Leaving the Land of Sheba

A few days ago I visited Wadi Hadramawt, a series of gorges carved by water and dotted with old towns , palm trees, and plantations. The sultan's palace in Sayun, the palaces and mosques in Tarim and the densely packed "ancient skyscraper" mud brick town of Shibam were all beautiful. The rocky, sandy cliff as a backdrop was a nice touch. Shibam is especially full of atmosphere. Looking like a bunch of Jinga game puzzles loped closely together in a desert. It feels like you have stepped back a few hundred years when you walk through Shibam's dirt lanes as goats wander around, children play on the mud steps and the mosques calls people to prayer.

I'm making my way eastwards through Yemen by the coast. Hot and humid with rocky plateaus and empty stretches of sand dunes. Long wide beaches with turquoise waves rolling in from the sea. There are scattered stone fishing villages along the way where people remain inside to avoid the afternoon sun and an occasional camel standing around, comfortable in the heat. I enter Oman tomorrow and stay in Yemen, the ancient land of the Queen of Sheba for one more day.