"Welcome to Arabia Felix" Sanaa by hjohnso4

Sana'a, of Biblical fame, is one of the oldest, continuosly inhabited cities on Earth and the grand dame shows her age. New Sana'a is as forgettable as the rest of the concrete suburbs across the Arabian Peninsula but Old Sana'a will call out to your inner romantic, or inner Orientalist (to be modern) and confirm your ideals of how Arabia should be. Of course, the euphoria disperses after several days and the filth shines through. One might ruminate on the ironies of mineral deposit placements and how Saudi Arabia, Yemen's neighbor, swims in the finest crude while the Yemenis remain the poorest folk in Arabia. Sana'a, and Yemen in general, has been so little changed by the modern world that you should be able to appreciate how the earliest European explorers felt. The Culture Shock is delicious.

The Yemenis are stand-up, hardy folk far, far different than their dillitante neighbors. In a single phrase, they seem content with their lot. How often in Yemen did I wish the Yemenis would invade Lebanon and instill a bit of spine!