it smells different

Hello,

During my second visit to Yemen, I had the opportunity of joining my cousin and his employees on an 8+ hour drive from Sana'a to Seyoon. He had to check out some oil fields in the middle of nowhere and then meet with some people at a power plant in tSeyoon. I figured.. "its an experience".. The drive seemed endless.. first through mountains.. rocks.. then sand.. sand and lots of sand.. then mountains again.. We passed through 37 military checkpoints in total.. the number varies every so often. For about half the checkpoints the soldiers asked about me.. saying "hatha Yemeni?" (This guy is Yemeni??) I was travelling with 3 Yemeni's and one Indian guy, but they never asked about the Indian guy!

Some of the checkpoint soldiers were pretty funny. I recall driving through endless desert perhaps for an hour or more.. in the distance there was a bench and an umbrella.. On the bench sat a lone soldier.. he got up and waved us to stop. He had reddish, almost blonde hair, and was quite skinny. He asked us if we would like a military escort.. My cousin said "we will take our chances". I'm not sure if the soldier was serious or joking. I can't imagine what kind of escort he could give us.. Anyways.. here are a few pics..

Isn't it cooool how the sand slowly attacks the rock

This used to be an ancient city ruled by Queen Sheba, I forget the name of it.. we didnt stop to check it out.. not enough time.

Some camels grinding stuff, I think sesame seeds into oil..

I'm not sure if those are bedouin.. could be..

Giant rocks!

After crossing the long stretch of desert (part of it from the Empty Quarter), you will reach another kind of mountain range.. the flat tops.

Ahhh.. here's one of the oil fields we visited.. it was still in its early stages of development. My cousin's company was constructing these storage tanks. So we dropped by to check em out.. we also spent the night here.

We each slept in one of these containers, they have a bed.. a/c..table.. tv.. fridge.. shower.. toilet.. dvd player.. it was quite comfortable..

even herbal essences

I found this when I arrived.. I ate the remaining Mars bars.. left the tangerine..

I guess these are designed for MEN

We left early in the mornin..

A typical shop around Seyooon..

I wish I was in the front seat!

I noticed that a common passtime of Yemenis in rural villages is to sit on the edge of the road next to speed bumps. They like to see who's coming and going..

I don't know what this is.. anyone have any ideas?

On the way back we stopped on the side of the road in Ma'rib. It's almost like one of those wild wild west provinces where people do what they want. Many of the people who live here don't bother with liscense plates.. They are pretty independent and dont like to be told what to do by the government.. (so I have been told). In the past it was an area where many tourists were kidnapped.. Anyways my cousin stopped the jeep in a very common place known to many Yemenis, aka the middle of nowhere.. After two minutes a Toyota pick up truck.. you know those small 4x4 white ones.. emerged out of the desert. Out popped a Yemeni guy in traditional gear with his Ak47. He was one of my cousins friends.. apparently he was going to join us and show us Queen Shebas solar temple..

I believe this is Queen Shebas solar temple..

We were not allowed in because there was a tour group inside.. So I had to settle with sticking my camera through the fence. We couldn't wait for the tour to be finished b/c we didnt have much time.