The Yemen Chronicles Part 11 Sana'a - Bab Al-Yemen

Here are some pictures of Bab Al Yemen (The Gate of Yemen).. its a huge 1000 year old market. It is a lovely labyrinth of sights, sounds and smells. There are a variety of different markets within this one giant market place.. Ah.. too many to list. Many people also live inside this area.. One can smell the the spice market before they reach it.. The vendors have huge burlap sacks filled to the top.. I wish I had taken a picture of it! Oh well..




There used to be 8 gates around the market, but now only this one remains. In the past they used to close all the gates after sunset, and open them once more around 4 in the morning. I think this guy (the speedwalker) might be looking for the other 7 gates.



During one of the revolts or civil wars (I can't remember) the ruler closed the gates. It was blasted open by a tank shell, and as you can see it left a mark.



On my last day in Yemen I went to Bab Al-Yemen to enjoy the atmosphere one more time, and take some pictures. I went alone so I could wander around and hopefully get lost, which I did a few times, but I managed to find my way back. Due to technicalities though I wasn't able to get there early, so in some of the pictures there isnt much light. Anyways, ignore my blabbering and enjoy the pictures.













'Sawarni Sawarni!!' Is what this kid yelled at me the moment he saw my camera.. As you can guess it means, 'Take my picture you goofy tourist!' .. I obliged.. his name was Ahmed. Most kids will want their picture taken if they see you snapping pics.















As I turned around some random corner I bumped into this pack of Japanese tourists.. They had a really smug professional guide with them, so I thought ..'heheh.. why dont I linger behind them, and let this guide show them, and me the best places around here' .. It turned out, however, to be bad idea.. the Japanese tourists were taking pictures every other footstep.. we were moving at a snails pace.. I didnt have all day so I had to part ways.. Do you see the Jambia (dagger) shop on the right hand side? There are hundreds of them here..



I bought one of my jambias from this guy.. For a jambia and belt it cost me about 17 Canadian Dollars. I bought two since it was pretty cheap..








This is the Masjid Al Kabeer (The Great/Big Mosque) It's very very old..



One of my cousins was telling me that this mosque was built by an Ethiopian King, back when Ethiopia had Sana'a under it's control. The King wanted to build this mosque in the likeness of the one in Makkah, and then destroy the real Makkah. He wanted to divert the pilgrims southwards so he could make more money but his plan never worked.. I'm not sure if this is true though..