (discrete) people watching.
SUSAN TAYLOR MARTIN:
Saudi Arabia is a conservative Islamic country with no movie theaters, bars or discos. For that reason, Saudis tend to spend a lot of time hanging out at the mall. But for all their Western-style glitz, malls also reflect Saudi culture … sexes remain largely segregated. …
Shopping in Saudi Arabia offers a glimpse of the strict cultural codes that govern the entire society. Here, a Saudi woman passes mannequins in the Kindom Center in Riyadh that are legal because they have no heads. RIGHT: Because Saudi men and women are only permitted to work together in hospitals, all the sales people in Kingdom Center’s mixed floors are male foreign workers, such as this man helping two Saudi women who are shopping for a watch. …
Qatar National Day
… celebrated on December 18 every year. The holiday was established by a June 21, 2007 decree of the Emir and Heir Apparent Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.
December 18 is the day Qatar commemorates the founding of the state of Qatar on 18 December 1878. …
Rant A Car
Truth in advertising. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Doha Corniche
The Doha Corniche is a waterfront promenade extending for several kilometers along the Doha Bay in the capital city of Doha, the state of Qatar. …
… a popular location among walkers, bikers and joggers.
Many of Doha’s landmarks are found along the Corniche which begins near the Museum of Islamic Art …
Not so many years ago this was a small fishing port. Pearls were big business.
Sand Duning in Qatar
According to Toyota officials, Qatar is their biggest market for Land Cruiser in terms of market share. …
I’m not surprised. There were hundreds of Land Cruisers in the sand dunes near Sealine Beach Resort the day Enrico and I were there.
Here was our first of two flat tires, a blow out at high speed on the side of a steep sand dune.
Our driver handled it easily.
These were the only camels we saw. They prefer motor sports here.
Safety is low priority.
Folks love to make holiday camps in the desert, especially at night during hot months.
Click PLAY or watch a 2011 video of this adventure on YouTube.
Mormon Christmas – Salt Lake City
Before heading to the Middle East, I got in the season’s spirit during a brief stopover in Salt Lake City.
The Mormon Temple puts on a terrific light show.
Hospitality is excellent, too. They offer a free shuttle from the airport for travelers who have a few hours to spare in SLC.
Some of the photos are from the impressive downtown Gateway Mall.
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I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees. I don’t feel threatened. I don’t feel discriminated against. That’s what they are: Christmas trees. It doesn’t bother me a bit when people say, “Merry Christmas” to me. I don’t think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn’t bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a creche, it’s just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.
Rick McCharles 