Globerovers Magazine, Dec 2016

Globerovers

Special Edition

Yemen and Syria - prior to the current civil wars

Those of us who were fortunate to travel through Syria and Yemen before the current civil wars, will agree that both countries are among the most unique in the world. Rich in natural attractions, historical sights, cuisines, and most of all, home to some of the most hospitable people in the world. The Syrian Civil War, which started in 2011, has destroyed so many people’s lives and priceless historical architecture. Ditto for the Yemeni Civil War which started in 2015. We take a look at Syria and Yemen before the current wars started.

12 YEMEN 88 SYRIA

Shibam, Hadhramaut Valley

e oldest skyscraper city in the world and the “Manhattan of the desert”.

Sayun, Hadhramaut

Valley

Home of the Sultan’s Palace where Dame Freya Madeline Stark spent much time.

Tarim, Hadhramaut Valley

Known for the many descendants of the prophet Muhammad and Al-Kaf Palace.

Sana’a

e patterned buildings in Sana’a are among the oldest still inhabited on earth.

Al-Mahwit

Situated around a mountain fortress, it used to be an isolated old village.

Thula

ula is known for its well preserved traditional houses and mosques.

Kawkaban

Built upon a precipitous hilltop (2,931 m) it towers above Shibam town.

Shibam

An interesting town not to be confused with Shibam in the Hadhramaut Valley.

Wadi Dhar

e village of Suq al-Wadi is home to Wadi Dhar, a famous “rock palace”.

Damascus

Syrian capital is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.

Palmyra

e ancient city of Palmyra is known as “Bride of the desert” on the Silk Road.

Krak des Chevaliers

is Crusader castle is one of the best preserved medieval castles in the world.

Hama

Along the Orontes River, 17 of the original “wheels of pots” norias still remain.

Bosra

e Ancient Roman theatre (15,000 people) is constructed of black basalt.

Aleppo

One of the oldest continuously inhabited cities, it is famous for its souk & citadel.

Apamea

On the bank of the Orontes River is the Great Colonnade of the Roman Empire.

Twalid Dabaghein & Sarouj

ese villages in the semi-desert are known for their beehive-shaped mud houses.

Qasr Ibn Wardan

is hamlet with a palace, church and barracks dates from the mid-6th century.

Bab al-Faraj Clock Tower Aleppo, Syria

ON THE COVER: Shibam, Hadhramaut Valley, Yemen

Globerovers Magazine

is currently a biannual magazine, available in digital and printed formats. We focus on bringing to the intrepid traveller exciting destinations and inspiring photography from around the globe.

Published in Hong Kong

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Editor-in-Chief - Peter Steyn

Editorial Consultant - Tsui Chi Ho

Graphic Designer - Peter Steyn

Photographer & Writer - Peter Steyn

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Editor‛s Message

“Not all those who wander are lost.” J.R.R. Tolkien

John Tolken (3 Jan 1892 – 2 Sep 1973), an English writer, poet, philologist, university professor, and author of ‘The Hobbit’, and ‘Lord of the Rings’.

Dear Readers,

is eighth issue of Globerovers Magazine is a Special Edition in which we look back at Yemen and Syria before the outbreak of their current civil wars.

It is truly heartbreaking to witness the immense su ering of the Yemeni and Syrian people. If you were lucky enough to have travelled in this part of the world, you will most likely attest to the friendliness and beauty of the people.

It is impossible to envision cities like Aleppo, in Syria, returning to their former glory during our lifetime. Parts of the ancient ruins of Syria’s Palmyra city, so well preserved for about 2,000 years, have been decimated over the past 2 years.

In Yemen, a countless number of historical buildings, some dating back 3,000 years, have been reduced to rubble. In the old city of Sana’a, one of the oldest jewels of Islamic civilisation, signi cant damage has been reported. It will be di cult to ever restore these houses to their original state.

We start this Special Edition in Yemen, from the central Hadhramaut Valley to the capital Sana’a, and the region to the north. In Syria we include the decimated cities of Aleppo and Palmyra, as well as other parts of Syria.

Visit our Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook, and www.globerovers-magazine.com. For easy access, scan the QR Codes on page 9. Emails to editor@globerovers.com.

Globerovers travels so you can see the world!

Peter Steyn Editor-in-Chief and Publisher

THE FRONT COVER

Yemen’s 16th-century sun-dried mud brick city of Shibam is also referred to as the “Manhattan of the desert”. A UNESCO World Heritage Site (since 1982) in the central Hadhramaut Valley, it has some of the tallest mud buildings in the world which were built between the 16th and 19th century.

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Here is a place where you will feel welcome and experience a home away from home. I know I did.”

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The Globerovers‛ World

Globerovers Magazine was created by Peter Steyn, an avid explorer who is constantly in search of the edge of the world. He will always hike the extra mile or ten to get as far off the beaten track as he can. It is his mission to discover and present the most exciting destinations for intrepid travellers. He has visited 116 countries (including territories: Greenland, Hong Kong, and Macau) and is poised to explore Africa in the coming months. Peter’s home base is wherever he lays down his cameras.

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DESTINATIONS INTHISISSUE Yemen

Syria

Yemen

The Republic of YEMEN

Thula (p.60)

Al Mahwit (p.50)

Shibam (p.74)

Kawkaban (p.70)

Wadi Dahr (p.80)

Sana‛a (p.38)

Tarim (p.32)

Sayun (p.24)

Shibam, Hadhramaut Valley (p.14)

Syria

The SYRIAN Arab Republic

Aleppo (p.130)

Apamea (p.144)

Hama (p.116)

Qasr ibn Wardan (p.164)

Villages of Sarouj & Twalid Dabaghein (p.152)

Krak des Chevaliers (p.110)

Damascus (p.90)

Bosra (p.124)

Palmyra (p.100)

Yemen

Yemen, o cially known as the Republic of Yemen, is located on the southwestern end of the Arabian Peninsula, south of Saudi Arabia and west of the Sultanate of Oman. It has a long coastline and claims ownership of more than 200 islands. While large parts of Yemen are desert or semi-desert, some mountain peaks rise up to 3,700 m (12,140 .).

Yemen has long existed at a crossroads of cultures with a history dating back to as early as 5,000 BC. e collection of ancient castles, fortresses and many other signs of early civilisations are all testament to the very rich but tumultuous history of this part of the world. Over the centuries, Yemen and its peoples have lived through several kingdoms, dynasties, the Zaydis and Ottomans, and even the British. e Ottoman Empire lost their grip on Yemen in 1918 and granted it independence, while the Brits le earlier than expected in 1967.

Let’s fast forward through the turbulent years of con ict and wars to the 2011 so-called “Yemeni Revolution” (initially named the “Yemeni Uprising”) which was in response to the Arab Spring mass protests around the region. is uprising laid the foundations for the current “Yemeni Civil War” which started in 2015 between two factions claiming to constitute the Yemeni Government. On the one side are the Houthi forces which moved from the north and captured land towards the central south, including the capital, Sana’a.

e Houthis have allied their forces with those of forces loyal to the former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. On the other side

are the loyal subjects of the former Vice President, Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, who are based in the southern port city of Aden.  e Saudi Arabian military has been involved in a brutal aerial campaign to restore the Hadi Government. row into this mix the forces of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and we have a complex civil war, only rivalled in complexity by that of the current Syrian Civil War.

While Yemen is known for its many wars throughout the centuries, there were some peaceful periods at which time tourists were able to travel without too much fear. One of the earliest well-documented intrepid travellers to journey through the Arabian Peninsula, including Yemen, was British explorer, photographer, and travel writer Dame Freya Madeline Stark (31 January 1893 – 9 May 1993). Being uent in several languages, including Arabic, she made her rst journey to Yemen’s central Hadhramaut Valley in 1935. She travelled extensively throughout Yemen and penned several books on her experiences, most notably “ e Southern Gates of Arabia: A Journey in the Hadhramaut” (1935), “Seen in the Hadhramaut” (1938), and “A Winter in Arabia” (1940). Read more about Dame Freya on pages 26-27.

e photos presented in this issue of Globerovers Magazine were photographed during March 2007 by Peter Steyn, o en under a fair amount of fear and uncertainty in a country where time seems to have stalled some 100 years ago. We rst showcase the Hadhramaut Valley in central Yemen, then move to the capital city of Sana’a, and then to the rugged region north and northwest of Sana’a.

A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1982, the 16th-century sun-dried mud brick city of Shibam (population: 7,000) is also referred to as the “Manhattan of the desert” and “Shibam Hadhramaut” and should not be confused with another town called Shibam directly north of Sana’a.

Shibam, Hadhramaut Valley l Yemen

Shibam Hadhramaut Valley, Yemen

Shibam Hadhramaut is justi ably described as “the oldest skyscraper city in the world” and “the Manhattan of the desert”. It is one of the oldest examples of city planning based on the principle of vertical construction. e city has some of the tallest mud buildings in the world, with some of them over 30 m (100 .) high. ey vary from ve to eleven storeys high.

Shibam is nothing less than an incredible sight. e rst known inscription about the city dates from the 3rd century AD, and the city itself has been in existence for about 1,700 years.

Most of the approximately 500 buildings that still stand today were built between the 16th and 19th century.

In 2008 the city su ered major damages from ooding, which resulted in the collapse of some buildings. An Al Qaeda terrorist attack in 2009 added to the misery when several tourists were killed in a blast. On November 21, 2015, the Islamic State (ISIS) claimed responsibility for a blast that caused the historical city serious harm when walls and mud houses were damaged.

Walk around inside the old walled city to adore its architecture and meet the fascinating locals. Overlooking the walled city is a high mountain which can be climbed with some great e ort, from where the views over the city are stunning.

Shibam, Hadhramaut Valley l Yemen

Shibam is located in the “Empty Quarter” of the Arabian Peninsula which is considered “empty” because so few humans live here. It contains about half the amount of sand of the Sahara Desert and extends over portions of Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates. When the wind picks up, it creates massive dust storms across the region.

Dame Freya Stark made her rst journey to Yemen’s central Hadhramaut Valley in 1934. Her main aim was to trace ancient frankincense routes and to visit the preIslamic ruins of Shabwa.

She then crossed the desert to the port town of Aden at the end of 1934. She gave a very detailed account of these travels in her book “ e Southern Gates of Arabia:

A Journey in the Hadhramaut” (1935).

Her second visit to the Hadhramaut Valley was in 1937/8, which she described in her book “Seen in the Hadhramaut” (1938). She so skilfully tells stories about her travels through Yemen, her brush with death in the desert, and how she travelled woman alone with a camel caravan through the desert lled with

Dame Freya Madeline Stark

(31 January 1893 – 9 May 1993)

Arab men. “A Winter in Arabia” (1940) is a continuation of her Yemen and other travels through the Arabian Peninsula.

Freya spent time at the Sultan’s Palace at Seiyun (photo below), Hadhramaut Valley, in 1935 about which she wrote “I climbed many storeys of the palace to visit the harem, and found the women friendly and gay, dressed in the Hadhra-

maut fashion, but with a touch of Indian slender in their silks.”

In conjunction with the St. Anthony’s College, Oxford, there was a lovely exhibition of Freya’s stories and her black and white photographs inside the Sultan’s Palace at Seiyun. Freya travelled through Yemen for the last time in the 1940’s before she returned some 40 years later

when she was in her 80’s.

She had a total fascination with Yemen, which is well founded, and so easily rubs o on the reader of her books.

Once you have read Freya’s accounts of life in Yemen, you will be hooked on going to see this amazing country for yourself. Please wait for the war to end!

The Sultan’s Palace towers over the town of Sayun almost like a massive wedding cake! This 90-room palace was originally built as a 19th-century defensive fort, but was converted in the 1920’s into the residential palace for Sultan Al-Katheri. Folklore has it that the Sultan had the architect beheaded so he could not build the same building elsewhere. The palace now serves as a museum which has showcased an exhibition of Freya Stark’s diaries and her black-and-white photographs.

As you travel around the Hadhramaut Valley watch out for the women herding goats or working in the felds dressed in black abayas and traditional conical straw hats known as madhalla.

“To awaken quite alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world.”

FREYA STARK, 1938 (her comments about Seiyun town)

Tarim has the highest concentration of descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad anywhere in the world, and is widely acknowledged as the theological, juridical, and academic centre of the Hadhramaut Valley. An interesting feature of Tarim is the famboyant Al-Kaf Palace, built by Sayed Omar bin Sheikh al-Kaf. This is just one of about thirty mansions that were constructed by wealthy merchant families in Tarim between the 1870s and 1930s. The al-Kaf family, who made much of their fortune in Singapore, was considered the most infuential.

Al-Kaf Palace

The old city of Sana’a is ancient. In fact, it is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world (others being Jericho in Palestine, as well as Damascus and Aleppo in Syria and Arbil in Iraq’s Kurdistan region).

Sana’a is believed to have been founded by Shem, the son of Noah and as a result the city has the unlikely nickname of “Sam City.” Bab al-Yaman is the gate leading into the old city which is surrounded by high walls.