The Yemen Chronicles Part 2 - Jibla

Hello!

Sorry for the long delay.. I was temporarily without a brain. Anyways, I'm back now and I have a lot of catching up to do. . so here goes:

The pictures below are of my trip to Jibla with my cousin Abdul Aziz and our friend Ahmed. Jibla is a pretty old city in the heart of Yemen.. it sort of popped in out of nowhere in the 11th century becoming the capital of Yemen for some time... then popped out. Anyways, first here are a few pictures of the drive there..





In the summer months this area is totally green.


In the countryside it's common to see Yemeni women with these pointy hats.



They're probably bbq'ing some tourists..





There's probably a farmer sleeping in there.. guarding his Qat.



Many of the children in Yemen wear suits.. The men tend to wear suit jackets over their traditional clothing. It's a good way to keep warm at night.



I don't remember where this is..



I think this is near Jibla.. you'll find lots of old motorcycles in the countryside.



Ahhh.. here we are.. approaching the ancient city of Jibla.







There are a few ancient bridges since the city is straddled by two rivers. It's constantly green in Jibla.. the weather is the same all year round..... perfect for growing vegetables!



The building over there that's in ruins is the palace of Al-Mu'ez, I think he might have been Queen Arwa's husband. It had 365 rooms.. I guess so you can go for a year without changing your bedsheets. (Maybe he was a bedwetter)

Queen Arwa's husband gave her all the power to do what she pleased since he was a very ill man. During her rule Yemen developed and prospered immensly.



This is the inside of the Queen Arwa mosque. It was built in the same year that the city was founded.. a gazillion years ago.



Queen Arwa ruled over Jibla for over 50 years, she organized the city, built roads, and initiated the terracing of the surrounding mountains.

Queen Arwa also established Jibla as a centre of knowledge. On one side of the mosque is a library that has really really really old manuscripts.. religious and scientific.



This is Queen Arwa's tomb, which is inside the mosque.



The ceiling of the mosque is decorated with verses from the Qur'an.





In the old old days they used to bring this out.. as you count each one you say a little prayer..

We picked up these two kids off the street.. they instantly became our local tour guides. In Yemen, wherever you go you will find someone willing and eager to show you around. They will usually insist (especially in the small villages) that you to come over and stay at their homes.. meet their family and have some food.



Ahh now this is a different mosque, I forget the name of it.. but it was built by a guy who was half Jewish and half Muslim.. yes yes.. how is that so?? I have no idea.. Anyways, he built this mosque in the hopes of joining the two faiths together. If you look closely you can see the star of David on the dome.



Ahh here's a better picture :)



Daddy out with his daughters.. this is inside the Queen Arwa museum.



The view from the top of Queen Arwa's palace.