I finally got out of the city….. only took me a month, but I made it. The security situation in Yemen right now is such that the government is taking every precaution possible to keep tourists safe. This means that in order for me to go to Kawkaban (only about a half hour drive west of Sana’a, and considered a safe area) I needed to get an official letter from my employer the laid out all the details of the trip (day, places I’d be and when, who I would be with, copies of passport and business visa, the license plate number of the car I’d be in, the name of the required accompanying Yemeni, etc.). That letter had to be taken to the tourist police a day before the trip. The letter would be processed by them and then sent to the ministry of tourism who would approve or reject the request for permission. One the morning of the trip the permission could be picked up and you could be on your way.
All this finally completed, we headed out at 7:30am, climbing the dusty hills west of Sana’a. Once at the top of the hills, and a hundred meters from a military base, we presented the letter from the ministry of tourism at the same road block we encountered only two weeks before. The guard asked us to pull over to the side of the road and wait while he took the letter up to their supervisor who had to call the ministry to confirm that the permission was real and that nothing had changed since it’s issuance (less than 12 hours before) that would revoke it. A couple of conversations later, we were allowed to pass.
Finally free of the city, we ventured into the brown hills toward a distant plateau which rises 1000 feet above the surrounding . On top of those cliffs of red, brown, and grey rocks was the city of Kawkaban. For around a thousand years a branch of Islam known as the Zaydis have used this natural refuge as their home. In centuries past, the Zaydis used as a base to protect themselves from other muslim sects and to carry out their own persecution of muslim groups who dared challenge their beliefs.
After the main highway makes a move to the south we shortly found a right hand turn which led to winding blacktop that switch-backed in tight turns up and around the back of the cliffs and then followed the rear valley until we had reached the front door of the town. Stone walls commanded only one entrance through the only gates of the city which are apparently still used, closing each evening.
In Husam’s shiny white 2009 Land Cruiser we picked our way through the ancient gates and between the stone homes and mosques to the edge of the cliff. Below, the land stretched east into the hills which we had crossed to get here. The hills were covered in fields, though only scattered areas of green revealed growing crops. Apparently the rain this year has been quite scarce, prompting some farmers not to plant. Still others, Husam told me, simply abandoned their fields and moved into Sana’a in search of a better job.
To the south impressive rock formations jut out of the surrounding topography, and looking even further toward the horizon and bit further to the west stands Jabal an-Nabi Shu’ayb, the highest mountain in Yemen (12,333 ft if you can believe that). Southwest the drop off to the sea begins. Deep valleys cultivate Qat fields and other crops.
The architecture in the city is a lot like that found in the Old City. The main difference is that here stone is used more often than not (The Old City homes are basically mud and branches).
I am the only tourist here on this lazy Friday morning. This makes me a target for the few souvenir vendors in town. The young salesmen (all young boys 14-17 yrs old or so) followed me around as I took pictures from the cliffs and looked at interesting stones I found (nerd, I know), but kept their distance, only using their eyes to ask me to examine their wares. They pushed carts with display cases full of jewelry, boxes made of camel bone, and other handmade items for sale at a “good price.” Once I fully acknowledged their presence by saying hi, I was attacked. The pressure was now on. I spent a half hour haggling with them and walked away feeling like I had gotten a good deal and had ensured a good day of sales for at least one of the boys (sorry, I really wish I would have gotten a good picture of these boys.. but they were so aggressive in trying to sell to me that I just felt like taking off).
Before leaving the city, Husam parked the car just outside the city gates and I scurried down the ancient path that went down the front of the cliffs. Apparently there have been several attempts to take the city on this path over the years. I can’t believe that anyone would think that they could take this route and defeat the city, even if there were only a handful of defenders. The invaders would find themselves fighting those on the high ground with access to rocks and access to good hurling points, and boxed into a very narrow path from the bottom of the cliffs all the way to the top; hopeless.
Great day. Good times, good company, and a few good pictures (though it was pretty dusty, so they didn’t all come out as well as I’d have liked).
http://picasaweb.google.com/tystandage/Kawkaban#
