Now that classes are finished Sonia and I decided to take an adventure in Marib, the kidnap capital of the world. Joining us again was Thameer, who was the one who escorted us through Al-Houdada. Marib was recently the target of an attack on oil interests, and it's sister kidnap consort, Shebwa, recently housed two French hostages (who were released without harm.) Therefore, foreigners are not allowed to enter Marib without an armed escort. To get around this, Sonia and I had to don niqabs (the cloth that covers the face) and go as two nice little devout Musim sisters. Sonia, who could speak passable Arabic, was often mistaken as his gentle sister while I was his illiterate, mute, deaf, and slightly retarded deformed sister.
Our first stop was Marib, where we stayed with my student, Hussein. Hussein's family was building a new farmhouse, where we stayed the first night. As you can see from the picture, Sonia was not particularly happy with the digs. The mattresses were bug-eaten and the air was filled with mosquitoes. In addition, there were some pretty impressive knuckle-sized ants that we practically had to jump over to avoid. The farm, however, was beautiful with a friendly dog and a very charming camel. We had to stay at the farm because Hussein's family was building a farm and didn't have space for us at the tent city where the rest of the people were staying until the farm had a roof..JPG)
Marib is also known for the famous Marib dam. Although not very impressive to see, the dam itself if very old and one of the first dams built. It is still in use today, and was recently renovated. Although this is the most touted thing in Marib, it was basically a large pile of rocks with water on one side and road on another. For more damn Marib Dam pictures click here.
After Marib dam we visited Belquis Palace and the Sun Temple. The Sun Temple was closed, but we manged to sneak into the Palace (also closed, but as adventurous and retarded Yemenis they let us in. I was a touch disappointed to see that there was a gated viewing platform, although I was also happy that they were taking the time to preserve the monument. My disappointment vanished when Thameer hopped the rail and started wandering around. I quickly followed him.
Balquis Palace was brought to Yemen by a Genie who transformed it to the place to prove to it's owner that he was indeed an all-powerful Genie. I will bow out to Google if you want the full history on this place. This is a pillar with some impressive carvings that can be found all over Hadromont. You can find more pictures of Belquis Palace and the Sun Temple here.
My student, Hussein, generally wore the YLNG uniform of a grey shirt and black pants, but for this trip he donned a traditional scarf, balto and jambia that most men wore and picked us up from Sanaa looking like a young sheik. To protect the jambia (a curved knife worn at the waste) from sand and rain, men will oven pull their white robes over the instrument, giving the unfortunate image that is seen here.
Marib is famous for guns and camels. I will get to the guns in a minute, but first let me talk about the camels. They are not used much for riding, the only camels that I saw were either standing around or doing work like this one. This poor camel is grinding sesame seeds. The reason that this one is wearing a hood is so that he can't see that he is actually walking around in circles all day. He spends his time plodding forward, looking for a way out of his eternal darkness. In addition, I was able to ride a camel. For pictures of camels, click here.
One can not go to Marib without seeing a gun, and one can not spend any time with a man who has a large gun without eventually asking to fire it. Everyone in Marib carries Guns-- it's "An Eye for an Eye" mentality in that city (another reason that foreigners are not allowed) and everyone carries a large weapon to protect themselves. Hussein's father was recently killed, and both him and Jabber (another student that showed us around) actually had people after him. Hussein's cousin, Abdullah, proudly showed us the bullet marks that we on his house. Sonia beat my ass when it came to shooting a tin can from the top of a sand dune (although I kicked her ass when it came to taking a picture of it.
The highlight of Marib was Old Marib. This was a town built 3,000 years ago and is currently in ruins. All the houses were built of of mud, straw and logs and most of them are still standing. Some of them we were able to crawl inside. 
Sonia and Thameer were wimpy about going into a building that was 3000 years old and made of mud but after I led the way they reluctantly followed. I pointed out that if it had help for so long it would manage for another fifteen minutes. Sonia was unconvinced. The man who owned the place came up and told us first that the place was haunted by genies. Then he pointed to another building and said that it has collapsed three days earlier, sending Sonia to scream at me to get out of the building that I was currently in. You really have to see this place to believe it. For more pictures of Old Marib, please go here.
After Mabib, we hopped a bus to Seiyun. Check back for pictures and stories in Part II: California Kim and the Lost Cities of Wadi Dau-ar!
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