Finally
Sana'a dreamed so with its houses of a thousand marvels offer all their glory in our eyes. We are enchanted by the charm that emanates from this city founded by Sem, who owes his name. Today almost all the city preserves its original architecture, its beauty desired by its inhabitants: estheticism lines perfect towers of the houses that make the race with minarets to secure the victory for first touching the sky ... Ovunque brushstrokes of color, almost an impressionist painting where the blue dominates the sky, white for the windows, the colored sand to the houses and green gardens that s'indovinano when you open the gates.
Crowds, heat, odors, moisture, shouts of the crowd, Muggia animals on display, pressing, jostling, laughing, bargaining, closed faces that reflect white crowd as the eye can see, here is the domain of men in traditional clothes immaculate: We are a large market for Bay El Fahid. Everything is sold and bought: ropes, bridles for animals, livestock and food, we have all year, it comes from all sides for that great day with the hope to be able to make good business. The air saturated with odors and humidity makes your head turn, we are so absorbed by the crowd not to understand if we are tourists or Yemenis ...
Sand, palm trees, wooden boats, deserted beaches, sultry nights, huts cordage, is the reign of Ahmed, manager of a tiny guest house along the Red Sea and Ahmed expects always sitting on a bench in the ramshackle straw traveler who is lost along the coast. A warm bath in the sea at dusk, the taste of a grilled fish and Al Rora becomes for us the most beautiful beach in the world ...
The journey continues to
Marib, where the mystery of the Queen of Sheba still unresolved and the meeting with Ali, our driver, is a gift, did not want to take the tourists to return soon Rada to embrace his last son who did not know yet . Our itinerary included a stop in that city to admire the old windows of alabaster and so we accepted as fellow travelers and we were also invited a few days at home. Ali knew everything: in addition to the best places, we did meet interesting people and understand the culture and traditions yemenite, and with him we discovered
Shibam ...
At dell'arido Rub Al Kali, after twelve hours of crossing accompanied by the Bedouins, their Kalachnikov, and sharing of yourself in a desert,
Shibam, the Manhattan of the desert, appears like a mirage in a casket of palm trees. Same vision that had the caravan on the road of spices ...
Shibam, with its skyscrapers over eight floors protected by UNESCO resounds in its narrow streets of laughter of children, the hooves of the goats in search of food and chatter of women, black shadows moving careful to avoid falling on uneven pavements .. .
Shibam, where the painters sitting on the ephemeral and fragile swings more than ten meters above the ground, decorating the windows with lime-colored snow, singing ...
Shibam, where the night the play of light through the stained glass windows there rumors of fantastic stories and the shadows of the last fugitive laggards become odalische and sultans ...
Shibam, which from Jebel near flammable at dusk reluctantly to leave the place to the moon by making disturbing the shadows of palm trees and
Shibam in the silence falls, carrying with them our dreams and memories forever impressed in our hearts ...
And the day gets up on Bokura, this isolated village on a plateau seems to wait for her prince as the Sleeping Beauty. Illusion or reality these houses that play a hiding place with the mountains allowing stones rose colored sand reflect the sun's rays to better blend into the landscape and not be discovered?
Yemen is so: it is better to be hiding out, his men so proud are always ready to defend the honor and only one patient and observant traveler may encounter the deep soul of Arabia Felix ...
Graziella angy8@bluewin.ch
N.B: the driver can be contacted at:
http://site.voila.fr/yementours
E-mail: ali-zamil@hotmail.com (English, Arabic) or at the hotel reception: Arabia-Felix in the heart of the old city of
Sana'a http://arabiafelix @ free.fr)
N.B: Ali speaks very good Italian
practical information in my pages: http://xoomer.alice.it/arabiafelix