zoo adventures

After class yesterday, along with a small group of students, we navigated the bus system to the Sana'a Zoo. Quite an interesting experience. They have about 20 lions, a few hyenas, a cage full of monkeys, goats and sheep (although these, we think, were actually food for the big cats and not really meant to be on display), pigeons, and my favorite, about 100 guinea pigs. The zoo was surprisingly clean, the cages sturdy (in Ethiopia we saw a lion in a cage made from chain link fence, and were expecting something more along these lines), and the entrance fee was only $0.25.

This sign reads: "The zoo is not a souq (market) for the buying or selling of animals." Good to know.

But isn't this behavior discouraged? Well, no, incidentally. The zoo actually encourages and facilitates feeding the monkeys by cutting out holes in the fence and selling bags of popcorn and seeds. There were a couple Yemenis yesterday who were so excited by this feeding process that they started tossing in soda cans, in addition to the standard corn and nuts. (Click on photo to enlarge and check out the monkey's expression and chompers up close.)

Haram!

the littlest yemeni

all decked out in his wednesday best

Josie Jr.

We've decided to test our skills at raising poultry, and are now the proud parents of a chicken. Nate bought this beauty at the local livestock market (see pictures below and past blog entries for more). Since we don't have a yard, our little neighbor (pictured with turkey) has offered to keep her for us, and has promised us one egg every few days. All we have to do is bring it our bread scraps. The best part: She only put us back $2.50!

Little lady got scared by the camera flash and let a little loose...on Nate's jacket.

If all goes well with the chicken, we might try our hands at breeding rodents.

Morning Egg Song

It's not bad enough that all of the neighbors have roosters that like to crow at all hours, our new neighborhood egg seller has made his own funky remix that plays on repeat as he drives around the hood selling his product (kind of like the American ice cream truck). The kids have taken to screaming this song at the top of their lungs. We took this video out of our window so the visuals aren't spectacular but the song can't be beat.

random photo part one

incredible new yemeni invention: the movable stick

birthday wishes on the 13th

Happy 2nd Birthday Indiana Maxwell!

xo, auntie bits & uncle naysan

day at the park

Inspired by yesterday's fieldtrip, we decided to embark on another today, this time spending the afternoon studying at a local park--it's actually an amusement park next to Fun City, but it only has about three rides. The gardens were definitely more impressive (and safer) than the offered amusements.

Nate, in front of some "sculpture" in the park. It's hard to tell from this picture, but there were loose wires coming out of all the dangly arms. Hopefully they'll wait to cap off the ends prior to turning on.

The Presidential Mosque. Not "presidential" in that it's dedicated to Saleh, but that in it's HIS personal mosque. Still under construction, and costing a reported $40 million to build because, you know, Yemen's so wealthy and there are no better places to put that money, such as, oh, education or basic infrastructure. This gross misappropriation of government funds somehow sounds familiar (Bush?).

The park's partially-completed amphitheater. The stadium in the background is used by the President to make speeches.

Shibam-Kawkaban

Yesterday, along with seven other students, a few faculty members, our grounds keeper/school security guard, and a reporter from the Air Yemenia in-flight magazine, we drove an hour northwest to Kawkaban for a little adventure outside the city.

Kawkaban is located on top of a mountain (elevation of 9200 ft) and the city is built alongside a cliff overlooking the town of Shibam.

Shibam, as viewed from the cliffs of Kawkaban.

A hotel in Kawkaban (can barely be made out in the center of the picture), reached on on foot, about a 15 minute hike down some cliffs from the main town center. We had a coffee break here in the mafraj (living room) overlooking Shibam--the view was absolutely amazing. We're hoping to come back here and stay a night with the parents in March.

After our coffee break, we hiked from Kawkaban to Shibam, a 45-minute descent (and drop in elevation of approximately 1650 feet).

Picture break during the hike. Assif is a fellow student at SIAL, and the man crouching is the reporter, doing a story on us and our field trip--finally, my 15 minutes of fame...in an in-flight magazine.

Waterfall in Shibam we discovered during another short hike. Yemen is such a dry country (in more than one way), it was really unexpected to see so much water.

House built precariously on the edge a cliff, on top of the waterfall.

We had a small picnic in Shibam and were approached by a large group of female Yemeni university students. They were so excited to practice their English with us, and even spoke to the men in our group (unheard of in Sana'a, which is apparently much more conservative that the outlying towns). Also unlike Sanani women, many of these ladies did not wear the full veil and they were willing to have their pictures taken. I'm not sure who the man standing in the background was, but he somehow made it into all of our pictures with the Yemeni gals. We ran back into this group after hiking to the waterfall and found them to be setting off fireworks.

Door made of "Girl" brand ghee tins.

House?

Cow, with a really punk nose piercing.

Horse, symbol of President Saleh's political party. Most buildings in the area, as a sign of political allegiance and support, had either the horse or a sun painted on them (symbol of the Religious Party).

guest of the sheik

Bab al-Yemen is probably the most famous place in all of Yemen. We've been here for a little over 4 months now and had yet to visit (even though it's less than a mile from our house; since we're here so long, there's this "no rush" feeling of we have time, we'll do it next month). So finally, I decided to go on a little adventure yesterday and see the elusive Bab al-Yemen. I ran into our neighbor Sammy and his friend Ahmad and off we went.

We walked through the old city of Sana'a and made our way to Bab al-Yemen, which is the main gate into the old city and, to be honest, it is really underwhelming. It is, however, a great place to hang out and watch foreigners snapping away photos and looking lost. I invited the boys to tea right across from the bab (door)--for all three of us it was less than 10 cents--and we sat down with some other Yemenis who immediately began to chat at me. They seemed dumbfounded that I was able to answer their rapid-fire questions. The main topic of conversation in Sana'a right now is the fact that a really popular Sheik died last week (he was also the equivalent to the Speaker of the House in the Yemeni Parliament).

The guy across from me asked if I could read Arabic--once again he was surprised--and he then handed me a government document that basically stated that he was a Sheik of a region just north of Sana'a (near Marib, location of the bombing last August). He looked to be around 60 (although it's hard to guess ages here), is a Bedouin, and has 16 children and 4 wives. He then passed me his cellphone and demanded that I call my mother (to prove his Bedouin generosity). I told him that it would cost about $5 a minute, but he kept insisting. I finally got out of it by explaining the time difference (it was about 2am back home). Since I didn't take him up on his calling offer, he instead offered me one of his 10 daughters. I explained that my wife probably wouldn't approve, although I was positive that his daughters were beautiful. Further insisting, he told me that if I ever converted to Islam, one of his daughters would be be mine. I thanked him and he walked with me to the middle of the square (holding my hand the whole time) and we bid farewell. I left with the promise to come stay with him and his family in traditional Bedouin fashion (camping in tents in the desert). Just another typical Yemeni day...

happy new years!