Once I was feeling bored and lonely (there is little to do in Sanaa for the one who does not like to waste time on the swimming pool side of an international hotel), I decided to have a stop to take a picture of the new great mosque under construction. The great mosque was built on the first century of islam in the center of the old city. A child took the opportunity to stand on the picture. So this is a picture turned to the future. Another day, I did the same from another side of the work, from the side of the presidential palace, under the rain. A policeman ran out of a car. I just showed him the picture on the camera and I could leave. Was this a picture turned to the future ? Yes it was due to the building to come. Currently, there is a urban bridge just on the same road facing the mosque.

The sun was already high in the early morning in the city of Al Hudeida in the Red Sea coastal region of Tihama. Tihama is one of the poorest provinces of Yemen. Foreigners recognize there influences coming from Africa and India. Due to those influences, Tihama is also one of the liberal parts of the country. There, people start chewing Qat in the early morning for some of them. Therefore the souk opens very early. The plant is still fresh. It has arrived a few hours before from the mountainous areas around thru the so called "Qat chewers roads". It is stored and protected with banana leafs. A few meters away, two tramps were trying to rest for a moment even if the temperature was increasing fast. What had they done during the night ? Were they able to find a shelter in the city ? The place they choosed seemed to be quiet anyway. They looked for a while like old cats. It was 8 a.m. only. I was about to leave the city. I did not buy Qat.

My guard was from another tribe (we will meet him again).

Let's start with the tribe called "Nehm" which is located far from the asphalted road on the way from Sanaa to Mareb. The central government must deal very cautiously with this tribe because one of the biggest mines in the country is located on its territory. The tribe is heavily armed and houses are highly secured. When I was there, the man from the left was just coming out of a government jail because of a tribal dispute. He had been emprisonned a few years for murder. It was night time, during the Ramadan, all the men from the village had gathered around the Sheikh and the visitors. The iman and the school teacher were there. The atmosphere was friendly. We talked about religion and politics. The presidential election was to come soon. We left around midnight with new friends in the area. An escort took us to the road.

The tribe remains the basic political organisation of the country.

coming soon...