African Villages and other Al Hudaydah, Yemen Off The Beaten Path Tips

There are a few small African villages in the Southern Tihama area, with just a few families and a small collection of huts built just like an African village. The villagers are originally from Africa and have settled in the area to farm a small piece of land and keep a few animals.
They are very friendly and will come to talk to you when you stop for a photograph.
The women are not veiled and are reasonably happy to be photographed.
We gave them some money as they are very poor.

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As you drive through the Southern Tihama you may pass some herds of camels grazing in the fields at the side of the road.

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The drive from Al Hudaydah to Mahwit takes you through a beautiful area called Wadi Surdod with small villages, and smallholdings growing bananas, papayas, mangos and other crops. There is a new road being built through the Wadi which will allow the local people better acces to other towns and villages and will bring more prosperity to the area. The present road is a bumpy track which winds through the muddy floor of the wadi before climbing up the mountains to Mahwit. The new road will take2 years to build and the area will change. If you have time, take a drive through Wadi Surdod to Mahwit before it changes. The people are friendly and wave as you pass.
You will need a 4 wheel drive vehicle as the road is rough, rocky and narrow in parts. And you will have to negotiate trucks and other vehicles coming the other way. We passed a small truck driven by a boy of no more than 12 years old!

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Al Marawe'a market is another of the weekly markets of the Tihama area. This rural market has many animal traders selling goats, cattle and sheep as well as firewood, fruit and vegetables and pottery. There were not as many women at this market as at Wadi Al Dhbab, probably because there were less household items such as pottery and textiles. Even so it is well worth a visit and is very busy with people buying and selling.
The weekly markets move around so you may catch it in another village on a different day.

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