Explorer Mikael Strandberg

Life at the souk just outside my flat in Old Sanaa at 3.30 a.m....

A few hours ago I woke when the muezzin called for another day of fasting, accompanied by warplanes heading for the Saada Province and realizing that the Yemeni government under Abdullah Ali Saleh was stepping up their attempt to stamp out the Al Houthi-rebellion in the north. At least 10 of them passed over the legendary Old City of Saana, the city which according to legend was placed here by Sem. After that experience, it is always frightening to hear the sounds of war just outside your own comfort zone, I couldn´t sleep even though I went to bed at 4 a.m, so I read an article about the 100 Yemenis (50% of all) detainees still locked up at Guatanamo Bay accused of terrorism. The rain was pounding down hard on the streets below and I remembered what my new friend A said just a few hours earlier:

A road most of the time, until heavy rains hit the city.......

“I think this is vital for the future of the country” , he said whilst sipping at the hubble-bubble (the water pipe which is called shisha here in Yemen) , “If we can´t destroy them now, in this the 6th war against the Houthis, we will not get any further and the country will probably fall apart. But I think this time we will win.”

A is one of the Yemen’s young brains and the future brain trust, a great fellow, who have been called back from abroad to use his know how to save the country. Ours was a business meeting, the first I have ever had at 1.30 a.m, but than again this is after all Yemen, this amazing country!

Ibn Battuta, the great Moroccan-Persian traveller......

“It is a fantastic feeling being back in Yemen after so many years abroad” , he said sucking the pipe, enjoying his taste of apple, “but it is not easy. I don´t know if you read this article published in Time Magazine just recently? About the Yemenis chewing kat and in that way killing the country? Well, it is true. They start thinking about chewing kat at 1 p.m, and loose their concentration. This is a problem.”

I have noticed this. It is everywhere, the kat chewing. People guarding the school, guarding government buildings, well, everywhere in San’a, but than again, it is part of life here and I guess, when there´s very little hope, a commodity many Yemenis lack right now, one just wants to forget about the negative aspects of life and think about the good ones! Which I did after waking up. I thought about one of the greatest travellers of all time, Ibn Battuta who describes his visit to Yemen in the year of 1329:

“We went on from there to the town of Ta’izz, the capital of the king of Yemen, and one of the finest and largest towns in that country. Its people are overbearing, insolent, and rude, as is generally the case in towns where kings reside.”

Unfriendly? Just chewing kat.....

Ibn Battuta is known amongst pretty much everyone here in Yemen. The same applies to Oman. It is sad that he isn´t better known in the West,where we highlight the travels of Marco Polo, who in comparison to Ibn Battuta is a mere tourist. In short, Ibn Battuta traveled for nearly 30 years, from Morocco to China and back and much more. I have written about him earlier, read more here and no matter to whom I talk about my journey, Ibn Battutas travels always comes up. Amazingly enough, the best scholar on Ibn Battuta is living here in San’a and I have met him once at a kat chew of course, Tim MacKintosh-Smith. He has lived here for as long as Ibn Battuta traveled and is more Yemeni than European. A great and very humble guy who have written two books on Ibn Battuta. And one on Yemen, which is a superb read. In this book he highlights a lot of the positive aspects of the Arab World and its Golden Era, about which I will write more next time!

By the way, Tim Mackintosh-Smith told me a joke, which is probably the oldest joke alive, especially in the Arab world. It is from the 12th Century and goes like this:

“A Christian decides to convert to Islam and is told that to be able to do this he has to say Allah Akbar and Mohamed is his prophet plus he has to get circumcised. Which he does. But after awhile he regrets his conversion and wants to leave the new religion, but is told he will get his head cut off if he does. Very upset he exclaims: What kind off a religion is this where you get your dick cut off when joining and your head  when leaving it!”

Anyway, time for me to go to class and hear Rashads stories from daily life in Yemen. As interesting as Ibn Battutas passage through Yemen! By the way, interesting analysis in the Yemen Times about the situation here!

Sanaa hiding from the heavy rains.

”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]

”You have to speak up” , Abdullah Rahman shouted, ”I am almost deaf after spending so much time standing next to cannons!”

The palace of Imam Yahya....

We were heading for the palace of Dar Al-Hajar, which was constructed as a summer residence for Imam Yahya in the early 1920`s, in an area which the locals of Sanaa in those days used as a weekend trip to rest their nerves after the busy life in the city. They still do. We passed through the outskirts of the city, where construction seemed to rest due to the demanding circumstances. It´s like people just began building and suddenly just ran out of money. We passed through several cramped stops for shared taxis, where people hurried around trying to find a seat that would take them out of the city for the weekend. My first thought was:

“Africa and matatus!”

The village of Wadi Dhahar

There’s definitely a feeling of the great continent of Africa, on and off in Sanaa, even though the enormous amount of impressions one gets continuously can only be equaled by India. But Sanaa is far more genuine. And I can only imagine what the life outside the capital is, since no matter how you look at things, country life is always more genuine than city life. I would say that Yemen is easily one of the most interesting places on earth and in many ways perfect for visiting as a tourist. And that was the reason I was travelling with Abdullah Rahman and our common friend Kamel. To find out the possibilities to bring tourists to Yemen. Abdullah Rahman runs a hotel in the centre of the Old Sanaa named Dawood Hotel and loves his country and wants people from all over the world to come and enjoy its history and culture. But as always in Sanaa, after awhile, no matter how spectacular the surrounding, it is the Yemenis themselves which impress. Even though the palace was located in a spectacular surrounding, it kind of erupts out of a rocktable like a giant red and white toad stool, it was as interesting to listen to the stories of Abdullah Rahman and Kamel.

At home with the general

Abdullah Rahman used to be a general in the army up until 5 years ago, when he decided he wanted to spend more time with his family. His career is the modern history of the country. He commanded his troops in the, or always it seems like, troublesome north. But now he takes care of his country side mansion which is dotted with relatively lush gardens offering tasty fruits like pomegranates, a spiky cactus fruit called tiin schauki and plenty of the famed grapes of Yemen.

“If we would make wine out of these grapes” , the old General shouted, “one liter would cost a thousand dollars!”

Exclusive and expensive grapes.....

The general pointed out the fact that half his garden was dry due to serious water shortages in the country. One of many major problems this spectacular country faces at the moment. One thing they don´t lack is generosity. The general being one of the most generous of men, we ended up in his fine red bricked mansion where the females of the family had prepared an enormous meal of local Yemeni food. Salta of course.

“The traditions say” , Kamel translated, “That we cannot finish until we´ve eaten 7 bowls of salta.”

This he said just after we´ve stuffed ourselves with roasted chicken, delicious veal, chips, rice and lots of great bread. And the general himself portioned out the best pieces to us, as the tradition says, to show he was utterly honored by our visit and therefore serves the guest himself. A tradition I like a lot personally. There´s so many things I like with the Yemeni traditions. The salta was delicious, but we stopped after two giant bowls and the last time I was this stuffed on the brink of exploding was in another Arab country, Algeria. An oasis called Laghout, located just southeast of Grand Erg Occidental in the year of 1986. That time my overeating made me throw up just outside town, and I had to set up the tent in 50 degrees Celsius in the desert and I spent four hours sweating the problem out, until it eventually gave me enough energy to speed through the Sahara Desert on a bicycle from north to south. One of the first in history to do just that.

“You just have to meet his daughter!” Pam shouted happily in a way that would make the general happy to me whilst I was laid back on the traditional Yemeni cushions on the floor after the filling lunch, the main meal of the day, which I love, “She has given me a black dress to try, a dress she has made herself.”

My friends Kamel and the general discussing during kat chew....

Pam is my best friend at school and I often ask her to join me on my visits outside school, because we will always meet women which otherwise is impossible. Pam is full of energy and life and her knowledge of the Arab world is astounding to say the least. It was the first time I shook the hand of a local woman in Yemen, however she was veiled whilst doing it. Amazing how different traditions can be globally!

“Do you want to chew kat here or in town?”

It was around four and about time to chew according to the general, so we went back to town and all the way up on the roof of his six-storey hotel, to its beautiful mafrag (place where you chew kat) and sat down with some of his own kat.

“Let us not talk business today” , the General said, “Let us just enjoy life.”

We spent three hours talking about the three most common subjects, politics, the Arab world and sex. All three subjects discussed in a very frank way, that even I, a Swede, felt slightly uncomfortable regarding the sex part. Regarding the other topics, I love the frankness, but let me just say that I have discussed this topic in many other parts of the world throughout my life, but it is never as blunt as in the Arab world, Oman apart, I have to say. It is the only subject I do not enjoy. As love it should be handled with respect.

My friends Pam and Kamel buying fruits at local fruitstand along the way....

However, I really like the kat chew as a forum to have time to talk and discuss things. (I have received plenty of emails from Sweden where kat is a forbidden substance and I jst want to add that I do not chew kat. )And as always in Yemen, you end up with new friends after each kat chew. If all goes well, in shallah, Sanaa will be full of privileged tourist again!

“The best time to sit in the mafrag an chew kat…” , Kamel, this very intelligent and kind local poet and writer said; “….is when its is raining, because at these times you will see the Old City of Sanaa change its dress many times.”

Arabic is such a poetic and beautiful language. In shallah, soon I should understand a bit more….

View of Sanaa from the Dawood mafrag!

“You see, it shouldn´t be called chewing kat” , my new good friend Kyle said, “It should be called storing kat, which is the Arabic meaning of the word.”

Selling kat on the way to the kat session....one bag costs about 750 rials, which is the equvalent to 3.5 dollars

The chewing, or storing, of kat is a controversial issue not only in Yemen, but also in the surrounding countries. There´s a loud opposition against kat (read about kat on wikipedia at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khat) because it is said to have a big negative effect on Yemen’s economy. It is not an exportable product, it uses an considerable amount of the countries natural resources, lots of manpower and most of all, apparently almost 40% of the countries water resources. It is also said that it creates a lot of problems within the family, like for example alcohol, since it strains the family economy (a small bag of a one session chew is 750 rials, which is a lot of money for the locals, about 3.5 dollars) and it damages family bonds since the men are always gone chewing kat with male friends. All this is of course the same effects that any consumption of alcohol and such stimulants that we humans seem to need worldwide.

An avid kat chewer at the session....

Anyway, chewing kat is after all the national past time in Yemen, and has the same social consequences as vodka in Russia, that it is through a kat session or a vodka party that you get the real insights into the country and its workings. It is said. So I joined Bob Burrowes , political expert of Yemen from the University of  Washington, who´s spent more than 7 years all together in this diverse country that he visited the first time 1976.

“I hope you will find that there are some very positive aspects of the kat sessions” , this veteran of thousands of kat sessions told me whilst we walked through the spectacular old city of Sanaa heading first for lunch together with another big Yemeni ex-pat personality, Kyle, “Whatever one´s position regarding kat, its presence is undeniably and impossible to ignore.”

The famous Bob Burrowes to the right, next to as famous Abdul-Ghani and Kamil

These two veterans are two of the major personalities I have come across during my visit here.In Yemen, even the white people are interesting, which says a lot about the country. Kyle for example, has lived here for many years, speaks fluent Arabic and have been married to three Yemeni ladies and is a storyteller of sorts. One of these jagged personalities, dented by life, driven by curiosity and good humor, that one has the privileged to come across on and off on the global arena as a traveller. He first took us to a great restaurant, then we ended up at the kat session with a mix of expats and Yemenis. We spent almost 8 hours storing kat. Because that is what you do, store kat in one of the cheeks until it would like to bust. But you don´t spit this green substance out until the session is over. So in this case, we are talking almost 8 hours of storing. I have to say it is one of the most relaxing and enjoyable moments I have had in a long time, sitting in a group talking about the most amazing things of life. And you do learn a lot of Yemen during such a expanded session.

Me and Kyle and a couple of friends at the session...it was my first, but Bob he has the expat record of 58 kat sessions in a row!

“We Yemenis are not an aggressive people, we like to talk, see how it is here, a kat session is an important way to socialize and solve problems” , Kamal told me in perfect english, “Therefore as you see on the streets of Sanaa, people take life is easy, even though the reputation of instability is racing across the country. But I don not feel worried. We will talk ourselves out of this problem and I think a federal initiative, to give all regions more autonomy is the solution. The only problem as I see it is the terrible corruption in the country.”

The restaurant serving the best salta and kebabs according to Kyle....I believe him...we stopped here for a great lunch!

Since my days in Siberia , I have long ago realized some basic facts about the human mind and its quest to be a being. There´s no doubt that we are a homo conversencis, a being who needs to continuously communicate and socialize to feel content with life. Some of the happiest people I have come across during 23 years of traveling are people who continuously communicate with each other. And a kat session is very much like that. It is a very important social function and we humans need this gatherings, even though they put a heavy toll on other things in society. Life is a about finding an equilibrium, not just painting life in white or black. So far, my first kat session wasn´t only a success when it came to getting profound insights into the Yemeni life, hearing some amazing stories from Mali by a true story teller or a perspective of being Yemeni in Finland, it was a very basic way for human beings to interact and talk leading to a much less aggressive approach to life. Everything has a backside to it, it is just that things take time to understand and develop so if demanding and slightly negative people went to a kat session instead of moaning about the negative aspect of life, we would have a better and more fair understanding of the world. Especially the Yemeni one.

Do not miss this slide show from this great country!

It was such a long kat session that we passed in darkness return through the old city home to the school....

“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