new Yemen - Around Sana'a

Close to Sana'a

Wadi Dahr
One of the most famous trips from Sana'a, well known for its Dar al-Hajar.

You can get there by shared taxi or by private taxi (300 YR, 5/98).

Hadda
Small town 10 km SW of Sana'a, nothing special.

Towards Kawkaban (NW)

Introduction
There's a good road now all the way to Al-Mahwit. The region here has plenty of things to offer. It's an ideal region to do some trekkings.

A recent report said you can now only visit this region with a travel agent (12/97).

Thulla
This is a nice village on the base of a mountain with the fort on top of the mountain. Walking to the fortress takes 20 min., but there are guards who might stop you.

Shibam
Also very nice village. If you're fit enough, walk all the way over a path with steps up to Kawkaban (1 hour). The walk starts at the back of the mosque. If you're less fit you could do the other way round since this is going down. The difference in height is about 350 m.

Kawkaban
Kawkaban is at the top of the mountain.

There are good walking possibilities here.
- You could walk down to Shibam
- You could also do a longer walk. First go to Zakatin. To do this, walk along the paved road, and when there's a sharp bend to the left, take an unpaved road to the right. The path goes over a plateau on the top of the wadi's. You'll reach Zakatin after 2h 30'. Afterwards go to Bokur in about 1 h 15'. Behind the school, walk in the fields (no path) S-SW to Al-Marasha. From there you should try to get down into the Wadi Chaswaan (you can pay a kid to lead you down). Follow the small river to Al-Ahdjer. In this canyon there are plenty of people culturing the fertile land. Before Al-Ahdjer the path goes up again and finally comes down to street level. From there hitch back to Kawkaban (info with courtesy of Wegwijzer).

The Funduk Cabal charges 2000 YR for a double, mattresses on the floor, no sheets but they have blankets, and this includes 3 good meals. They have hot common showers in the morning and the evening. The owner is extremely friendly and speaks a bit English. His brother teaches English and can guide you around. HOWEVER: be careful, there were 2 thefts of money reported here, so watch you your wallet, don't leave them in the room (5/98).

Al Tawila
Small market village at 29 km of Shibam.Al MahwitIt's nice but not really spectacular.

You also have different walking possibilities here:
- If you want to walk for several days, you could walk to Hajja along the hot water springs of Suq al Hamam over the Jabal Maswar (3120 m).
- A shorter walk is the walk down into the Wadi Sahra to Khamis Ban

i Sa'ad (along the road Sana'a - Al Hudeyda). There's a market on Thursdays.

The Mahwit Hotel charges 3590 YR for a double with private bathroom, this includes breakfast. They have a marvellous roof terrace with great views, the restaurant is good but they can have problems with water supply (8/97).

Toward Manakha (West)

Introduction
Manakha and Al-Hajjara are close to each other. Manakha is quite dirty, you can go to Al-Hajjara either by foot or by pick-up. It is also an excellent region to do some trekkings. Children can be persistent in asking for presents.

Getting there
Take the bus from the busstation at Zubairy street towards Al-hodeida and get off at Magraba (last bus around 2 pm, 250 YR ). From Magraba take a shared taxi to Manacha.

Hotels
The Al-Hajjara Tourist Hotel charges 3000 YR for a double, including breakfast and dinner.The rooms are small but clean, mattresses on the floor, they have common bathrooms with hot shower. The atmosphere is quite good with often live Yemeni music. It's possible to arrange guides for trekkings, although you'll probably find cheaper guides in town.

Shibam Haraz hotel is new since 1997. Rooms are big, bathrooms very clean. the hotel has good views, staff is friendly. Price is the same 3000 YR a double.

What to do

A nice walk is the one from Manakha to Al-Hajjara over Kahel (great houses on a mountain ridge), passing Jebel and further on to Al-Hajjara. If you do this on your own, you'll probably loose track several times, but children will help you out. Still, for the less adventurous, a guide might be advisable.

Towards Marib

Getting there
It used to be possible to get to Marib by public transport, but nowadays you need to go in an escorted 4WD. However, it appears to be possible to go in the opposite direction without convoy! (5/98). A shared taxi costs 400 YR.

Hotels in Marib
The Al-Yannaltayn (Land of 2 paradise hotel) charges 2900 YR for a double including breakfast. Rooms have private bathroom and they are clean. They have a swimming pool but often no water. This is the only "cheap" option apart from the Brothers Hotel.

A cheap place is the Al Lewa Al Akhder. They charge 1300 YR for a room with 4 beds. Rooms are clean but common bathroom is not. There's only 1 toilet and shower for the hotel, don't take rooms close to it.

What to do

The trip is 200 km. In order to visit the sites, it's best to have a car since the sites are far away from each other: the "old city", there are 2 temples (Mahram Bilqis and Arsh Bilqis), and the dam is also worth a look.

Baraqish is the best preserved ruin town of Yemen, but it's often impossible to visit because of security reasons.

Going to Hadramaut: look under that section.

Go to "Towards Sa'da"