Bayt Boos

Saturday morning I actually slept in a bit. I say that not because work gets me up super early, but because my body just settled into the routine of waking up around 5am and being ready to get to the day’s work. Since getting over my jet lagged state I have felt very refreshed in the mornings. The reason has to be that I sleep right next to a large, east-facing window. That sun just knows how to wake you up in just the right way. I think an east-facing window in my room is a prerequisite of any home I buy.


Anyway, it was good that I slept in a bit on Saturday because Salim, my driver for the day, was running behind as well. I would have been sitting on those front steps for an hour and a half rather than a half hour. Salim pulled up just after 9:30 with a big smile and an “I’m late!” No problem. We’ve got the whole day to explore. Why start feeling rushed?


Plans were to go to an old Jewish town called Bayt Boos. Just like any other site or landmark in Yemen, this could be spelled a different way by every person that you ask. It was never meant to be spelled with roman lettering.


Pulling off the main thoroughfare onto what can barely be considered a dirt road, we started winding around hills and between buildings until the colony appeared on the hills above us. From our vantage point, and large well could be seen below, with the crumbling walls of an old village on the cliffs above.


Salim parked under a large sycamore tree. We were instantly surrounded by young boys eager to give us the tour of a lifetime. I groaned a bit inside, realizing that each of these boys would want some for of compensation at the end, and I only had very small coins to offer; not enough to give each what they would feel they had earned. But there was no stopping them, so I decided just to enjoy the time with them and deal with the problem when it became unavoidable. They wouldn’t believe me now anyway.


The town is still occupied by several families, all Muslims. The Jews took off at least decades ago, if not centuries (I couldn’t find anyone who really knew). And most of the Muslims took off when the expanding city increased the value of their land, making it attractive to leave for greener pastures.


One thing you will not find very often in Yemen is a religious building not devoted to Islam. Yet, there on the adjoining hill stands a synagogue, a lone survivor to a once Jewish-friendly land.
From the cliffs of this city you can see the city, with the giant new mosque as a centerpiece. To the north of our position, a dam created a lake. I pointed the lake out to Salim and he asked the kids how we could get there. After some more pictures, we loaded in the landcruiser and headed for the lake.


Several wrong turns later, we finally found ourselves at the bottom of the dam. Salim gave me the look which said he could beat me to the top of the dam and the race was on. I’ll let you guess who soundly beat his opponent. Really, there was no competition.


On this sunny day, boys were swimming and jumping from the rocks surrounding the lakes. While no prodding was necessary, the men sitting on the dam encouraged me to take a dip. I was already taking off my shoes. The water was cool, and the 10-12 foot dives provided a bit of excitement for me and the boys. Within twenty minutes the number of spectators doubled… Apparently there was something to see.


After I had exerted myself enough, I stretched out on a large warm rock and snapped some pictures of my surroundings. Great day, fun people. Time to go home for a nap.

http://picasaweb.google.com/tystandage/BaytBoos#
Wanna see some pics?