Afternoon in Old Sana'a

February 9, 2010 -- an afternoon visit to the old city of Sana'a, just as the sun was going down over the mountains in the distant southwest. Those mountains must form the escarpment that falls sharply to the Red Sea.

The views in the afternoon sunlight, with contrails of jets in the blue sky overhead, were of the warm brown buildings with their white "icing" of plaster decorating windows, doors and rooflines. One can almost be surprised that a country as poor and challenged as this can manage to impose building regulations that require that any new construction in the old city follow the traditional styles.

Well, it works.