The Yemen Chronicles Part 9 - Hadhramawt conclusion

Here are a few remaining pictures of my day trip to Hadhramawt..

..After driving through various parts of the region, we headed to this funny looking palace that has now been converted into a hotel. It looked like it was in the middle of nowhere.. and yet surrounded by greenery.



This is the entrance..





Do you like the colours? heheh :)



This used to be a swimming pool... I wonder how many things are living in there.. I felt like jumping in..


I believe it used to be this guy's palace.. Thats a bushy mustache.





I really liked the plant life around here.. it seemed very natural.. a little out of control..but not too crazy..



If I havent mentioned it before, Canada Dry is VERY popluar over here.. I've drunk more Canada Dry in Yemen in 3 weeks, than in 14 years in Canada.



Our driver all of a sudden stopped the car and told me to look at this palm. It has 4 trunks!!




Our driver took us out deep into the countryside.. I had no idea where we were going.. We passed through a military checkpoint.. They asked if we were all Yemenis.. Yes yes we said.. they let us through.. We drove and drove and drove.. there was desert and mountains all around us.. I thought maybe he was kidnapping us.. who knows.. and then.. out of nowhere.. we ended up at this oasis. It's simply marvelous.. Do you see how the palm branches are glistening?? Apparently, they're special date trees ..




The rocks are all white and rounded.. so I'm guessing the water comes out to this point or has been this far out.



It's hard to describe how beautiful it was to see this oasis.. One has to travel the route we took to truly appreciate it.. everything was totally barren for miles before we reached here. It was very peaceful too.. I didnt see anyone around.




I really liked these smooth round rocks..

I was very happy to see Hadhramawt.. Apparently my ancestors moved to Hadhramawt a few generations ago to kick some butt (They were tough warriors! They were tough because they came from a very rough, mountainous and inhospitable region of Yemen called Yafi').. They defeated the rulers of Hadhramawt and then decided that they liked the place.. so they became the new rulers of the land... Eventually they were defeated by some other tribe.. but it is still a well known family.. So if I go to Hadhramawt and mention my last name, people will bow down and kiss my feet.. heheh.. just kidding!!

If I go to certain areas.. like Shihr it is likely that the people there will know a lot more about my family history.. which is really cool. I have to go to Shihr the next time I'm in Yemen .. and this is just my dad's side of the family.. My mom's side is also quite famous, more so perhaps.. There was this guy generations ago on my mom's side called Sheikh Ali (or Harhara, i cant remember which one now) who made peace between all the warring tribes.. they were like royalty back then.. (Once, in Saudi Arabia, when a Yemeni gardner found my mom was from Bin Sheikh Ali, he went over and kissed her on the shoulder!) .. All this information though is from parents/uncles/aunts so take it with a few large grains of salt! :)

My Aunty Mary recently gave me a copy of my family history dating back to the 12th century.. so it should be a good read.. It's in arabic though so it'll take a while to understand... Anyways.. sorry for the ramble.. its late..