Outside Sana'a: Part 1

A couple weekends ago I had my first chance to travel outside of the Sana’a area. We’ve been hosting an Anthropology class taught by an American professor, and I got to tag along with the class field trip to a number of cities in the regions south and west of the capital. Accompanying us was a Yemeni archaeologist, Mohammad. This is the first in a series of posts on this trip.

Our itinerary included Ibb, Taizz, Mocha, Khokha, and Zabid. I rose early on Thursday morning to meet the group at the college’s front gates before heading south from Sana’a. After an hour and a half we made our way out of the Sana’a plateau and began winding through the mountain roads that would take us to Taizz.

I woke up from my nap in the trunk of our Toyota SUV only to have my breath taken away by the view spilling beneath me only feet from the edge of road. Before me were valleys of incomprehensible depth, fertile valleys, guarded by terraced mountains. This was only the first taste of the spectacular views that were to come.

We first arrived at the old city of Ibb, nestled in the fertile green mountains south of Sana’a. Its architecture immediately distinguished itself from that of Sana’a, though in a subtle way. The buildings were still built tall and rectangular, but the bricks were smaller and had a yellow tint to them. With its cobble-stone streets and light-colored buildings, the old city had a European feel. I felt like this is what a town in the hills of southern Europe would look like. On our way out we ran into two tribesmen from Mareb, one of those places it’s nearly impossible to get permission to travel to. The two had hard faces, long, curly, greasy black hair and Kalashnikovs slung over their shoulders.

After that we left Ibb for Jiblah, where we ate lunch at Aiman’s family’s house (he is our driver at the school and on this trip). We only got to meet the men of the family whereas a female student in our group had the chance to meet the women after lunch. Back in the mafraj, we men non-verbally decided to take an unscheduled hour long nap. A young girl periodically peeked in to check up on us. After finally saying goodbye to Aiman’s family we headed to the old city of Jiblah. Perched on the side of a green hill with the late afternoon sun reflecting off its medieval white mosque, Old Jiblah looked like a fictional city you might happen upon somewhere in Middle Earth

The next stop was Husn Hubb, or, depending on how you want to translate it, Castle of Love. It’s built atop the highest mountain in the Ibb-Jiblah area. I forget who built it, but I remember hearing that one of its residents was able to survive a 14-month siege in it. The views from here were incredible. The white city of Ibb filled the valley and hills below. We explored the remains of the castle and took in the sunset over the crumbling perimeter walls. The medieval ruins of Husn Hubb, set high upon a rocky hill, immediately brought Scotland to mind. After leaving Husn Hubb we took off for Taizz.

Pictures from these cities: Ibb | Jiblah and Husn Hubb

View from Husn Hubb

Inside Husn Hubb

Outer walls of Husn Hubb

Old Jiblah

A mosque on the way to Jiblah

Architecture in Ibb - Old City

Ibb - Old City

Ibb - Old City

Market in Ibb

On the road from Sana'a to Ibb, just as we started to descend from the Sana'a plateau