navigate:
Wednesday 2007-04-11 - As Sirrayn, Yemen
Shared riches
According to my map (copyright 2003), the road into Wadi Do’an stops in Al Khuraybah but it doesn’t — not anymore: A nice asphalt road leads us up and out of the wadi and it looks brand new.
Every little village here belongs to one family and it’s visible people here are wealthier than in other areas: the houses are more richly decorated, and the decorations are more colorful. Of every family here, one or two members work in Saudi Arabia, where they earn well, and send money home. As our driver Hussein tells us, just like the rich Al Kaff family financed the road from Wadi Hadramawt to the coast (and much else) in the 1930s, one man named Abdullah Boshan who got extremely wealthy in Saudi Arabia finances a lot of development project in this area. The new road we’re now following, which ultimately connects to the main road from Sey’un to Al Mukalla, is just one example of those projects. He also finances schools, drink water supply, and things like all the food during the Eid ul-Fitr celebration at the end of the Ramadan month. Also, if a couple wants to marry but doesn’t have the money for the wedding, he pays it for them.
We make a short stop at the fork in the road from where we can look down on his village, As Sirrayn; his house clearly stands out: an enormous family house, whitewashed with parts of walls painted in various cheerful pastel colors. Below us the road continues along the Wadi Do’an river to the village, while we just to the left fork which takes us up and out of the wadi.
Once out, after a steep climb, we’re on the high plain of the desert, the jol. Suddenly the landscape is totally different: the jol is almost flat, arid, with only very sparse vegetation — the green and fertile wadis with their rich palm groves completely hidden from view. You can see gullies eroded by water (when it rains, a lot of water flows, and there can be dangerous flash floods), but nowhere is there a view straight down. Yet, if you’d follow such a gully down, eventually you’d end up in a green wadi. For the early travelers in this area, the difference must have been astounding. During a short stop I take a few pictures of typical plants found on the jol.
The first part of this road probably follows the track indicated on my map, but farther on we dive down another steep pass at a point where there is not even a track; a sign says we’re at Mount Aballa Arib. Many hairpins later, we end up on the wide plateau along the south coast. Now we’re going down slowly, and after a while we can see the Arabian Sea in the distance. Along the road we stop for tea in Ladouas, a small village not found on our maps. The we join the main road from Wadi Hadramawt to the coast, and later turn right to Al Mukalla.
Wednesday 2007-04-11 - Al Mukalla, Yemen
Fresh fish for lunch
Having arrived on the main road along the south coast, suddenly we’re in a different world again; it’s a wide road with street lights, a strip of greenery, later even grass (obviously daily watered), in the middle: it’s clear we’re nearing a major city again.
Al Mukalla’s fish market is (logically) near the coast, in the new city; between it and the sea is a popular restaurant with a view of the sea. We’re going to have fresh fish for lunch here — as fresh as possible, but the procedure is new to me: first you go to the fish market, and select and buy your own fish, which is chopped or filleted to order; it’s packed in a little plastic bag (the ubiquitous plastic bag), and take it to the restaurant where they prepare it for you, and it’s served with bread or rice, drinks, or whatever you order. You can eat your fish with a nice view of the sea, seagulls, and camels roaming a little sandy land tongue, a surprising combination. My fish — I have no idea what it is, I selected it on sight because it looked interesting: beautiful slate gray with sines on its belly, and yellow eyes — turns out to be delicious, nicely prepared with some spices and served with a delicately seasoned sauce.
