This is the English version of our article just published in Italy’s Il Giornale newspaper… Although largely out of the headlines now, Yemen continues to be battered by a conflict initiated in 2014 when Shiite Houthi rebels formed an alliance with loyalists of ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh to seize large swaths of the country, including … Continue reading
Poor Yemen… The most impoverished country in the Middle East really did not need to be kicked around any more, but it has been unable to avoid becoming yet another proxy battleground for the Shia vs. Sunni civil war now crashing through the Islamic world. We were fortunate enough to be able to visit the … Continue reading
Well, I hate to be anticlimactic, but I’m afraid some might read a bit much into my title… Although, this confusion has delivered more than a few Yemenis into serious trouble when innocently responding with “Al Qaidah” when asked about their backgrounds or where they are from. The unfortunately named Al-Qaidah is a town in … Continue reading
I’ve been profiling some of the cities and towns of Yemen for you, dear readers… However, you know that I also strive to show, as much as possible, what a place is really like aside from just the highlights. And it should not be shocking to hear that there is a lot more to Yemen … Continue reading
This scene in Yemen caught my eye because we had been traveling through the desert for quite some time without seeing a single other human being when suddenly we were in blanketing smoke with figures moving through it like ghosts – appearing and disappearing in the swirling smoke. The effect was enhanced by the tremendous … Continue reading
Ahh, we’re back in Yemen… In Hodeida. The fish market in Hodeida is, perhaps not shockingly, right along the waterfront and it is impossible to miss. We passed by during our first night in Hodeida and even though that is supposedly the quiet(er) time for the fish market, there was still a remarkable amount of … Continue reading
We arrived in Hodeidah two days after the Houthis took over… They had checkpoints set up at every point of entry into the city including, as we would find out, at the airport and the seaport. However, our driver and fixer had a well-rehearsed routine at checkpoints. The driver would slowly roll through while thrusting … Continue reading
The Velvet Rocket 