Royal Sana'A International Hotel Sanaa

... men dancing with their Jambias, waving them above their heads and back down. Off to the side a circle of boys between the ages of 8 and 12 were imitating the dancing men, they performed stunningly well. The walk back to the school's housing ended a fun evening, but of course we were reminded of life's realities when we saw a woman sleeping on the ground with two children not past the age of 8 under blankets. How fortunate we are.<br>

... time to try to visit any shop or get anything done, as the city shuts down for prayer. 10. I really wish I had studied some Arabic before the trip, and was at a disadvantage to not even have a phrasebook (I looked for it at home but couldn't find it) 11. Enjoyed the independence of traveling alone, but missed and worried about Suzan and Sophia at home. 12. Was very glad I had the chance to visit Yemen, my 137th country, and got some great photos to show for it

... part of a pre-wedding celebration. A pickup led a very slow procession of men through the rough dirt roads of Kawkaban, with a generator in the bed to provide energy for the loudspeaker and a flood light. The light was strong enough for me to take some nice non-flash photos of the groom all decked out in traditional Yemeni wedding costume complete with a shiny, golden sword over his shoulder. He gently held the hand of his father next as he proceeded through the ...

... on the location and intensity of the sun. No air conditioning either. I met two Yemeni families visiting the palace. The fathers were particularly proud of their children and were eager for me to take and see pictures of them. . . . Just walking through the streets, several children asked me to take their pictures before I ever had a chance to ask their permission. Of course they didn't speak English, nor I Arabic, but ...

... star experience that sets the airline apart from its Emiriti competitors. The service begins from the moment you are greeted by hotel-style porters at curbside in front of the airline's Premium Terminal at Doha airport. The Premium Terminal is completely separate from the main terminal and is divided into separate areas for First and Business passengers. Rather than being an intimate lounge like Lufthansa in Frankfurt, this ...

... We even stopped in one of the villages and had some tea in a man's house, so we had the chance to practice our Arabic and bombard him with questions about his life in this seemingly magical place. He looked like he might have been in his early fifty's and he said that his family has been living in this village for as long back as he can trace. He and his sons farm on the family's land and travel to Sana'a anywhere from two to five times a month ...

... go from al-Maghreba on a Friday. We paid the equivalent of 75p! Now I am about to ring Abdullah and arrange to meet him again before I leave, then I will head back to Ursula's house. Tomorrow we are having lunch with Tim Mackingtosh-Smith, author of 'Yemen: Travels in Dictionary Land' - a really good book. On Sunday I will make a quick visit to Wadi Dhar to see the famous rock palace, and I fly out to Cairo earlyish on Monday (insh'allah!). Cheerio for now.

... restaurant called "Ching Singh" which looks like it has been here since the days of the British. The door is guarded by a little old Yemeni man with the smallest eyes I have ever seen on a person. Every day, he wears the same worn-out Chinese-style shirt and he takes his job of opening the door to patrons very seriously. Despite its dim fluorescent lighting, chipped paint and tacky Chinese ornaments hanging from the ...

... say I was hoping to be a bit more presentable for Giulia! I will now fly on the 10th, so we will arrive in Cairo on the same day - something I am looking forward to a lot. Yesterday was absolutely terrific. I made my way to the house of an old friend of Mum and Dad's, a lovely Austrian lady called Ursula, who has been living in Sanaa for some 25 years. Ursula spent several years working on the restoration of a number of ancient Qurans that ...

Well, I have reached the end of my first week of study, with two more lessons to go this afternoon. As I am only studying for two weeks, I've decided to stay in Sana'a this weekend and try and revise everything I've covered so far. In class, I have been reading Arabic newspapers which is quite tricky, but I think I'm making pretty good progress. Today I am being taken for a traditional Yemeni meal, salta, by my Adil, one of my teachers. Later, I ...