Visiting The “Terrorists” – part 1

My friend Igor just came back from a vacation in Yemen, the below is his account of the trip, he is publishing it through my blog as he doesn’t have one. At the bottom of the article, you will find more pictures. Don’t miss them.


I will follow this article with my opinion in a separate post next week.

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“I am writing this because I promised myself and many people I have met in Yemen, I promised that I will do every thing I could to fight the bad image this beautiful country has. I promised that I will share my experience with every body, whenever and however I can. 

Despite the fact that many friends and colleagues had warned us and told us Yemen is a dangerous country, Marta and I decided to go and spend this year's Eid holiday in Yemen.

We find great joy in traveling to unusual places, places that people do not think of visiting. Of course, we prepare well for such trips- this involves extensive online research, acquiring a Lonely Planet guidebook, reading about the country's history and checking out recent news. The official news sources (like BBC, Al Jazeera and other reputable worldwide news agencies) depicts Yemen as a very dangerous, almost savage country, with lots of kidnappings, Al Qaeda, guns and killings. It basically tops the list of the "evil countries".

This common propaganda and PR couldn't be more further from the reality we personally experienced. The Yemenis we met in Sana'a and in rural areas around the capital of Yemen, were genuine, very welcoming to visitors and extremely hospitable. They give a special dimension to the country by their friendly behavior towards tourists and guests. Contrary to the common stereotype, we discovered that Yemenis are extremely sweet, truly interested in their guests. They are always asking questions and trying to have a conversation without ever trying to “sell” something. There are no hidden agendas: people are sincerely out there to make tourists feel at home and go a long way to do so. It's fantastic!

During our research we came across a fascinating story, a story about an American couple who were kidnapped in Yemen. Nothing at all happened to them, they were guests at the largest house in the village, stayed in one room and were fed fresh bread and orange juice. The kidnappers took them for a short trip to the nearby hill-top and gave the kidnapped man a Kalashnikov to shoot around and enjoy his time! Also the tribesmen performed traditional dances for them. 24 hours later they were released.

The tribe captured them for ransom and to attract attention to a specific problem they had in the village. To say this, no one has the right to restrict your free movement and threaten you under any circumstances. I am just saying this to demonstrate that even kidnapping in Yemen, is different than you'd imagine.
Most of the kidnappings in Yemen end up peacefully, and trust me, there isn’t a lot of them.

Yemen is full of beauty, friendly people and offers true relaxation, unfortunately people in the West would never think of it like that. Yemenis are so generous that they would invite you to their house even if they don’t know you at all. If there is something Yemenis kidnapped, it’s my heart.”
 
Thank you Igor.