My Yahoo!Arabian Nights
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Overview
Yemen was once called Arabia Felix or "Happy Arabia." It is a name that still stands today, maybe it's because the country is spoilt. It's got it all: breathtaking scenery--from oasis to high mountains--three thousand years of civilization and a pleasant climate. It is also at the ancient trading crossroads between the Arab World, Africa and the Red Sea route to Europe with Biblical frankincense and myrrh rumbling through this area.The home of the Queen of Sheba is at the heel of the Arabian Peninsula and is a heady cocktail of the exotic and the medieval. Unfortunately it's little known beyond negative media reports of kidnapped westerners, tribal warfare or the occasional act of terrorism; after all it is the ancestral home of Osama bin Laden.
Business travelers tend to come for development projects or oil. Despite its natural resources, Yemen is one of the Arabian's poorest states, now under the supervision of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund as it tries to implement economic reforms.
And like its northern neighbour, Saudi Arabia, oil is an important industry here. Canada's fourth largest oil explorer, Nexen (nyse: NXY - news - people ) is active at the Bashair Al Khair-A oilfield, where it is installing a power plant. Norway's Det Norske Oljeselskap AS says it will start producing its first-oil in the region come the second quarter of 2005. While Australia's Oil Search Ltd. is drilling and testing at Nabrajah.
Whether it is for business or pleasure, all travelers entering the country travel through the capital Sana'a. The city is a jewel in Yemen's crown. Located 2,200 meters above sea level on a high, volcanic plateau enclosed by mountains it will take your breath away--literally. It's also a good base from which to explore the sand dunes of the Empty Quarter or the island of Soqutra, which has been called "the Galapagos of the Indian Ocean." "This country is authentic Arabia with fantastic landscapes and deserts, as well as varying architecture from Shibam in the oases of Hadramaut to the walled mountain villages of Haraz," says Jossette Llahi from Acacia Tours in Sana'a.
When it comes to arranging those Arabian Nights, Sana'a has less than a handful of top hotels to choose from. And if you have to spend a thousand and one of them in Yemen, the Sheraton Sana'a Hotel tops the list. Sitting on a hill above the metropolis, it's only a taxi ride away from one of the peninsula's most interesting and antiquated centers.
The fact that there is a top hotel with punctual room service, tranquil gardens and a business center within earshot of the old city chaos, with its clamouring souq, is a feat in itself. Yet the Souq al-Milh, or salt market is one of the best bazaars in the Middle East. No late lunch or swim in the hotel pool should draw you away from its charms--try Yemeni honey, oases dates or watch men bargaining over "Qat," a mildly narcotic leaf chewed by both sexes on many social occasions. If other Middle Eastern markets have jaded you this one is a refreshing change there's no hard bargaining here or much hassle.
And the numbers in old Sana'a astound--try 103 mosques and 64 minarets rising elegantly above the rooftops, 14 hammams (Turkish-style baths) and over 6,000 houses all built before the 11th century. Local people will tell you it is one of the first ever sites of human settlement, established by Noah's son, Shem. While archaeologists say the city's a little younger, although it's still been around since the 2nd Century AD. Whatever the date, UNESCO has been quick to realize its importance, it slapped a preservation order on the entire old city nearly 20 years ago.
"The city was the 'Capital of Arab Culture 2004.' The government has done a lot to encourage tourism and stop terrorism. It has also keen to promote Sana'a," says Tony Gobran, the Sheraton's General Manager.
"I am very optimistic about the place. I believe the culture, the history, and Sana'a's heritage is incredible. The weather is also excellent."
Gobran is right--five minutes in the labyrinth of the old city streets and you realize its oozing religious, political and economic heritage from its palm-fringed gardens irrigated by washing water from the mosques. There are religious schools, called madrassas and camel-driven oil presses.
And there's nothing like watching the world go by from a teashop at the Bab Al-Yaman or Gate of Yemen. Here there's a lot to take in, including Sana'a's multi-colored, multi-storeyed tower-houses built of rammed earth or tribal men wearing curved daggers and woven sarongs. And who could forget the multitude of women covered head-to-toe in their black abbeyas?
But after a day in Happy Arabia, and a day of unexpected invitations to lunch or relaxed haggling in the souq, there's nothing like the haven of a hotel--its expected appeal can be most welcoming.
Hotel Particulars / Should You Stay Here? / Rates & Information
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