Explorer Mikael Strandberg

“Taxi, Taxi, taxi, we have to help this guy!”

Hussein - the perfect sanaani!

The old man shouting was, as always, Hussein, my landlord in Old Sanaa, where I am renting an apartment so I can work in peace, feel the atmosphere of the old town plus invite people to my mafrag. I take the expedition and Yemen seriously and to be able to show people how much I love Yemen, I want to offer them the same hospitality. So, with the help of my friend Kyle, I ended up renting this three roomed apartment. And got two good new friends, Hussein and Mohammed. Hussein is, if I am to believe other friends, a typical sanaani, a Yemeni from the Old Town of Sanaa. Warm, generous (every day one gets invited to break iftar and eat with him), always shouting and doing pretty much everything needed just by sticking his head out of the door and shouting for assistance. People always turn up. The mobile still have a distance to go before it is accepted here. I asked him yesterday if he got unnerved by all fighter planes continously leaving and returning to Sanaa over our heads and his answer was typical:

Every step in the souk is amazingly exiting...this must be the most exiting place on earth!

“We can´t worry all the time, what good does that do? We just have to leave it to the government to sort things out.”

Hussein has tried to get me to go to the Turkish bath (hammam) with him many times, but I just haven´t had the time, but two days ago I joined him for a tour of the great souk and ended up at his sons story selling the traditional belts and jambiyyas. The making of the local and traditional jambiyyas has been in his family for generations and suddenly I realised they were making me a belt and a jambiyya. And before I could think, one hour later I was dressed up as a local sanaani!

Me trying on a thub....

Walking through the souk dressed as a local sanaani drew attention, but I liked it! And most of all, out of nowhere people would show up and without me asking for it, correct details in my dress or the position of my knife! I did realise that locals actually felt honoured by me dressing like them, which surprised me, since I have found out through many years of travelling, to 113 countries, that most of the time, local people think it looks ridiculous when foreigners go native. But not in Yemen! A country different in many ways. Like for example, if I am not in my flat the same time every day, Hussein calls me to see if everything is ok and I am getting to know pretty much everything in Husseins neighbourhood. The baker of kuddams for example. the young bakers care as much as Hussein and tells me they have worried when I don´t show up in time. Not that anything would happen in Sanaa, I feel safer here than any other place on earth.

Me together with friends in the souk.....

And Hussein seems to know everybody. Another thing I have noticed in Sanaa is that everybody knows everybody, like in a village, and if you need to meet somebody of importance, Hussein will fix it! So today he has arranged for me to meet the sheikh of sheiks! Don´t miss the next report from Sanaa!

I get many emails from people regarding the situation and war planes are still going back and fort to Sadaa.

My friend the kuddam baker.....

”Ramadan is the best time of the year!” said my teacher Rashad with passion and continued: “It is a time when you get closer to God, when you think about who you are, feel compassion with others and show your most generous side. And it is a time of big commercialism. The streets will be full of people in the middle of the night! You can buy absolutely anything!”

Working the belts.....

The opinions of the goodness of Ramadan is views of contradictions. Amongst the ex-pat (foreign Western workers) community in Sanaa, not a very big one, Ramadan is a time of complications when the country stands still and nothing happens. Even though it is officially said that people do work between 10-15, it is also said that nothing seems to happen. But, personally, I really look forward to the Ramadan, even though I am not a Muslim. It is no doubt a time of festivity and joy. But not all Muslims are happy regarding all the tough restrictions on normal life, which the rules of Ramadan sets.
“These people are savages!” whispered an Iraqi to me yesterday, when he like me, was fighting my way to reach the overwhelmingly packed cheese and lebne counter at the slightly upper-class Hodda Super Market yesterday an hour before iftar, the break of the fast, “These people are almost talibans in their religious strictness. I got smacked in the face this morning when I tried to smoke. I miss Iraq under Saddam Hussein so much. You could do anything under him as long as you didn´t interfere with his life. This country would need a strong man like Saddam Hussein! He would sort out these religious bastards.”

Sellling belts......

For you readers who might not know, Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam, where you, if you are a good and devout Muslim, fast from the sunset to the sunrise. At that means strictly no smoking, no drinking of water or other liquids, no love making, no food and no kat chewing. It is a fast who is supposed to make the believer understand and appreciate the harshness of life. Like being a Bedouin in the desert. Which is the origin of the Arab itself. So, Ramadan applied on modern life, it has its consequences. For me personally, what I have seen so far ( I am not fasting, that would be very dangerous with my blood sugar….anyway, I am totally against the concept of fasting anyway, it just does damage to the body unnecessarily) it has meant that the Internet here is irregular and almost impossible to use, which makes me extremely upset and I see that as a sign of a shitty government. Sorry lost my temper there a bit……on top of that, the day has moved forward 6 hours, so late breakfast and late dinner, which suits me perfectly. However, the gym is closed until 20.00 hours, and that is complicating things a bit. And, of course, I don´t drink or eat in public. It all takes a bit more planning, that´s all. And then, just enjoy this great month of Ramadan! Yesterday, I just walked the jambiyya souk (knife market) just after midnight in pouring rain and it was one of the highlights of my visit! It was like walking through a pre-medieval setting, 1000 of years back in time, everyone was getting ready for the big influx of buyers and electricity went on and off, and I tell you one thing, if I would walk all of the 40 or so souks which makes up the Old Souk of Sanaa, through all the winding and narrow alleys, it would take me years. I stopped and talked to one of the best known jambiyya and belt sales people, Abdullah Karim, and I sat with him an hour, listening to his stories and differences in quality regarding knives and belts of Sanaa.

Souk without electricty.....medieval!

“I do 90% of my sales in a year during Ramadan” , he told me with gusto, “This is one the rich people come and buy, but really, this is when everyone buys belts and knives.”
He showed me the cheap belts and knives, and than he opened a hidden door behind himself, whilst chewing an enormous load of kat, where he had his exclusives, knives for thousands of dollars and belts made with gold thread of the highest quality.
“I travel to China, Russia and India every year, when there´s no work. Which is the case 6 months of the year, when we basically only chew kat and wait for the prosperous times like the Ramadan.”
Ramadan Karim!

More stories from this great month to come!

See the pilot from the upcoming Expedition!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3GI-YeZP5E]

The seven o´clock muezzin just took tone and the prayers from the holy Koran spreads across the darkness which dominates the old city of Sanaa…it is the day before Sunday (Friday here) and I wouldn´t like to be in any other place at the moment….

The traditional jambiyya knife, can like the one you see on the photo be hundreds of yeras old and have a handle from the black rhinoceros.

On the other hand, some professional opinion makers think that Yemen is on the brink of war. That Yemen could turn into a new global tragedy like Somalia, a country dominated by violence between armed fractions belonging to different tribes and where a solution right now seems almost impossible. And there´s no doubt that the situation is dire. The local newspapers,Yemen Post, Yemen Observer and Yemen Times are full of bad news regarding the conflicts within the country and when you read the editorials, yes, it can well be said to be a slightly unstable and dangerous country. A country where kidnapping seems to be a national sport. According to the Yemen Observer there’s been more than 200 separate kidnapping incidents the last 15 years.

But if you, like me, an independent visitor walk the streets of the capital Sanaa, it is almost impossible to believe that the country is considered by many as one of the most dangerous countries in the world. If that means the traffic, yes, I would definitely agree, but just cruising the streets, it is hard to believe. I know that the conflict is in other areas of the country, but still, I see very few armed people….well, most Yemeni men in traditional dress wear the fearful jambiyya, but they feel just symbolic….and the people are so friendly and relaxed that it seems impossible. War planes pass my head a few times a day, just to remind me that there´s a conflict and people, everyone you meet, talks about the situation, but it is hard to spot with the bare eye. If you for example pass a government office or building, it is guarded, but the guards seem to spend more time chewing kat, than to be observant. They sleuth and chew and greet you with a big smile.

The souk of the Old City of Sanaa during another power break...

Nonetheless, I have before passed through areas on conflict in Baluchistan just below the Afghani border and Central America, well, I remember Nicaragua very well which I passed on a bicycle early 1987. At that time the country weren´t on the brink of war, they were fighting mercilessly from both sides, the Sandinistas against the contras. It was, I thought at that time, an exiting place to be. It was full of personalities in the shape of aid workers, nuns, mercenaries, travellers, adventurers, Russian and American soldiers and spooks and even though the military presence and the amount of security police was heavy, I managed to cycle across the country and loved that atmosphere that existed. That time I was too young to see all the overwhelmingly negative aspects of war, as violence, terror, evilness and suffering people. But I have a strong memory that local people were great but terrified.

A kat chewer taking life easy in the belt souk of the old city of Sanaa

Another two hour electricity break there…this does remind me of a war torn  Nicaragua. Really what I want to say about the situation is that I wouldn´t like to be in another place right now and I can honestly say I feel safer here than any other country I have visited. Including my native Sweden. And as everything else in life, life in Yemen presented through Western media, well in this case, global media, whom I know well, and reality is often very different. I have looked closer at these kidnappings that has happened to foreigners and if you look at it clearly, there´s only two kidnappings which has gone wrong. All other ones, the hostages have been released and spoken well about their captivators. The first time it was wrong, according to Yemen Observer, was in the south of Yemen 1999, where three Western tourists were killed in a shoot-out between kidnappers and government troops. The second time was just this past June, when two German nurses and a South-Korean teacher were found dead and six hostages are still not found. There´s a belief among many observers here that the culprits come from another country and belong to the infamous haters called al-Qaeda. It, if you look at history and have come across the Yemenis, it makes sense. For me.

And yes, there are areas which should be avoided, but some of the major tourist areas like The Old City of Sanaa and Hadramawt Wadi, Suqutra and the Haraz Mountains are still accessible.

So, I would definitely say to people who travel, Sanaa and Yemen is a paradise and has to be seen. Especially this amazing souk which has to be the most interesting place on earth. I will write more about this global giant soon!

Please visit my other blog for info about life before the old souk of Sanaa at http://preparingforthenextexpedition.blogspot.com/

“Hal andarah salta?” I asked the owner, Ahmed, and he nodded and said something like: “Mumtaz salta!”

I met these gentlemen on my way to the Matam....

So I just walked into a hole in a wall, sat down at the back of the room, next to a big poster of the president Ali Abdullah Saleh who was gazing kindly down at the hungry lot of Sunday eaters. The restaurant was kind of closing up, it was midday Friday and the big prayer day for all our globes Moslem’s. Traditionally dressed Yemenis hurried past the restaurant, bags of kat in their hands and the jambiyya polished and tucked down in the belt and the muezzins were already calling. A couple of beggars passed by, the owner gave one of them a cup of chai, (tea) a coupe of flat breads and sent him on his way. This particular beggar sleeps just outside the school and I give him an orange on and off and some change. It makes me feel good and he looks happier. For a moment. And that is enough for me. Because the fact is that people who have been hit by the shit of life, knows what a difference the merest of gifts can do for one´s happiness and attitude. Friday is of course the big giving-day for the Muslim world and that means that there are a lot of unfortunate people walking around the winding streets of Old Sanaa.

Salta - the national dish of Yemen

My salta was delivered steaming hot together with flat bread and some spices and it took me a good ten minutes before I could tuck into this great meal. The salta initially looked, for me, like a meal of left overs, but in reality, this national dish of Yemen, consist of meat broth, eggs, ground meat, onions, tomatoes and something called a hilba, which all of you know is a mixture of fenugreek and grated leeks. A very filling and tasty meal, eaten of course with the right hand.

Inside the restaurant looking out on the busy, narrow 26th of September

This was the first time since I arrived to Yemen that I was out cruising Sanaa by myself and even though I really love the company of my good friends here, Lise, Pamela, Tobias and Bob, I have always pretty much been by myself during my twenty three years of exploration. And I love it! And it is dead easy in Yemen! The difference is that it gives you ample time to observe and understand things better. You see and notice all the details you otherwise always loose and it is, of course, much better of you want to practice the Arabic words hopefully picked up during the lessons. And for the first I really enjoyed the combination of the strong calls from the muezzins all around my neighbor at the Tahrir Square, the cramped restaurant, the gazing and smiles from all passer by´s, gee, there´s so many characters here and the feeling of satisfaction I have is enormous regarding me having such an opportunity to be able to experience Sanaa´s old City at this time of my life.

I feel very priviliged indeed!

Please visit my main blog to read about all the preparations for the biggest of Expeditions!

Matam owner and salta expert -Ahmed

“Most students learn the Arabic alphabet in three days!” our teacher told us sharply this morning, “You have to do your home work better!”

We three students in the beginners group looked down on the floor with shame and felt stupid.  One was Ignacio from Spain, a mathematics professor, another, Greg, a Scot studying commercial law and then me, an author of 7 books, which could be considered as slightly intellectual. And I am by far the slowest of us all. Learning Arabic at 47 isn´t easy, but fun! We all study four hours a day, very intensive, good teachers, and on top of that we spend, or should, at least 3-4 hours a day on homework.

The house and school where I live....

However, we´re all in Yemen to experience this unique culture, which in many ways is like passing through the books of A Thousand and A Night, and therefore there has to be ample time to enjoy, appreciate  and understand this fabulous atmosphere!

I have to say, once again, I wasn´t prepared for this! That is what I love with my choice of life, you never know what to expect around the next corner….Take Sanaa for example…In one way it is like kind of living in a positive medieval setting, dominated by the Old City of Sanaa, where, whilst wandering amongst the winding alleys towered by mud skyscrapers looking like a Ginger Cake City, you feel like being part of the time Sanaa was created by one of Noah’s son, Shem, and a bird. Most of the people, like the men, are either dressed in traditional Yemeni clothes, a skirt topped with the big dagger -jambiya- tucked down in the belt or like the women, almost totally covered by a black dress -baltu- where you´ll be lucky to spot their eyes. Every hole in the mud walls are dominated by an almost amazing amount of laid back and kind vendors selling everything from myrrh and frankincense to digital HD-cameras. the hours just run away and you forget your Arabic homework…

Hadda Street Sanaa

On the other hand, it is the worst of a chaotic third world city, around 1.7 million inhabitants, with heavy pollution, uncontrolled traffic, a continuous blaring of horns, people yelling, cats fighting and an unnumbered amount of muezzins calling at least 5 times a day, garbage in every street corner and far too many poor people begging for help. I try to walk an hour per day until the local gym at the Officers Club open another 5 days, but pollution is so bad I am covered with dirt, throat thick, problems of breath and chest heavy, heavy…but what to do?

All these things considered, well, it knocked me out completely for the first week, with a sore throat, joint pains, fever and a unrelenting gut rot….as it always is, it seems for me, when I fall in love with a place….

I just have to get back to the new nouns picked up today. In shallah, the will stick this time and make the teacher happy! By the way, there´s a lot of reports written at http://preparingforthenextexpedition.blogspot.com/

On top of that, reading the local media is interesting, provocative and my favorite right now is this fella, but beware, he is very anti-Israeli, which I don´t agree with at all, of course, seeing the issue from both sides, but entertaining and informative:

Hassan Al-Haifi

I will talk more about media in the next report.