Because you might think bad things about Yemen

It is hard to reconcile such beauty with such turbulence. This house, where we stayed for too brief a time, has been a garrison for soldiers, was owned by a general who had served in Russia, became a disputed property. Soldiers took the house back twice in the last three years; the latest attempt to seize the house was eighteenth months before our arrival. It was a stable time to visit.

Because you are going to hear bad things about this remarkable country, with its earth, mud and brick houses; its basalt mountains like square building blocks thrown down by a careless hand; its sticky sweet bread, served first in your meal; the shining glass of the windows that blink and flicker like coloured candlelights in the night; because you will hear a lot, and see little, then here are some photographs. They cannot do it justice.












The old city in Sanaa is a Unesco world heritage site. You might not hear that so much in the forthcoming days.