Today somehow, I feel like writing a smartass post. You know the one where you say something you want to say without actually saying it but coating it in a smartass kind of sentence… For instance if you wanna say “I started jogging from today”, you’d say something like “2 kms on the treadmill made me realize that age has finally caught up with me!” So you see, you tell the world that you’ve started jogging without attracting reactions like “Who cares?” [Few of you may still come up with that kind of comment but that would mean you wouldn’t be attracting any traffic on your blog if you have one… unless you’re putting up topless photos of yourself ;-)]
So long story short, here is what I am thinking today…
Be careful what you wish for. A lazy friday relaxing all alone with a book may sound like a great break but doing that in a foreign country in a flat next to a mosque all alone all day and night with long power cuts isn’t that interesting.
People people everywhere, not a word to speak… except maybe my Arabic vocabulary of around 25 words which include yes, no, how, where, what, office, home, food, water, election etc. (and ya also shut up, homo and lousy).
A restaurant called Mumbai Darbar doesn’t necessarily mean the food tastes like the one served in palaces in Bombay.
Walking for 300 mts. and wearing a suit with a laptop slung on your shoulder is not a great idea at a place which is 1800 mts. above sea level. Oxygen is actually in short supply.
Global warming is a reality. Even at 1800 mts. above sea level, flats without fans are not good.
Wonder what’s with these guys. Even though I tell them I don’t understand their language, a guy at the PCO tries to convert me into a Muslim when I tell him, I’m a Hindu from India.
Regardless of the above statement, there’s nothing to be scared of in Sanaá, especially after lunch time when everybody is in a good mood and high on Kaat. Wish all terrorists of the world chewed Kaat.
Somehow the treatment I’m getting in even groceries seems like the treatment given to foreigners in India… Now I know why foreigners love India so much 🙂
Ok, enough of gyaan. Before parting, let me show you my newly acquired cooking skills…
Two Hills in Sanaa called “The Breasts” in Arabic
‘Dar Al Hajjar’ – An old House of the Imam! Part of the house is inside the hill itself, the rooms carved out into a solid stone hill.
A face outside Dar-Al-Hajjar
Full view of the Dar Al Hajjar from the other side – Notice that this one has almost 9 stories all of which are not visible from the other side.
Quite a Contrast – Our Lexus against the Old Town.
A house standing only on mud and bamboos – no cement (and a prayer). This place is actually a heritage site so no construction is allowed and thus, there are no renovations made. The entire construction is as it was almost a 1000 years old, and people are still living in them.
Alleys adjacent to hills in the town adjoining “Dar Al Hajjar”
Another view of the town
And then we headed to Old Town, Sanaa to have a dinner of skewered Kababs cooked on coal.
Three of us dig into the delicious Kababs and Tomato puree as a dip
The alleys in Old Town Sanaa.
Located in Dubai but Heart in India 