Sana'a - YEMEN

While returning to India from Eritrea in May 2000, we had a choice of going through Dubai or Sana’a. I chose Sana’a since I had not been there before. I had earlier spent a year in Dubai.

We reached Sana’a in the morning. At the airport, our passports were taken away by the customs officials for safe keeping. I think they wanted to make sure that we got on the connecting flight the next day. Yemenia Airways arranged our stay at Sam City Hotel. On reaching the hotel we were informed by the reception that we are not allowed to leave the hotel. They said Sana’a is not a safe place for foreigners. This came as a shock since we wanted to see the city. We felt like prisoners. They then told us they can arrange a sightseeing tour for us, if each of us paid a certain amount in US dollars. They were trying to sell us a tour package. We decided to stay at the hotel.

In the evening they told us we can go out now because there are more people on the streets and hence it is safer. The man at the reception always had something in his mouth. One cheek looked swollen. The women at the reception wore a full face veil.

While walking around the city we saw very few women on the streets. Men wearing the local dress carried a dagger. There was a street market near some gold shops. Most of the buildings in Sana’a looked very old. All shops accept the US dollar and they even give you the balance in dollars. In fact they prefer you pay in dollars.

The next morning we packed and left for the airport. We collected our passports at the airport and boarded the flight to Sharjah en route to Mumbai. Sana’a was not an interesting place in any way.