Thursday, March 29, 2007

Mud-elling etc..

BUILD ME A MUD PALACE
Like the one in Seyoun, entirely made of mud and rising to 5 stories overlooking the town. It was built in the 1800ish and used as a garrison. It is now a museum with some interesting facts about the wadi area, such as how the local money, the real, was coined during the austrian influence. Or to see the old alphabet used before the arabic alphabet...



And it also has a magnificent view of the whole town of Seyoun, with its minarets that are all different. Locals who emigrated to Saudi Arabia, Indonesia or other for oil or business return successfully and erect those minarets to thank God and give to the community. One could argue schools and hospitals could be useful too, but faith is a good thing here.

Another mud palace is in Tarim, where a prominent business family who worked in Indonesia came back and built a whole structure inspired by Indonesian craft and architecture. Unfortunately we could not visit inside as there was a funeral and the whole town went.




BUILD ME A MUD CITY

This is Shibam, a site which is on the World heritage list of UNESCO
The place was nicknamed Manhattan of the desert, as 9 stories high buildings were built entirely in mud. There is only one gate to this city overlooking the river bed. It is used to monitor any entrance and exit. Like in the traditional houses in the area, women and men each have their floor level. Cattle and storage rooms is on the ground floor. The top roof terrace is used for tea or coffee break. And it is always quite breezy inside due to the various internal open court and windows. The river bed itself serves as playground to the kids and goat and camel herds.

A CITY ON THE ROCK
Tired of mud constructions? Try the rock high rises of Al Hajarain, a city built on a bald rock overlooking the wadi.

This is unique in the region because the houses are actually made of rock as well, not mud. It's pretty scary to climb up the roads that swivel around the bald mountain. But it has a nice view up there and there are long staircase down the mountain for those who are not afraid of staring into the void while climbing down.

Speaking of rock, the driver was playing the backstreet boyz at some point and I missed Bambi dearly. Please, no stone throwing! Speaking of another rock, here is Haed Aljazail, another mud city perched on some unreasonable stone...the humans were unreasonable, the stone just happened to be there, half hanging out of the mountain...

This is a view from the desert plateau across from it, where some ricj guy, probably from the Al Kaaf family is building a huge resort. He even finished building the fence, using local materials: rocks. He also built a hospital and a place where he can have shows done on that plateau...seems that whole piece of flat big rock is entirely his...

Anyway, down the plateau we had lunch at this cute restaurant.

No need to add this was also made of mud....it was

The face of the desert


Forget the cliche of the sand dunes. I did not see those. After all, the trip was to be in a valley, where an intermittent river would form after rainfall. Instead, picture a long sinuous valley bordered by very high plateaux that are similar to Cape Town's Table Mountain. And you get the region of Hadramout.





It rained a couple of days ago and the river bed is blessed with some water, and some crops are an eerie green along the road.

Along the straight new roads, water station sparsely sprout out of the beige ground, celebrating and nurturing the idea of water to the thirsty and drained travelers. Truly a life saving station.

We also came across many goats herds, escorted by their lovely shepherdess, kinda dressed for Halloween.

Minarets towers in all shape and colors signal human civilization. Minaret also travels by truck on the long desert road.

On the plateaux, the immense flat dry surface stretches to the horizon, hiding the abrupt cliffs onto the valley.

The sunset can be viewed in higher grounds to get a view of the palms trees in the wadi and the sand storm raised by the breeze.

And finally hidden charming oasis of rest and peace cater to tired travelers.

Saturday, March 24, 2007

The three musketeers


Hook (black eye), Gruyere, and Voatavo (ie swiss cheese and pumpkin)
Their mom is called...Orangina

Thursday, March 22, 2007

On Weekend

I should have had a graduation ceremony, because I can now read...supposedly, in Arabic, when they bother to put the vowels on the words. Instead walked home through the souk one more time, taking some pictures like some vulgar tourist:

Observe the man walking up the hill, like any yemeni, he is wearing the traditional jambia, a mighty knife he keeps in a decorated belt near his ....belly, to protect his....belly:)

And here is one of the many shops selling the accessories for men: jambia belts.

And to finish, a nice picture of the old city, seen behind its big wall:

Since my classes finished (yes, short but intensive) I am not sure when I will be back in the old city. On the other hand I need a REAL vacation...days of doing nothing...and not waking up with an alarm clock.....

High...

Game: Not that i have tried qat or any popular local hallucinogens. Just that having a glimpse out of the window of the laundry room, here what I saw:


Spirits: And from the bedroom, I can see the muezzin that wakes us up at 03:00am for prayers...they are pretty hard core on prayers.

Voltage: Finally,I barely completed my homework when the electricity went off. So we had a candlelit dinner and a game of spiderweb, and sudoku.

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Dryness


Every single hint of humidity out here is sucked dry out here. The ground is marked by small wrinkles and the trees are all very dry or burnt. However the recent urban planning included planting trees to separate boulevards, like the one next to the mall across from the house (below).

Also the skin, and other wooden crafts we have had since we moved, are completely dried up. For our skin, we have to butter ourselves with all sorts of yummy cream, from heal to face. The wooden chests and chairs have to be oiled apparently.

And worse, it is dry of cute guys. Have I mentioned that they hold hands?

Monday, March 19, 2007

Starting school

This morning was nerve wrecking as I was supposed to go to class by myself, like a big girl (not fat, just big). Took a cab which had plastic covered seats in case i vomit inside because of car sickness. Given how they drive over here, it is expected. Then I was dropped off at the entrance of the Old City (Baab el Yemen) and had to go through the souk by myself, following a map my Mommy drew. I managed to get to the school 15min in advance, so they put me in the kitchen to wait for 10:00.

I must stress that the city is in altitude so climbing regular stairs leaves me breathless. The school kitchen was on the second floor, after climbing old style stairs made for giants. I waited 30min, then at 10:10 I called the director of the school asking where my teacher was after seeing all the other students being picked up by their teacher. He told me to go upstairs, on the 3rd floor where my teacher was waiting for me. He basically forgot he sent me to the kitchen.

Anyway that was enough exercise for my poor legs, lungs and brain...tomorrow, class is at 08:00..........

Sunday, March 18, 2007

Yeah Man !*

*coined by Hobbes

Finally landed safely on the second try! We almost landed the first time but at the last minute, ie after the tires were out, the pilot decided to turn on the engines again and take off...mainly because a violent wind was shaking the plane, and lifted all the dust around so ze could not see anything, the sky and everything we stared at was red yellowish fog.

But the trip was comfortable enough, except that in the new fleet of Emirates, the seats are higher than usual, meaning the height challenged like me could not touch the floor with my feet, and the footrest could not be used during take offs and landings. Quite painful then. I also cursed for 6 hours after a party of 3 guys in front of me who kept drinking and got really drunk and really loud. May they be sterile.

So far I am getting lost finding the rooms I want in the house. Imagine when I have to walk through the souk in the old city to go to my Arabic classes tomorrow...

Friday, March 16, 2007

Our life in Science

Convinced that my granny still lives in the 50's, I wondered how it would feel 50 years from now on. Hell, it's hard enough being born in the 70s and growing up on stuff that don't make sense anymore, such as:
- Pluto is not a planet
- It is now scientifically impossible to go back in time. This must be very hard on magazines and the cosmetics industry. How are they going to sell them products that are supposed to make you look and feel like 10 years back in time?



And then you start to imagine waking up one day 50 years from now and finding out:
- that all your kids (if you have them) look alike, except for their hair color, and they're not the same age either.
- you can go to the hospital and ask for a hip replacement, not because yours broke, but because you get a new hip, grown from the cells you gave earlier (or did they just take that sample when you were being treated for an appendicite?)
- When your child is sick, you can either replace the malfunctioning organ with another one that was grown in vitro (same as your hip) or...get one from a clone of your child...
- Your food doesnt taste like anything anymore. Instead you have pills that treat each vital organ..and your tastebuds are not vital apparently...weird because it can be useful to taste poisons...ah well
- You can't have babies by having sex anymore. For babies, you go to the bankand fill in a form and get your order like at McDonalds. In fact everyone (men and women) has to do it for the survival of the species.
- Everyone is using public transport that don't stop for no reason for engineering work. The only private vehicles are the ones to the other planets and moons.
- You can learn a new language in 3 nights' sleep

I stop imagining because it's been a while since I read a science magazine so I can't remeber what other stuff is shaking up our lives...but just imagine though...pretty scary sometimes.

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Flashback

Sometime yesterday in Paris I was walking briskly along the corridor of the metro station Cluny La Sorbonne. And I felt like almost 10 years ago, when every morning I had to run in that same corridor to catch my connection train to Jussieu...very weird feeling.

Otherwise, I was quite happy to fly with a woman captain on my flight back to Heathrow. Her voice was very reassuring, even if her landing was a bit bumpy. However the stewart had a terrible French accent, so bad it hurts to listen to him. 'oui invaite u to reed zee and out in front ov u...' arghhhhh Maybe if he was cute i would have felt better.

Monday, March 12, 2007

Top 3 things I can't buy

3-Dietary food, such as slim fast and such . I feel miserable because if I buy it then I have to eat it, and they're not very good, except the ones I bought in France years ago but which is now discontinued... I don't like slim fast.

2-panties. Because no matter how I look at them they look huuuuge...:(

1-Condoms...I've never even tried. In a supermarket I walk down that aisle and glance around and discover to my horror that there are millions of boxes of different colors. Geez, as if it wasn't difficult enough. And then for some reason I can't read anymore so I just stare at the aile, continue walking and wonder what's the difference between those condoms: thickness of rubber? talc and powder? reservoir? size? breathable (huh?) flavour? texture? glow in the dark? with or without lubrification? So I leave it to the guy to get them.

I just imagine guys shopping...
'oh man, i only have 2 condoms left and it's the weekend. Gotta get some more. So let's see...what's the cheapest?...hmmm...3 for the price of 2. yeah but this is small. And I need lube. Don't they have family size boxes so that I don't have to do this so often? Hehehe, the ones with flavours...******(censured thought). Oh shit, another guy is coming over (this one is hetero right?). Ah well, whatever is under my hand then. Oh shit this is not what I wanted. Ah well, maybe she will....grrr...run run...ah damn, all the cashiers are girls, ah well, gotta hide this one with the lettuce, or shoo, how about some flowers? yeah..smooth!'

Arghhh that was painful, to try to think like a guy like that. Am glad I'm a girl.

Who are you?

It must be very strange to not remember things. I do it already but I usually forget events...Yesterday however, my grandmother asked me who I was. LOL. I don't blame her from bloking me from her consciousness though, I've been a bit of a troublesome lady to live with. But it was quite funny to find out she doesn't know who I am and that I finished school...Instead she said she remember my sister she hasn't seen in 5 years. Some shortcircuits going in there...

Airports or terminals?

It is a place where people pass by and don’t stay, except for the shops. So travellers usually move in hordes, in and out of the terminals. I do like airports mainly for that reason, but only when I am leaving. Picking up someone or waiting for someone at the airport or dropping someone is not very enjoyable, mainly because you wait (waste of my life), or because you feel left behind.

I don't like the word terminal because it sounds so definitive and very ill. Airport is a better word because it is much more descriptive of a bustling port where things are done: goodbyes, greetings, business, meetings, extraditions, body searches, etc...It's where I rush to, take my ticket, check my luggage get in line for the security check...and most of the time don't look back. Either I know I'll be back and will rejoice in seeing family and friends again, knowing that rare comfort of being loved no matter what, or there is just nothing to look back on because I am glad to leave it behind.

Saturday, March 10, 2007

'Kuroi namida'

Here are the translated lyrics of the song from 'nana'. And I do feel like this....

can’t count the nights when I’ve hoped tomorrow won’t come
I’ve lost my dreams and my love; lashed by the rain, I’m crying, crying, crying…

What do I need to do
To be able to live as I am, without dressing myself up?
I can't even believe in myself, so what should I believe in?
The answer is so close that I can’t see it

I cry black tears
I have nothing, I’m so sad
Unable even to put it into words
My whole body begins to ache
I can’t take being alone

At night I grew tired of crying and drew my face, yet it wasn’t my face
I need to stop hiding my weakness and putting on a smile

Is it the hardest thing in the world
To live without dressing oneself up?
If I could have something from you, I want something intangible
I no longer need things that can break

Even if I cry black tears and scream
Tomorrow will come with an unfamiliar face
And I’ll come up against the same pain
If those days are going to continue
Then I want to go far away
Even though I know it's selfish of me...

I cry black tears
I have nothing, I’m so sad
Unable even to put it into words
My whole body begins to ache
I can’t take being alone

Even if I cry black tears and scream
Tomorrow will come with an unfamiliar face
And I’ll come up against the same pain
If those days are going to continue
Then I want to go far away
Even though I know it's selfish of me...

In a rush and a void

I've been quite busy creating, reviewing, editing a French CV lately. It is my only deadline in about 3 years now and it felt good to be compelled to do something for my own good. Even if the results are not guaranteed and the job itself doesn't seem too technically challenging.

It also left me quite empty. I realized when I feel something I do tend to almost immediately express it, either to a plastic composite and metal scrap (i.e. a computer), or to the relevant person. So if I am happy I say so, if I am sad and missing someone, I say so, and if I like someone, I say so as well, which has the relly annoying effect of making the guy run for shelter and for a boat off the island or continent. Very disturbing. I am not sure if it is the way I express it or just the fact that I have those feelings.

I have tried being subtke about hings, but then again I don't like the idea that I am not sure what the other person understood. So soon or later, usually sooner, I blurt out what excatly is my feeling or opinion. I have been shy before, and I am still considerate to others' feelings. But I put my own feelings first by expressing them.

Electra said we are not women who receive gifts. That is because we do not know how to act needy and demanding...and maybe also I am too independent and proud to ask for anything sometimes. If I need help I will eventualy ask for it. Maybe I get it, maybe I don't but at least I asked and tried.

Yeah, i feel empty...I need that rush to make me feel alive again.

Friday, March 09, 2007

The whereabouts of the Moon Rabbit


Can you see it? I thought I was loosing my wits when remebering the moon rabbit. Apprently it is only visible in the southern hemisphere where I grew up. In those days we spent a large amount of time staring at the moon before going to sleep, making up stories and conjectures about what the rabbit was doing up there. It is a shame it cannot be seen from up here north...
It is a very well know figure that can be traced up from the shades on the moon. For those unlucky one who grew up without the Moon Rabbit, here is what you are missing then:

Saturday, March 03, 2007

Sun, Earth and Moon

A total lunar eclipse is visible tonight, straight out of my window. The sun, earth and the moon are on a straight line apparently, in that order.I wonder if that accounts for my mood. In a few hours, the moon disapears in front of my eyes and may reappear again while I am sleeping.



The moon slowly drifts out of my sight, like any other goal or dream I had in mind. Planes fly between my crapy camera lens and the moon, and I wonder if the passengers look at the moon and if they see it bigger. Also, if they reach up with their hands, they could touch the moon...sigh.


I didn't get to see the moon re-appear, but while dozing off to sleep, I unfortunately have to get real and realize bitterly that it is only I who decide how I feel. And so I am angry for a while, because I forgot to depend on myself. I will stop watching the parade, and walk away to go on my journey. That parade is only a collection of fake clowns, fake giants, cheap glitter, and loud ear tearing noise, disguising boredom, uselessness and aimlessness.

I missed the Haley comet a few (maybe decade) back. I'm glad I saw this one. And I even caught a blue moon. without using any filter or any sophisticated equipment...but the photos don't capture the rabbit on that side of the moon.