Friday at Hababah, Zakatin wa Buker

Friday is the equivalent of a Sunday in the United States - the religious day and the day when all the schools are closed. We didn't have Arabic classes today, but our professors didn't get the day off. Instead, they took us up into the mountains. Some of my fellow students and I spent the day in the Haraz Mountains and visited three particular sites.

Hababah - a city that lies on the Shibam plain between Thula and Shibam. People still live in this ancient city, though I think most of the houses and rooms are abandoned. It was like a walk back in time, like the secenary from some old movie. I'm going to try and post pictures of all of these places soon, so watch for them. And we got to sit through our first Yemeni security checkpoint on the way there...talk about exciting, lol.

Zakatin - a small village with a fortress that has a population of four. (Literally. We met them all. They were very friendly and the wife even prepared and served us all shay (tea) with mint, the common Yemeni beverage of choice. It's so sweet I think even U.S. southerners might not be the biggest fans...but I could be wrong about that.) The fortress is now used to house animals and seeds. Again, amazing pictures to come. Both of these cities/fortresses are made out of stone and rocks but for some reason have elaborate and colorful doors throughout, and all are locked with padlocks. Usually one person carries around all the keys on his belt or in her butla. We found it funny that the doors were locked, because the Yemeni people don't seem to steal from or cheat each other on much of anything. Plus it's not like tourists are taking over Yemen these days. Maybe as a precaution against the powers that be, who knows.

Buker - an historical village, in front of Zakatin, not far from Kowkaban, perched on top of a rocky "hill" (as the locals call it...but it was a little more than a hill in my opinion and you'll probably agree when you see the photographs!). Buker is famous for its houses that are built into the sides of the cliff. Buker was essentially destroyed during Yemen's civil war in the 1970s. But today, there is a new village built over the mountains in front of the old village. When you climb up to Buker, the view is beyond amazing - reminded me of the Grand Canyon in many ways, but really more beautiful. Apparently this village was very important in the history of Yemen as a lot of Immams and rulers were born and died here. We were joined by a handful of little kids who scamper over the sides of the mountains with no problem, many of them barefoot. It was one of the longest walks I've ever taken for the sake of lunch, lol (a few of the guys carried a cooler up and down and up again through the mountain pass to get to the other side) but totally and one hundred percent worth the effort. One of the guys checked the altitude when we were not quite at the height of the mountain and we were 3000 kilometers above sea level, so I think we got close to 10,000 feet above sea level altogether. I even got to the point where I quit noticing that I was walking on shifting rocks that were often less than a foot from the side of the mountain drop off. Not too bad I guess. My balance must be getting better. :)

I am going to try and post pictures on my Facebook page and will post a link here when they are available.