Desert Crossing

Trip Start Aug 05, 2006
1
17
55
Trip End Ongoing


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Flag of Yemen  ,
Wednesday, January 3, 2007

The time for relaxing and lounging about in Sana'a has come to an end.  Its time get moving again or I may never finish this trip!  Two of my friends, Brian and John, finally arrived from Eritrea.  We decided to head eastward across the desert to the city of Seiyun and explore a bit more of the country.

Seiyun is a dusty and extremely dry town located in the valley of Wadi  Hadramawt.  There is not much to do here other than check out a palace and enjoy copious amounts of mango juice.  It also has cheap accommodation and is a good staging point for exploring the towns of Shibam and Tarim. 

We negotiated for a taxi to take us to Shibam which is known as the "Manhattan of the Desert".  The town is filled 8-9 story mud-brick homes that date back to the 16th century.  These houses are actually built upon the ruins of older settlements that date back thousands of years.  The buildings are especially impressive from a distance as they tower out over the desert. 

The next town, Tarim, is famed for having a different mosque for every day of the year.  As impressive as this sounds the town was actually a bit disappointing.  Most mosques were surrounded by high walls or were just simple structures.  Also non-Muslims are forbidden to enter so we only got to see the outside. 
 
 
 
 
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Comments

laorfamily
laorfamily on Jan 3, 2007 at 05:28PM

Great pics
Hey, I happened to see your pics and they look great. I assume you are Jewish, if so how is it to be in Yemen?

dmartin
dmartin on Jan 3, 2007 at 08:09PM

Great pictures and entry
Dear Dan, Just arrived home from Rose Bowl! What an event! Glad to open email and see your entry! Stay safe and keep in touch. Love, MOM and DAD

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