Sunday, January 31, 2010


I did take my camera on the ride from Sheraton this morning and grabbed a couple of photographs through the thick windows of the van. It’s just a snapshot of an old guy standing on the side of the road, but you can see his “jambira” or dagger – every Yemeni man wears one. The streets are kind of dusty, and there is a lot of broken concrete along the side of the street – might have been sidewalks at one time, but not so much now. The streets up here in the northeast part of the city are pretty wide, and there is not too much traffic. There is not, however, a lot of lane discipline. And, it is not unheard of for cars and trucks to drive in the wrong direction down the divided streets. People walk in every direction, and they cross the streets in quick movements with due caution. Clearly, you should look both ways. Women and men are both out and about. It is still a little off-putting to see a woman dressed entirely in black flowing robes with only a little slit over the very alive eyes. Some of my friends claim the call to prayer is waking them up at night, but I never hear anything more than some dog barking.

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