“What did you do there without somebody who could help you! It is very, very dangerous and you could have been shot!”

It all began when I decided to join Rashad to film the last part of the story about him, the guy who´s village I went to visit in the last report, during Eid Al Adha. I knew he had told me he lived in a pretty rough area, where he a month and a half ago had to run zigzag over the street to catch a dahab (small mini van) to work, to avoid getting shot by snipers on the roof. But he said it was calm right now, so we caught a dahab at Tahrir Square and set of for his home. I should have realized as soon as the dahab turned right before going crossing the bridge over the battle ground over Zubairy Street and Kentucky, that I was in for a scare.

“You see how the buildings have been shelled” , Rashad suddenly pointed out and we came to a heavily guarded check point, where we were briefly stopped and checked amongst loads of sand sacks and Rashad said; “We are now entering Ali Mohsen´s area.”

Now General Ali Mohsen is president Ali Abdullah Saleh´s right hand who defected back in April when the demonstrators started getting targeted and shoot by what is said government thugs or soldiers. He together with the big tribal leader of the biggest clan Hashid, shejkh Al Ahmar, are the two biggest opponents to the president, these three have divided the city in between them one could say (we live in the Saleh part, dominated by Tahrir Square and pro-Saleh protesters)  and after another short stretch of bombarded buildings and soldiers covered by sand bags in pretty much every corner, Rashad pointed to a road ending with loads of piled up sand bags and a flag:

“That is Hashaba and Al Ahmar´s area”.

I guess I was excited on one hand to be there, but worried on the other and asked Rashad:

“Do you really think I can film here?”

We got off the loaded dahab and walked to the single man’s hostel where Rashad had recently moved together with his elder brother. It was a small room where 2-7 people shared a sleeping space and it was a stop over for the two until they knew about the future. Rashad had also lost his job at the Irianian Embassy since I last saw him, since they said he had taken a longer vacation over Eid than he should have. And since no labour laws exist, you can just kick people like that. His brother had been employed by a government agency since the troubles began in March and hadn´t been paid a Yemeni rial since he started. They employed 18 000 young men in a day, to get them off the streets demonstrating against the government. The filming in the room went fine. Than they all got hungry, 2 friends where there visiting, and we walked through some really busy streets, both with heavily armed soldiers, heavily armed tribes men from the Al Ahmar area and generally, many people screaming:

“Take a photo!” since I was filming Rashad and his friends walking, or:

“Get off the street and stop filming!”

I should have known already than, what was going to happen, but Rashad said:

“Don´t worry, just film!”

He and his brother got into at least one serious gruff and screaming game with two fellas saying they were security. And after a great Salta lunch (salta is a Turkish word for leftovers from the Ottoman times when Yemenis just to beg Turkish family´s for leftovers and everything they got they put in a bowl and cooked it) we walked back and for some unknown reason they brought me very close to the heavily armed dived between the Mohsen troops and Al Ahmar´s and the surrounding buildings had been heavily shelled. I aksed Rashad if I could take a photo and a few seconds later and soldier came running and accused me for taking a photo of his corner of sand sacks and a short argument followed where I was asked for papers, which I said i didn´t have, to show the photos i took, which i didn´t show and it ended up Rashad and his brother got us out of the problem.

“We go through this every day” , Rashad said.

We went back to the room, did some more filmed interviews and chewed khat. And than, according to my notes and had a final scene to film, well, one of the two last, him demonstrating at Change Square and him taking a dahab to work. So we went to his normal corner and after standing there 10 minutes waiting for the Tahrir Square dahab, a soldier came and said we had to come with him to his commander and explain what we were doing. I saw Rashad look worried and that scared me. I stopped a taxi and told Rashad:

“Get in and let us leave!”

That caused a lot of alarm and the taxi, of course, got stopped and we were forced to go to a group of heavily armed soldiers sitting in a street corner, covered by sand bags and they were really upset. I thought:

“How do I get out of this, since all my contacts are more or less pro-Saleh?”

Suddenly one soldier sitting next to the guy who was in charge, all ten of them sitting in a line chewing khat, and they seemed to sit in order of their rank, the boss best covered and the youngest at the end, in the open, easily hit by a sniper, well, the second in command started to speak some English and said:

“You are in serious, serious problem.”

Rashad was in the same time passionately defending us and I explained for the bloke who spoke English, that I loved Yemen and its people and was only filming Rashad who was a friend on his way to work, but the soldier, a sergeant, cut in and told me he had been at University for years, but the lack of money had forced him into the army and now the revolution was on, and he was fighting to free the country of Saleh. Suddenly he asked me:

“I have seen you on TV. You are a news anchor aren´t you? Well, welcome to Yemen and hope you show the world what an evil man Saleh is. By the way, do you have a family?”

“Yes I am and have a wonderful daughter named Belquis! And you?”

“Yes, I have three boys!” he said happily.

And that changed the outcome of our problem, we talked almost for half an hour until they said we could go and said the reason they stopped us, was that this was their job, which I could understand. Filled with adrenalin we got in a taxi and left the group continuing their khat chew.

“They were really I nice group of guys” , Rashad said after he said he had been very worried and thought they would let me go, but put him in a cell; “And I explained that I was out of work, had 8 years in University but no job, came from Taizz and than he said we started the revolution and he was grateful for that. Thank God he was an educated person and he understood!”

Back at Tahrir we sat down for a sweet tea and kind of laughed from relief. It had been a close call and I was as always filled with adrenalin and I felt happy being old and free of the hot temper of my youth. Nowadays I never even raise my voice, just listen and wait and try to be nice and friendly. Gee, it works so much better!

Eva and Pam suddenly showed up, heading for the Old Town and our friends Hussein and Mohammed, so I said goodbye to Rashad and joined the smiling ladies. Whilst Pam and Eva went to the females of a family to document their life, I sat down with Hussein and Mohammed, Hussein came with a glass of home made wine and told me in an upset voice how stupid I had been. Than he and Mohammed continued to chew khat, we watched Al Jazeera and predicted that Bashar Assad would go before Saleh.

And this story is really the least interesting that has happened this week. I have met a lot of really important people. One of the, a very good friend I named The Self Made Man the last time I was here. (Read the story I wrote about him here.) Amazingly enough the story holds still today and my last prediction could soon be true!

More of that next week and why the whole family is going to the home of Yemeni demonstrations, Change Square, today after noon!

Finally, it is hard not getting emotionally involved with everything which is going on here. There´s no doubt people in general are suffering, however, being here at this time, when history, possible slowly, is in the making, it is a very strong and profound feeling and wants me/us to be part of it. And as the Yemenis say, everything is politics here.

Photo of the Week, Spooky Sanaa or Spooks in Sanaa at http://500px.com/photo/3236775

Or see the professional gallery from Old Sanaa here!

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!

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