A Life Far Removed from Durian Trees

I am SO happy we managed to visit Hadramaut during our stay in Yemen. It's still off-limits (company rules) but there was a special trip a couple of weekends ago for a small group of people. We flew to Seiyun, about an hour's flight on Arabia Felix. Upon arrival, we were greeted by a convoy of nine cars plus two security cars. Because our schedule was tight, this meant walking around in 40C heat under the midday sun. But it was worth it. Our itinerary: - Seiyun Museum - Shibam-Hadramaut - Lunch at a sheikh's house in Tariba - Tarim city: (i) Qasr al-Kaf (ii) Al-Mehdar Mosque (iii) Al-Ahgaf Manuscript Library - Al-Hawta Palace Hotel Seiyun Museum Shibam A meal fit for a king Qasr Al-Kaf Al-Mehdar Mosque Al-Ahgaf Manuscript Library Al-Hawta Palace Hotel - the best in Yemen

Our tour guide from Socotra, Mahdi, in the papers...

Just got back from the historical city of Taiz - only a 30-minute flight from Sana'a on the new domestic airline, Felix Airways. We flew out on Thursday morning and back on Saturday morning... so we had almost two full days over the weekend. To drive down, it takes around 4.5 hours - but due to company-imposed security restrictions, we're only allowed to fly there. The roads are good apparently, except for one dangerous stretch called the Sumarra Pass. Our driver made his way to Taiz by car the day before our flight, and met us at Taiz airport. In case of a breakdown, he was accompanied by a second car (ironically it was the 'security' car that ended up with a flat tyre). Taiz is beautiful. Our first reaction was that it's very green ("very" being relative to Sana'a, not Southeast Asia!) and very hot (again, compared to Sana'a). Used to the cool highlands, the two drivers spent three hours driving around, looking for a hotel with air-conditioned r...