QUEST FOR QAT, FRANKINCENSE AND MYRRH

---

Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt stops in Addis Ababa, i did not know that! it is not written in my itinerary so at the counter I double checked with the agent and I was told indeed a quick stop to refuel and drop off passengers, I did not mind it really but never thought I will be going back to Ethiopia again, this soon! More than half of the people got off and lots of empty seats for the one hour 20 minute flight. I was at most anxious moment when we landed in Sanaa, this is my 1st time in the Middle East, I did not really know what to expect, shuttle bus took us to the terminal and I immediately got off to be the 1st in line at the visa booth, I was stopped by this health inspector guy who shone a thermal thermometer thing on me then signed my health card and had me go to another counter to get a stamp. Then to the visa counter, i was the last in the queue simply because I was only one of the 2 from the flight that needed it, An American businessman was in front of me. I thought it would take forever as I was told by people and from what I read from blogs, but they are very quick! 2 people working at the desk makes it faster, I handed in my passport then $60 fee, a sticker was placed in a blank page thats it, they did not even run through my passport to see if I have been to Israel, if you have a stamp from Israel you will not be allowed in.

A guy in walkie talkie approached me and asked me if i was Gilbert, I nodded and he told me Ziad was waiting outside, I was happy that this guy was looking after me right from the start, i found his travel agency web site from Thorn Tree and he has had good reputation so I decided to ask his help about Socotra and he will be helping me plan out as well my trip to the mainland, I cannot afford to hire a jeep all the time so we agreed I will take one trip from him, the one that is not readily accessible and the rest I will do on my own and he will give me tips and guidance. My backpack took ages to come out of the carousel, sigh of relief when it surfaced, the dude earlier escorted me to the arrivals hall, and Ziad was there, all smiles and we hopped on a taxi he hired($10), He dropped me off at Golden Dar hostel, nice place clean and has hot showers, normally its $20 a night for the cheapest room but if I pay through Ziad it is only $16/night. I was the only person there! I liked my room at the top floor, very big space and I have a good view of the streets outside. Fell asleep right away quite tired.

3amish got woken up by this loud sound, f..k its prayer time! There is a mosque nearby and is blasting to the fullest, it bothered me at 1st then quickly i passed out due to exhaustion. It went on again and again but this time i did not give a damn. Woke up around 8am had a quick hot shower and western toilet to use! Shared breakfast with the hostel crew, bread and some spicy cheese spread thing we all sat down in the floor and ate it there. The people in this hostel are very nice, friendly. Ziad and I took off for the travel agency so I can buy my Socotra ticket, walking to the office i noticed immediately the men and their jambiya(knife)thing tucked in front of their waist, cool, I want to buy one.. people are friendly has a ready smile every time i greet them, only thing is they mistake me for Japanese, all good, I dont take offense, i tell them I am from Philippines and they have no clue where it is!

Ziad took me to the market next to the main gate of the old town, it was chaotic!! very lively market, people screaming out what they sell. We passed jambiya stores, then to the nuts and dried fruits section, I bought some provisions for Socotra, people are letting me take photos of them without asking for money, very happy about that, they are so nice, welcome to Yemen is their usual greeting. We passed a guy selling deep fried tuna chunks, yum!! Ziad said its the cheapest fish here as it is fairly common,we tried one and it was oh so delicious! We went also to some old caravanserai type places where now it is a gift shop place and art exhibit hall, some mosques but did not go in, i was wearing shorts so i did not want to be impolite, an old man invited me to come in to have a look but I explained I do not feel i should with my shorts so he just smiled at me and went inside. Some dried fruit vendors i took a photo of,they enjoyed it, I showed them the fotos, they were all giggling, a man tapped me in the shoulder indicating i should take a foto of him too selling spices, so i did, he gave me a regal pose! wow the people here are so warm, am very surprised. Frankincense and myrrh are being sold here, first time for me to see them, Ziad pointed to a rock looking thing and he said it's natural chewing gum from frankincense resin, I dont believe him I have in my mind something more big and shiny, why the hell would the 3 kings give Jesus crap gifts like that? Ziad explained when you put frankincense on coal it gives a heavenly smell, and for myrrh, he pointed at something I did not see what was becuase the souq is so crowded, so the quest continues to find out how myrrh looks like...

We had some lunch at this local place,cant remember the name of the dish but it was good! Then we went to the qat market to buy some qat for the afternoon, the place is crowded with men and one old woman, here mostly only men chew qat, people are buying it in this market I hear yelling maybe bargaining for the best price etc.. but that was a cool sight to see, the guy hides the qat inside a blanket and only takes them out if a buyer wants to se it, Ziad said it is so that no one steals it! a valuable commodity. Then we walked to this hotel, The Sanaa hotel and they have this room where you can chill and relax and of course chew qat. That is what we did, The 1st bit was subtly sweet and then a bit bitter but got used to it quickly and like coca leaves you tuck it in between your gums and cheek, you can keep putting more in your mouth until you look like a camel with a ball inside your mouth pressed against your cheek. We had a good chat about life in Yemen and I learned heaps about the culture and tradition from Ziad.

Late afternoon when the sun was about to set we got up to the roof, the best place to be at sunset, good view of the city, you can see almost everything from the rooftop. James a dude staying here in this hostel went up the roof, a young Scottish lad, we had a chat and we have the same amount of time here in Yemen! he arrived also yesterday and leaving on the same day i am we are on the same flight to Dubai!! I invited him well tempted him to come along to Socotra, his budget is limited and he brought a bike with him so that is what is keeping him from making a quick decision, I told him to think about it and get back to me later. He has the same camera as well Nikon d80! Anyway a Japanese dude joined us at the rooftop, he is here studying Arabic, he is friends with people from my hostel so we will see each other again! Nice dude and perhaps a nice place to stay for me in Nagasaki where he is from..

Ziad and I left to El Babel gates to see the market at night and to have tea to wash off the qat, boy the tea here is always super sweet reminds me of Colombia! I had a chat with some locals having tea as well, i tell you its so easy to talk to people here they are so social! WE waited for James here and meanwhile people watched. James caught up with us and told me he decided it is just way out of his budget to take a Socotra side trip which i understand fully. Too bad it would have been fun to have a company. We walked the market again to see it come alive at night, the spice section is in full gear we both took lots of fotos. Then dinner at the Restaurant street as Ziad would call it, people cooking food in the street, we sat down and got served a delicious bread and bean dips,very very cheap and so good. Then went back to the hostel to rest and pack for my Socotra trip tomorrow.

---

Photos

Sana 'a
souq

Sana'a
spices

Sana'a
jambiyas

Sanaa
Golden Dar Hotel

Sana'a
Babel gate

Sana'a
weird jeep

Sana'a
jambiya seller

Sana'a
souq

Sana'a
natural gum(frankincense?)

Comments

[Robert Ramey]

Great photos
Thanks for the story and the great photos, too. I'll be following your blog..............