Art tour around Yemen

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For the past few weeks, I have had the privilege of hosting an awesome guest. Brian Manley is a Professor of Art at Andrews University. For the past few years, he has participated in Archaeological digs in Jordan. As a professional painter, Brian gathers source materials from dig sites, along with narratives from researchers and archaeologists to visually reconstruct a dig site. In an age of growing interest in modern art devoid of craft or message, it is refreshing to find an artist that validates the need for realistic paintings. (Nothing wrong with modern art…it’s just nice to see a place for realism.)

We met during my last trip to the US in January, and instantly connected through our love for the middle east and Arab culture. I shared just a little information about my experiences in Yemen, and he responded with an emphatic, “I MUST go to Yemen!” Just a few months later he was here.

The visit was a unique one, since the focus of Brian’s visit was to study the culture and sketch drawings of his discoveries. In almost three weeks, my guest has left quite an impression on the country. We can hardly walk through the Old City of Sana’a without people shouting “irsaminy!” (“Draw me!”)

Initially we had a much larger itinerary planned, but some of our destinations, notably Marib and the Hawdramout, ran into complications. Yet this proved to be a blessing, since it provided more opportunities for Brian to take his time sketching people in the Old City.

Week–long tour

We did have the chance to take an extended trip for about a week. It was one of the most enjoyable trips during my time in Yemen. I had never packed so lightly for such a long trip. A tiny backpack and side bag contained all my supplies, including multiple gifts for people along the way.

Harraz Mountains

Our trip began with the Harraz mountains to the west of Sana’a. This region is one of the most picturesque in Yemen. The tallest mountains in the Arabian peninsula are found here. But before we could see them, we had to endure the first of many share–taxis on our trip. We soon discovered our driver spent more time chewing qat than keeping his car functioning.

From our hotel in Hajjarah, we hiked through the mountains visiting the villages Bayt Al Majlad, Al Makarabah, Arrjaz, Bayt Marrey, Bayt Zared, Al Ayanah, and Al Hotieb before returning to Hajjarah through Manakhah. Taking time to stop and sketch, we quickly endeared ourselves to the people along the way. Al Ayanah in particular left a more profound impression on us. I hope to return there someday to spend a week or so working in the fields, teaching in their school, and learning lots of Yemeni dialect.

We also returned to Hotieb, the peculiar Yemeni town I visited once before. As I explained before, the town is a pilgrimage site for (mostly Indian) Ismaeli Muslims. This time I was more determined to find out if there were truly no restaurants in the whole town. As Brian and I walked, we both instantly recognized Indian curry wafting from a kitchen in the main building. Yet we were greeted with the same uncharacteristic aloofness toward outsiders. When asked, “Is there any place where we can buy a meal?” we were told flatly, “no.” Pleading, I said, “Our favorite food in the world is curry. Is there any possible way to pay for a meal?”
“No. No outsiders can enter the building.”
“What if we pay to have someone pick up some curry for us and bring it outside?”
“You can’t pay a million dollars for a meal here.”
Fortunately we brought our own food this time. But I left with the same sense of coldness.

Heat in the Tihama

Later we made our way to the Tihama where we spent time in Zabid, a small town with a rich history. Scholars believe “al Jibr” or “Algebra” found it’s modern birthplace in this town. The town is also allegedly the place where the “Akhdam” (servants — lowest class of people who often clean the streets) originated. Unfortunately, the Tihama was even hotter than I anticipated, and we spent our time there in a drowsy stupor, while our guide, Amer, took us to many of the highly decorative houses throughout the old city. We were told many of the houses were of Turkish architectural influence.

Image of our hot room/sauna.View Larger

Leaving Zabid, we found our way to Hais. I was fortunate to have a friend living there, working for ADRA Yemen. She graciously hosted us for a couple days, and in the process inspired us both by her selfless commitment to work in the area. Hais is considered a “hardship” post due to the relentless heat.

And perhaps here I should take a moment to describe what it is like to live in that kind of heat. I’ve never experienced anything like it. Our room was adjacent to the project director’s home in a relatively new building in Hais. The room was also without an air conditioner. As soon as I noticed it, my heart skipped a beat. I thought to myself, “How could a person sleep through the whole night in this heat?” I would soon find out.

We stayed in the home with air conditioning until evening when the electricity went out. Suddenly I realized that it didn’t matter much whether one had a/c or not when the power went out. Even worse, the electricity always goes out in the evening and stays out for four or five hours! We both knew it would be a difficult night, but tried to keep a light heart by joking about it. We brought with us frozen bottles of water to bring some relief while we slept.

I opened one window in the room, but the rest were missing screens and contained holes. Concerned about potential malaria from mosquito bites, I considered the heat the lesser of two evils. As we laid down in our beds, Brian quipped, “Hey, the bed is already hot like a waterbed!” We laid down, already full of sweat. I tried to think of sleep. Cars honked incessantly outside reminding us we were still awake. Time seemed frozen. I remember Brian and I laughing throughout the night, mostly delirious. At some point, I went to the bathroom and lost my dinner…twice. I decided to take a cold shower, but the water was so hot, one could percolate a cup of tea directly from the tap!

Thinking I might be sick, I reached for my electronic thermometer to take my temperature. Out of curiosity, I thought I would simply test the air first. Immediately turning the thermometer on, the gauge read “99.7°” and held steady at that temperature. I don’t know if it was an accurate reading of the ambient air, but I considered it believable.

Later the power returned. I was euphoric with excitement. “At least our fan will circulate the air!” i thought. Yet to my disbelief, the fan was worthless. We felt nothing coming from the whirring blades above us. I stood on my bed to try to discover why the fan was not working. Perhaps it was rotating the wrong direction? I found nothing. I can’t remember another time that I was more angry with an inanimate object! We both pondered how a company could work harder to make an object not work.

The next night, we took our chances with mosquitoes and slept on the roof. It was glorious.

Jiblah

As a former capital of Yemen, Jiblah was one of the main towns on our must–see list. There is a lot written about this town, so I’ll spare a history lesson. During our stay, we visited the long aquaduct leading from a dam to the village, and we had the opportunity to see and photograph a couple very old Qur’ans. (The librarian told us they were 1000 years and 700 years old, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a little embellishment of the history.) Unfortunately we met some hard–liners that immediately judged us while we were in the masjid and insisted we leave. The librarian tried to reassure us not to worry, but we decided to just avoid a conflict and leave. It was then that the librarian asked us for baksheesh to fund the needs of the masjid (or his pocket). The thought occurred to me that these guys were only willing to let us enter in order to receive a little kickback. In a sense they were compromising their beliefs to get a little money. Even though I don’t agree with their assumptions, the sense of a compromise left a bad taste in my mouth.

Iryan

Rich in political history, the town of Iryan conjures varying reactions among Yemenis. Given a rare opportunity to visit this interesting town, I did not want to pass up the invitation. The town is missing from all the tourist books and guides, despite it’s very remote, mountaintop location in the greenest part of Yemen.

Atop the highest point on the mountain lies an old castle. It was somehow involved in the persecution of the townspeople when they were under attack. I believe this might have been during the “al–Ahrar” (“the free”), which was a revolution against Imam Ahmed.

Unfortunately, we had to leave before having the chance to learn more details of the rich history of Iryan. Though I do know that it is the hometown of Abdul Rahman Yahya Al–Iryani and his son, the primary advisor to the President of Yemen.

At any rate, Brian and I spent a night on the roof of the castle under the brilliant stars. We went to bed lying on mattresses found in the castle, but we were unable to find any blankets, so we used rugs instead! In the morning, dew had formed around us, and the chilly air was quite cold. I looked over at Brian and he had carried up another mattress and was sleeping UNDER the second mattress to try to stay warm. We had some good laughs that night! (View the video.)

We were also fed incredible food by a woman in the family. But again, due to social customs, we were unable to even meet her to find out more about their interesting history.

Back in Sana’a

After our extended tour around Yemen, it was nice to return to Sana’a. It gave Brian a good chance to take more time to sketch and explore.

My time spent with Brian left me feeling enriched and blessed. His insights, laughter, creativity, and abundant generosity are rare indeed. Interestingly, we spent most of our time together for about three weeks, and we never had any conflicts. I hope to have another chance to travel together in the future.

The following are some of my favorite photos from the trip.

Favorite Pictures

Farmers near Hajjarah	Friendly Man	Girls in Al Ayanah
Man in Al Ayanah	Brian Sketching in Hotieb	Boy in Lukhamat al Gadhi
Inside Zabid Great Mosque	Qat Chew in Zabid	Man in Zabid
Fisherman in Khokhah	Sleeping Fisherman	Bringing in the Catch
Boy in Khokhah	Jiblah	Grouchy Old Man in Jiblah
Handling a “700 Year Old Qur’an”	Sketching on a Precipice	Amazing Views from Iryan
Brian and his Rug / Mattresses	Video: Sleeping on the Castle Roof	Spice Souk in Sana’a
Brian Playing Football in a Thoub	Brian Drawing a Crowd	Sana’ani Wedding
Craftsman	Craftsman	Men from Morning Coffee