Socotra

Below is an entry written by one of our Yemen tour participants who took a pre-tour excursion to Socotra Island for 4-5 days. Thank you Peter, for writing this!

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A three hour flight over the arid sands of the Rab al-Khali bridged the opulence of the Dubai airport and the third world reality of the Sana’a terminal. Time and patience were required to get the visa and change money, but that done my driver, Ibrahim, was waiting with my bag and off we went to his car, and the 20 minute drive to the Movenpick Hotel. The trip provided an introduction to the outskirts of Sana’a, past miles of small shops and empty spaces. Traffic was light but there was a lot of foot traffic. The men wore head scarves and ankle length skirt-like garb. The women were uniformly heavily veiled in full length black abaya and niqab. I was cautioned not to attempt to take photos of the women, or even to look at them too intensely.

The Movenpick is a nine story grand hotel at the edge of the foothills, with a sweeping view over the city. It has an Arabian nights quality about it, covered in elegant marble with high ceilings and a striking interior atrium. There are several restaurants and cafes, including an excellent Moroccan buffet. The staff are very friendly and helpful, and my room was modern, spacious and very comfortable.

Fully refreshed from a good night’s sleep, I was taken back to the airport by Ibrahim for the morning flight to Socotra. Felix Air flies daily between Sana’a and Socotra, with an intermediate stop in al Mukhallah. Each leg is an hour flight time. The aircraft are Bombardier CRJ200s, sleek, modern twin jets seating 50 passengers. The flight was nearly full. About half got off in Mukhallah, but about as many new passengers boarded there for the flight to the island.

My driver/guide for the next several days was Ismail, a native of the island. He was well spoken, knowledgeable, with a good command of English. It is about a 20 minute drive from the airport to Hadibo, the principal town of Socotra. The road was a well-paved two lane highway. We drove along the coastal plain, past the village of Qatab, up a rise where the mountains come down to the sea, which afforded a sweeping view over the turquoise sea and the mountains beyond.

Qatab is a ‘new’ village, replacing the ancient settlement which was washed into the sea by a massive flood in 1976. It is a Socotran 9/11, a date which defines local history by ‘before and after.’

Hadibo is a poor, physically unattractive collection of mostly single storey humble shops lining mostly unpaved dusty streets. We passed a couple of non-descript looking ‘hotels’, and pulled up to the Summerland Hotel, my home for the next few nights. What a pleasant surprise! A simple, white washed rectangular building with a pleasant lobby and dining room and a simple private courtyard framed by a two storey U-shaped structure containing about 20 units. My room was spotlessly clean, with crisp white sheets and a clean and functional bathroom, which lacked only hot water, which I was informed was a temporary problem. I had satellite TV, with a number of Arabic channels, and one English language station, Press TV, originating in Tehran.
My arrangements included meals, and as I was the only guest in the hotel, their Pilipino chef planned special meals for me, once I had opted for fish, chicken or beef.

After lunch we drove back toward the airport and then turned left onto a dirt track which brought us to the entrance of Wadi Ayhaft. We proceeded up an increasingly narrow, steep and rugged track, flanked on both sides with exotic and varied flora, growing on the steep banks and even out of cracks in the fantastical rocks and crags. We came to a dead end caused by a washed out section of the road. After a brief encounter with two young men who emerged out of nowhere, we turned back, descended and then drove across the plain , across the sand, to the shore. Much of the island is ringed with fine white sand beaches. Other than an occasional stone settlement, there is no sign of development, just miles of clean white sand and spectacular turquoise water.

Back in Hadibo Ismail and I had tea in a local spot, and then drove off to the only Internet facility. It was now dark. There are no street lights, just occasional pools of light from the shops which were still open. It was a bit spooky, but I never felt at all nervous or concerned. The people are generally indifferent, showing neither curiosity nor hostility. I suspect it might be shyness and reserve.
The area around the hotel includes the market section, containing small shops, some with wares spilling out into the dirt street. There is a fair amount of rubbish, and the ubiquitous goats.

The next morning Ismail picked me up at 8. We made a brief foray into the market to get some simple food for the picnic lunch planned for the beach, and then set off for the plateau and the south side of the island. The route up to and across the plateau, then down to the ocean is an excellent two lane paved road. There was hardly any traffic in either direction. The plateau itself is about 1000 meters above sea level and is quite vast. It is very sparsely populated by a few Bedouin families, and it seems quite poor. Although it was quite dry, there were a number of varieties of flowering plants along the way, and quite a few bottle trees. We also began to see some Dragon Blood trees, unique to Socotra. There are sweeping views across the area, with scarcely a sign of habitation. Just an occasional small group of square stone houses and out buildings.

Ismail clearly knew the area well, and we made several detours off the paved road on to dirt tracks, and some stretches that were just rugged terrain. We stopped at one settlement and had tea with the family, which included a total of ten brothers and sisters, from infants to one adult. Women were out of sight, except for an occasional fleeting glimpse. We drove on to the very edge of an enormous gorge, deeply cut into the otherwise rather flat terrain. Some of the small children shyly offered little bags of dried ‘Dragon Blood’ collected from the trees.

We visited a rudimentary nursery where they are attempting to grow new Dragon Blood trees. The only ones currently surviving are older, fully grown plants, which are gradually dying off. The goats devour any new growth, but it is hoped these can be transplanted into the wild and survive.

We crossed the plateau and then descended through another deep gorge onto the south coastal plain. There are few signs of life, just an occasional lone stone house or a small settlement. The landscape is covered with spindly shrubs, grazed over by a scattering of goats. The plain is wide, with long white sand beaches to the south, and towering cliffs to the north, pockmarked with caves and signs of heavy erosion. We passed a modern school building that had just dismissed the students. All girls, all in burqas, looking very much like nuns, and quite a contrast in the dazzling sunlight We turned off the paved road on to a dirt track which ended at the mouth of a large cave, where we parked the car. An old man emerged from nowhere, in search of an aspirin!

There was a sweeping view across the plain to the Indian Ocean beyond, and we decided to forge on to Aomak beach, which consisted of as couple of stone structures and some very basic ‘cabanas’ simple structures of poles and palm fronds, with a tarp-like carpet laid on the ground. Ismail had thoughtfully provided me with a folding chair, to spare my aching knees. He prepared our simple lunch, which consisted of sliced tomatoes, some local Socotran bread, and an orange. And of course, sweet tea.

I walked down to the edge of the beach. The waves were low and gentle, the beach itself was fine white sand, and it gently curved to a distant headland. The water near the shore was the same turquoise of the north coast, changing to a deep, intense blue off shore. Not a soul to be seen.

We retraced our steps, encountering a few camels grazing by the side of the road, then climbing back up to and across the plateau, and making the long descent to the northern coastal plain. The weather has been warm and sunny, except for some cloud cover over the plateau, and we did encounter a brief shower during the return.
Back at sea level we drove across the plain, on another dirt track which led to the shore line. Ismail maneuvered well over the soft dunes and we took a short walk along the edge of the sea. The waves were gentle. The beach itself is one long stretch of pure white sand, occasionally broken by deposits of smooth stones, apparently traces of wadis that brought waters from the seasonal rains down from the mountains to the sea.

We were back before dark and I had a nap, cleaned up, watched some TV and had an early dinner of sautéed chicken and peppers, and then went off to bed.
Day three was sunny and warm, and we headed east on the coastal (and only) road, past the commercial harbor, which consisted of one long dock and some oil storage tanks. Along much of this coast the high mountains come right down to the sea. They are quite striking, mostly of heavily eroded rock, with an occasional towering white sand dune interspersed. Some of these are more than 100 meters high. The road turned inland and brought us into a large valley which was much greener than any other part of the island that we had visited. This valley is ringed by high mountains, some of which are a bit reminiscent of the Dolomites. They reach heights of 5000 feet or more. Eventually the road turned back to the sea through a break in the mountains. We passed a couple of fishing villages, and then the pavement stopped. We continued on, skirting the sea, along a line of cliffs whose shapes became more and more fantastic. The face of the cliffs is heavily eroded, with deep caves and large boulders scattered along the shore. In the midst of it all is one huge sand dune. It is hard to imagine where that amount of sand may have come from, and it adds to the mysterious, other-worldly atmosphere of the area.

We turned off road to meet with three Chelal tribesmen; Ali, Bosalah and Salah. I had read that this tribe is unique to the island in having a gene that produces pale blue eyes. And sure enough, Bosalah had a pair of ice blue eyes. Quite a contrast to his mahogany skin.

The men had caught a young goat, which they slaughtered and skinned before our very eyes, to provide us with a hot lunch! We drove on a bit further to get some fresh water from a stream which was pouring down from the mountains above, a result of what had been heavy rains the day before. This stream blocked our way to drive any further east, so after filling some plastic water canisters we returned to have our lunch.

The goat had been reduced into a simple and well worn aluminum pot, where it bubbled away over an open wood fire. The internal organs had been removed and set aside on a wooden plank, to be grilled. I was the beneficiary of the heart, a kidney, and a nice slice of liver. No, the head was not cooked and the eyes were not on the menu. We sat around the stew pot, and systematically devoured everything. We were closely watched by several Egyptian vultures, which ventured quite close, and to which we tossed spare or inedible parts.

After the meal we had a chat, translated by Ismail. The men were quite curious about the US, and wondered if we too had goats roaming about. Bosalah had been as far as Beirut. He purported to have 10 children, but was interested in acquiring a western wife.

We said our thanks and goodbyes and proceeded back to Hadibo, a roughly two hour drive. Ismail would stop several times during the day to pray, usually in an interesting spot, which gave me an opportunity to stretch my legs and do a little exploring. This time we stopped by a lovely grove of date palms with a small stream meandering through it.

It was still daylight when we got back to town. The internet store was shuttered, but we did find a tiny shop that provided international phone service, so I was able to connect with the outside world. I found that a dear friend had died in New York the day before, so I had to make hasty plans to return as soon as possible. My travel agents responded so quickly and efficiently that I was able to fly out the next morning, and connect to an Egypt Air flight via Cairo to New York the following morning Trusty Ibrahim met me again at the airport in Sana’a, took me back to the Movenpick, and picked me up again at 2 AM for the flight home.

It was unfortunate that I was not able to spend one more day in Socotra to explore the western end of the island. Each part of Socotra is unique, and the western tip is no more that 100 miles from Somalia. The beaches and surrounding waters are supposed to be very beautiful, and I imagine there is a more African influence to be seen.

Socotra is located some 200 miles off the coast of eastern Yemen, and about 100 miles east of Somalia, The population of the island is about 55,000, spread very thinly over an area the size of Rhode Island. There are a lot of young children, and there are said to be over 250,000 goats! The women are completely covered, and almost all the men wear long sleeved shirts, skirt-like, ankle length wraps, and head scarves. In appearance, they tend to be thin, with light to dark brown skin color, and rather aquiline features: long straight noises, thin lips, long faces with close set eyes. Most are quite handsome.

Socotra is a truly amazing and unique place. It is very poor, with a subsistence economy. There is almost no infrastructure or development as we know it. No phone lines, almost no overhead electrical lines, no roadside stands, malls, or gas stations scattered over the landscape. No motor scooters or bicycles. People walk, or get a ride from the few and infrequent cars or vans that pass by. During our drives Ismail would occasionally stop to offer a ride to a lone pedestrian. We even picked up a couple of well-veiled women, who were apparently undaunted by sharing space with a western male. At one point we picked up a young man who Ismail knew. He was a poet, and had won the local prize for poetry the previous year. Ismail was on the Board of Nominators and was proud that he had put this person forward as a contestant.

The main elements of the diet are goat, lamb or fish, and rice. There is little fresh produce, and most of that is imported. I never saw a mosquito, and very few flies.

The people speak Socotri, an ancient (and unwritten) language, which is quite different than Arabic. I was told that there are more schools than teachers. There is one hospital on the entire island, and a few clinics, most of which are not staffed. The future looks bleak. Even with education, there are no sources of jobs or prospects of any meaningful development. One of the main sources of income is the remittances sent back from the several thousand islanders who have gone to work in the UAE.

The history of the island is complex. Earliest historical mentions indicate that remnants of Alexander’s forces settled there in the Third century BC. It was a source of frankincense, myrrh, laudanum and aloe to the ancient world. Dates were also an export crop at certain times. There are indications that the Romans were there. The sultans from the coast of what is now Yemen and Oman controlled the island for most of the intervening years, although the Portuguese had a brief go in the 16th century (whence the blue eyes, by legend.) The Dutch and the British had an interest because of Socotra’s location mid way between India and the Mediterranean.. In the 19th century it became a protectorate of the British Empire, and came part of South Yemen in the 1960s. The Russians maintained a presence there until the early 1990s. They built some schools and clinics, but their attempts to resettle the population did not sit well, and they are not missed. There are recent indications that they have shown interest in setting up a naval base there.

There is concern among people on the island that its designation in 2008 as a World Heritage site will not be a plus for the natives. There is very little tourism, and most of that consisted of environmentalists, who seem more concerned with the plight of the flora than of the people.

Socotra is clearly not for everyone. There is no night life, no discos, no fine dining, no beach resorts and few tourists, most of whom are the backpacking, tenting set. And don’t expect to find any alcohol. But there is a timeless quality to the life there, spectacular mountain scenery and beaches, unique flora, diffident but friendly, simple people, and tons of goats! A truly unique part of the world!

Photos from Iran - at last!

At long last I have uploaded photos from our tour to Iran last October. Honestly I thought I had done this a while ago but probably what happened is I started putting the album together but got side tracked before uploading it to the web. Still brings back great memories of our tour there!

Enjoy! Questions and comments welcome!


Brenda

Saying goodbye to Isfahan

Here we are on the last full night in Iran. It is time to head back to Tehran to catch out flights home to the US tomorrow night. And I find that I really have learned so much and enjoyed this tour far more than I ever could have imagined. Iran is an amazing country to say the least and the people are friendly and just as interested in us as we are in in them.



A few things happened today to remind me of that. In the main square boys riding in the horse drawn carriages would wave at us and hope we would take their picture. Families visiting the square would watch us pass by then smile and wave or say hello. When we were visiting the river bank to see one of several majestic bridges in the city, two men riding bikes by us suddenly stopped and asked on of the group if he would pose in a photo with them taken with their camera (I got a photo too, so we would have a copy as well!). The woman who is in charge of the computers at the Abassi Hotel learned a new term from another of our group today - she asked for his signature on the interent usage bill and he called it his John Hancock, which required explanation. Now she is trying to use the term with all the Americans she talks to today - please bive me your John Hancock on this bill! Yesterday she said something was "cool", when I was talking to her.



And for all the talk of sanctions, well, just take that collander you might have in your kitchen and try to fill it with water - that is about how effective the sancations are to the average Iranian. Where it is hurting them is in things like no spare airplane parts for their domestic fleet - not a pleasant thought at all! We all have changed money here mostly at the start of the trip, only to find that almost everything can be paid for in dollars and change often given in dollars. ALmost like Lebanon where the conversion and acceptance of the US dollar is prevelant and there is almost no need to exchange money. Maybe a few of the vendors in small out of the way shops might prefer rials, but that's about it.



The food has been very good to excellent. Fish is much more common here than I expected as well as shrimp dishes. Fresh water and farmed fish, as well as seafood from the Gulf are available throughout the country. Of course we often had what became known as "very special chicken kebab" but also mutton and beef dishes were available. My favorite so far is a chicken dish with pomegranite paste and ground walnuts over rice- yum! Lots of stews and grilled meats, rice in a variety of styles, and soups. The best being the barley tomato soup. Safron ice cream is a treat too, and we had that several times for desert. Food was never in short supply on this tour and I know that we all probably ate too much! It will be time to hit the gym when I get home!



Once back home I will have more to write, and go over the tour some more and the sights we have seen. Now its time to go rearrange my luggage and make sure I can fit everything in my bags and get them on the airplane! Oh boy. I still have pistachios to buy- the best pistachios come from Iran- I don't care what the California nut people say with their odd new commercials!

Isfahan, city of poets and engineers

Here we are in the beautiful city of Isfahan, recently designated as the Islamic Cultural Capital of the World. While it has many amazing works of Islamic architecture and the population is predominanlty Muslim, we visited the Armenian quarter today and the Vank Cathedral. On the way to and from this church, we passed at least 2 synagogues.

The highlight of the day, however, was the Blue Mosque. It is a georgeous mosque with striking blue tile work all throughout. Our local guide, who is also a poet and an engineer, gave a great presentation on the history of the building and a demonstration of the accoustics. Being an engineer he came prepared with a diagram of sound waves and the effect of them bouncing off the dome at various angles - it really was very interesting and informative, and to further demonstrated the sound carrying qualities, he recited a poem. After he was done, a young man applauded him with us then apparently offered to also demonstrate the accoustics of the building by singing- turns out he was a very well known vocalist who also happened to be visiting the mosque. In just a few seconds the small crowd that had gathered to watch and hear our guide's presentation quadrupled in size when the Iranians visitng realized who was now singing! There were probably a hundred cameras all pointed to the center of our circle we had formed. It was really quite a treat and very amazing. Even our guide, who was quite humbled to see this man ( I forget his name now!) was excited to have him participate in the demonstration. I noticed he made a phone call to someone and held the phone out to capture the singer's voice - probably calling a friend and saying "you won't believe who is here at the mosque with us right now!".

I really wish I could download the photos from my camera but I don't have the right cord so the photos will have to wait until I get home. The sights we have seen the last week and a half have been amazing- ancient Persian to more recent sites and sounds. It is hard sometimes to wrap my head around the expanse of Persian history. And many things which we have thought of in the west as Arab, actually came from Persia. I just learned today the Sheherazad and 1001 Nights is originally a Persian tale! Chess and Backgammon - not Arab, but Persian! And there is more.

I really wish that more Americans could see and experience this things we have done on this trip - particularly our elected officials and diplomats. I am glad we have moved away from the previous administration's policy of not talking at all to Iran, but our two countries actually have many shared interests (opium from Afghanistan is a huge problem in Iran, for example) that it would make more sense to be allies rather than enemies. We have much in common, too. And both have much to learn from each other. And as allies it would be much easier to reslove the nuke issues.

OK, more to come later, and I will definitely do a recap once I get home. There is so much going on that I can only sit here for a few minutes and give you a brief picture of what we have done and my impressions for the day. I hope to be able to give a more thorough picture of the tour and our experiences once I am at home with unlimited computer time. Bye for now!

Shiraz is not just a kind of wine!

Hello from the beautiful city of Shiraz! This is the city of poetry, celebration, gardens, and more. It was once the capitol of the Persian Empire before it was moved to Tehran. We have been seeinf some really amazing sights on this tour. From Kermanshah where I last checked in, We have seen palaces and temples, shrines and mosques. The main highlights of our visit in Ahwaz, a city in the southwest of Iran, are the sites of Susa and Shushtar, and a Temple of Anahita. We also visited another Jewish sight at the Tomb of Daniel, in Susa. The tomb is revered by both Jews and Muslims, who visit it as a pilgrimage sight. On the day of our visit there were many people there as it was a Friday. The women and men enter through separate entrances to view the tomb, pray, wish for blessings from the prophet Daniel, and reflect.

Ahwaz is in the oil center of Iran. We passed by numerous refineries and pipelines and noted that while Iran has no shortage of oil and deisel (which it exports to Iraq) there is a shortage of gasoline for cars. There is a push to get more vehicles converted to CNG or LPG, and in several cities we have encountered congestion due to massive construction projects for new subways and other infrastructure. Gas is rationed based on the type of car you own, so for your ration you would pay only about $.16 per gallon (or maybe its liter, but still it is very cheap!). Once you run out of your ration of gas then you pay market price which is similar to what we pay in the US per gallon.

Speaking of similar to the US, it is really amazing how many similarities there are between Iran and the US, and how little we as Americans know if these things. Speed traps are common on the highways- something I think most Americans can relate too! Also, there isn't universal health care in Iran, but they do have a system to help those who cannot afford their own insurance. Liability insurance is mandatory for all car owners. Unrationed gas costs the same in Iran as it does in the US.

SOme other little known facts we have picked up over the last several days - chess, backgammon, and polo come from Persia. Thursday night is wedding party night. Coincidentaly, Thursday is also funeral day. Thursday is actually treated like Saturday is in the US. People are off of work or only work a very short day, then they spend the rest of the day and Friday with friends and family. Many take the opporunity to get out of the cities and get some fresh air in the country.

Cyrus the Great made the first declaration of human rights law, dictating how prisoners of war were to be treated, how people of other religions were to be treated - which he declared they were to be allowed to practice their religion without hassle. The Jews looked on him as a liberator after he freed them from Nebakenezer (sp?).

There are still many nomads in Iran and they have become an integral part of the economy. So much so that the government provides them with mobile health clinics and teachers. The nomads provide meat and other products from their sheep and goats. We had the opportunity to visit a nomad tent the other day, which was a really great experience. We watched the woman baking bread which she was kind enough to give us a taste of and it was great! The kids were about as fascinated with us as we were with them.

On the whole, we have been really well received and people are always eager to talk to us. Many people speak Englsih extremely well. We had a local guide the last 2 days in Shiraz and her name is Niloufar. She was excellent and gave everyone another opportunity to ask questions about women in Iran and how they are treated and must act. Quite interesting! More on that in another post!

OK, well, I think I need to try and get into my email again. The interent has been somewhat challenging here, but no less than expected. I can log into Blogspot, but sometimes not Yahoo email. I have yet to get into Facebook, no surprise there! Hopefully we will have internet access in Yazd or Isfahan.

More to come!

Darius, Xerxes, Achemedes, and more...

OK, if I didn't spell them all correctly, my apologies! It has been another full day of sightseeing as we continue our adventure in Iran. Yesterday we departed Tehran for Hamadan, which is a great city nestled up to the Zagros Mountains. We drove through some amazing landscapes, and the mountains here are really high! One pass we went over on the way was over 9,000 ft - just about where people start to feel really dingy from the altitude. Luckly we didn't stay at that elevation for very long and descended into the valley and Hamadan.

Our visits included the tomb of Ester and Mordechai, in a synagogue. Yes, there is a Jewish population as well as a Christian population in Iran. They are allowed to worship freely and in Tehran we passed several churches. While the numbers are small, they are not harrassed and there are places where on one block there might be a church on one corner, a mosque on another and a synagogue on another corner.

Today we learned a little bit about pre-Islamic Persia and the various kingdoms that shaped the empire. From archelogical digs in Hamadan, to viewing bas- reliefs carved into the mountainside and depicting the coronation of the a king with the blessing of the god Ahuramazda, the history of this country before Islam is very complex, rich, and interesting. We will be seeing many more pre-Islamic sites over the next several days, and I can't wait. Persia was a powerful and far-reaching empire at it's peak.

OK, time in the computer is at a premium, and people are waiting so I need to cut this short. To sum up our tour so far, it has been amazing, and we have been welcomed by the people we meet, and also met with as much curiosity about us as we have about the Iranian people, their culture and their country. I hope this will help to dispell some misperceptions people have about Iran. It is a wonderful country to visit and I highly recommend it!

Hopefully I will get some photos up when I have more time, otherwise it will have to wait and I will post them at the end of the trip.

More to come later! If anyone has any questions or comments, you can post them here!