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Monday 2007-04-09 - Tarim, Yemen
The holy city of Hadramawt
Yemen’s religious aristocracy, the Sa’da, is based in Tarim; the city has countless mosques, and many domed tombs of important religious figures are found around the city. It seems that during the first period after the prophet Mohamed’s death, when many lost their faith, this was the only place in the Hadramawt where the people remained true to Islam.
On our way to Tarim we make a short stop at the tombs of holy Ahmad bin Assa and his son; situated right next to the road to Tarim, one tomb is only accessible though the mosque via 127 steps up the mountain. At the gate it says entrance is for Muslims only but we try our luck anyway; but talk as we may, we’re not let in. That said — that where we just ended up is Ahmad bin Assa’s tomb is something I (later) deduce from my travel guide; our intention was to visit the tomb of Sheikha Sultana, the first female scholar in Wadi Hadramawt; she was a Sufi, and — exceptionally for a Muslim woman — remained single (though Sufis were often celibate); people came from afar to seek her advice. After her death she was buried in a green-domed tomb, to be found one kilometer off the road along a track. But that’s not where we are… so we must be at Ahmad bin Assa’s tomb!
Our visit to Tarim itself starts with a visit to a museum: the Al Kaff Palace “Ish snaa” — it is an old palace of the Al Kaff family, until the revolution here the unofficial rulers in Tarim. They had become incredibly wealthy through trade with Indonesia, where many people from Wadi Hadramawt emigrated to and got wealthy there through clever trading. The Al Kaff family played an important role in the development of the area, financing the first road to the coast, the first schools in the wadi, etc. Sadly the house badly in need of restoration, but it is very interesting to roam around in an old rich house like this. Apart from some old photographs, a mirror and a broken lamp, there are no objects here; it’s the building itself that is on display. There’s a large variety of rooms, each with heir own decorations, beautiful carved wooden window frames with colored glass, a large bathroom, the kitchen, and a nice view from the roof. We spend quite some time looking around.
From there we walk to the city center through a winding street ending up at the market square, where the Sultan’s palace stands. Unfortunately it’s incredibly hot here, so much so that even I have trouble dealing with the 44°C even though the air is very dry. So when we arrive at the market most of us quickly dive into a little restaurant around the corner where it’s cool, to await the cars which will pick us up at the market place. More time, and a somewhat lower temperature would be needed to really enjoy Tarim.
