Transportation
Taxis & Service Taxis
Service taxis also have designated routes, but
no timetable; the driver waits until the vehicle
is full before leaving. These taxis are painted
white with horizontal stripes and a large circle
painted on the front door, often giving the route
in Arabic. In the larger cities, private taxis
are also available; the price should be negotiated
before you begin your trip.
Buses
Public transport in the northern cities is well-served
by the dhabar, black-striped mini-buses, which
have designated routes but somewhat erratic timetables
and pick up passengers as they go along the streets.
A decent network of Asphalt, and dirt roads links
all major and secondary cities. Public and private
companies provide fist-class daily coach services
between major cites. Taxi stations also provide
their services around the clock. Prices are very
low. In southern cities, buses are blue and have
more regular schedules.
Car Rental
There are many travel and tourist agencies operating
under license from the local authorities. They
organize tours around the country they also provide
tour guides speaking different languages, and
rent out cares for those interested. If you wish
to hire a car, it is usual to hire the driver
as well. |
Social scene
San'a
If you believe the Yemenis, San'a is one of the
first sites of human settlement, founded by Noah's
son, Shem. Other sources suggest the city has
been around since at least the 2nd century AD,
and up until 1962 the city still nestled within
its ancient walls, surrounded by green fields.
These days, San'a is a sprawling city of over
a million people, but the walls still stand -
many houses in the Old City are over 400 years
old, and the area within the walls is the largest
preserved medina in the Arab world. Everywhere
you go you'll see facades ornamented with elaborate
friezes, and beautiful takhrim windows with their
delicate fretworking and coloured panes. Mosque
minarets rise above the tower houses, and the
city is sprinkled with bathhouses, some dating
from the Ottoman occupation of Yemen. The central
market, Souq al-Milh, is a collection of around
40 small souqs, each specialising in one product
- you'll find vegetables, spices, qat, raisins,
pottery, clothes, woodwork, copper and silver.
In the Jambiya Souq you can watch craftsmen making
complex ceremonial weapons.
If you're a Muslim, you should visit Al-Jami'
al-Kabir, the great mosque on the western side
of Souq al-Milh. The mosque, which is closed to
non-Muslims, was built around 630AD, when Mohammed
was still alive.The city's National Museum lives
in the House of Good Luck, a former royal palace
built in the 1930s. Its five floors have displays
on the ancient kingdoms of Yemen (including Saba),
the country's Islamic history and its modern folk
culture. The Museum for Arts & Crafts, also
in an old palace, specialises in artefacts from
everyday Yemeni life, while the surprisingly good
Military Museum has the low-down on the country's
many wars.
You'll have no trouble finding a cheap hotel
in San'a, but you may have trouble finding one
you want to stay in. If you're prepared to pay
a bit, you can stay in one of the city's converted
tower houses. There are plenty of small restaurants
scattered around the city, with the best conglomeration
around Bab al-Yaman.
Ma'rib
Once the capital of the ancient kingdom of Saba,
Ma'rib is the most stunning archaeological site
in Yemen. In the 8th century BC a 16m (52ft) high
dam was built here, and for over 1000 years the
lake it created irrigated fields which sustained
around 50,000 people. In the 2nd century AD the
empire fell, and over the next few hundred years
the dam collapsed and Ma'rib became an inconsequential
village. When oil was discoverd here in 1986 the
town was revitalised, and it's now a bustling
place. Time has not been particularly charitable
to the ruins of Ma'rib, but there's still plenty
to see. Although most of the old village has been
destroyed, you can still see some impressive small-windowed
mud buildings, and occasionally you'll find one
with ancient Sabaean inscriptions in its stone
cellar. Nearby are the remnants of some remarkable
temples, including the Temple of Bilqis, built
around 400BC. There's not a lot left, but you
can still see the remnants of the Great Dam of
Ma'rib, and if you walk a few miles upstream you'll
reach the imaginatively-titled New Dam of Ma'rib,
more than twice as high as the old one. Ma'rib
is about 100km (60mi) east of San'a - buses travel
there twice a day from the capital. There are
very few places to stay or eat in Ma'rib.
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