Yemen
is rich with art and humanities due to the richness of the Yemeni culture.
People
value their lives and give it the pleasure it needs. Therefore, many tourists
enjoy their visit to Yemen and plan to come on a regular basis. Yemeni people
have the potential to start to break the ice. It may effend some but this is the
Yemeni culture. People are humans and they cannot live by themselves. They
share. People are to be friends.
People in Yemen may seem to have a different reactions. However, these reactions
what made many people come again and enjoy that type of people. People who does
not care if it rains or not, they care if it's going to night so everyone has to
leave. They will spend time together and enjoy their being together.
Does It Really Happen?
YEMENI Superstitions
Little has been written on social superstitions spread among our Yemeni
society. Many of those beliefs have been inherited through generations and
are still alive among us. Here we describe the main Yemeni superstitions.
The Ram (Al-Hamal)
Al-Hamal is a superstitious animal which is also called the graveyard’s
monster. It is believed that it disinters buried bodies in the first week
of burial. Al-Hamal is interested in only those whose horoscope is the
ram. During the first week of burial in which the ram is believed to
appear, relatives of the dead keep on the watch.
(Al-Bodda)
Beliefs in this superstitious creature is spread in Tihama and its
surroundings. Al-Bodda is a witch that can change her appearance into many
different shapes. Recently, it has been said that a great number of them
were burnt when people’s awareness about the spread of immorality
increased. It is more interesting to know that young people who are not
able to afford marrying expensive, beautiful brides go to Boddas
requesting them to change themselves into their beloveds and make love to
them on sand.
(At-Tahesh)
It is a lion-like beast with a smooth body. Its speed is compared to that
of a bullet. That is why nobody has so far been able to capture or kill
it. Al-Hawban Tahesh in Taiz has been most famous through Yemeni history
and on which many stories have been told and written.
Quest
for Treasures
In many villages, especially the remote ones, people believe in the
existence of buried treasures. Stories of such treasures are told by old
people. People leave homes for mountains in quest of treasures believed to
had been left by their grandfathers in stores dug in the earth. Some
people succeed to find such stores but all they find is invaluable items
or coal. The failure to find treasures is always attributed to the fact
that they did not slaughter sheep before searching the store.
Jinns’ Courts
Throwing hot substances and other material in bathrooms and deserted
places is believed to be harmful. Doers may be paralyzed or run mad if
they hit the invisible creatures. If a jinn is hit a court session is
bound to be held soon inside the doer’s mind until they decide to
forgive. During the period of holding those sessions the host is mad. Read
full story from Yemen
Times.
Yemen has historical and tourist sites comparable to Arab
and Worldwide sites
Q:
How do you find Yemen?
A: Yemen has a great potential in tourism if it is utilized properly.
Yemen has historical and tourist sites comparable to Arab and worldwide
sites. The landscape, architecture, especially the people who are living
in the old traditions with their tremendous hospitality and openness
towards foreigners all throughout the country are very impressive.
Q: What are the activities the German-Yemeni Friendship Society
held?
A: At the beginning, it was a charitable society founded in 1970 with the
objective to help the poor Yemeni people. During my taking over period,
economic development projects and aids were flowing into Yemen from
governments. Hence, we focused on activities, more or less, in Germany to
make public relations for Yemen as there were a lot of misunderstanding
opinions about Yemen and Yemenis. We held exhibitions, lectures and
published a magazine twice a year to report on different aspects of
Yemen.
Now the main aim of the society is once again shifted, more or less, to
the health sector. There are a lot of good relations between Yemeni and
German doctors. The Yemeni-Germany Hospital is an outcome.
The society helped to establish the Yemeni-German Friendship Society in
Yemen after the unification in 1990. Now we have also the German House in
Sana'a. There are many activities which are held in collaboration with the
two societies.
Source.
Yemen, Jewel of Arabia (Book Review)
Between
a travelogue and a socio-cultural history of Yemen, the book by Charles
& Patricia Aithie is beautifully produced with over 350 colour
photographs and an insightful text.
In the introduction, Mark Marshall, a former British ambassador to Yemen
provides a brief historical resume for the general reader. He concludes
that the authorities in the Yemen Arab Republic held that in Yemen unity
was impossible without democracy but that any attempt to break up the
union would also amount to an attempt to impose at least partial
dictatorship. When the ex-leaders of the Peoples Democratic Yemen
Republic, having lost the election, tried to recreate their ex state,
their failure to do so was at least in part due to popular revulsion at
the idea of losing the two values, unity and democracy.
That the Republic
of Yemen survived this rude test in its infancy, is why today as in the
mythical days of Qahtah and so rarely since, the land of Yemen is once
again united under Yemeni rule.
The introduction is followed by a chronology stretching from 5000 BC to
the present day - the final entry reading: 2000 northern border agreed
with Saudi Arabia. By Charles & Patricia Aithie
Reviewed by Karen Dabrowska. Source Yemen
Times
Yemeni Intellectuals in History
When the newly established Islamic state had al-Madinah al-Munawarah as
its capital, more attention was paid to this small, but important city
which after a short time became a hearthstone for so many people. Yemen
was also affected by the enlightenment coming from this city, before the
capital of the Islamic state was shifted to Damascus, Baghdad and then to
Cairo.
The far distance between Yemen and the capital of the Islamic caliphate
had its effects on Yemen which was away from attracting the attention of
the Arabs. For along time Yemen seemed to be unable to produce a great
intellectual, or scientific, etc.., work. However, this idea about Yemen
and Yemenis was changed in the hands of a number of Yemeni immigrants who
lived in the Arab capital that was receiving more attention. Some of these
people are Amaarah, Abdulmajid b. Abdulbaqi, etc. who introduced Yemen to
the others. During the Crusade and other wars that were waged from time to
time some Arab intellectuals fled their countries to Yemen. These also
helped enhanced Yemen's existence by a number of their works. Some of
these intellectuals are al-Judhri, Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Ibn Qalafis,
etc. In the modern time there were Mohebaddin al-Khatib, Jawad Ali, and
others. Such people worked as a bridge among the Arab civilizations and
cultures.
There are other factors that helped limiting Yemeni intellectual works to
be known. Among those factors are the isolation of the country that was
imposed by some of the rulers. There was a time at which all intellectuals
were dragged to jails, beaten up and even killed.
One of the great times of Yemeni enlightenment was during the Rasolids'
regime which lasted from the 7th century until the end of the 9th century.
During the three centuries a cluster of intellectuals, scientists and
artists were produced. Unfortunately, the collapse of the Rasolids' state
led to the loss of many books that were kept in huge libraries, especially
after the Ottoman invasion of Yemen.
During the 12th and 13th centuries a number of Yemeni renewers came to
being. These include al-Jalal, al-Muqbli and Mohammed b. Ibrahim al-Wazir.
In the 19th century there were al-Amir, al-Shawkani and al-Amrani.
All of these people and many others played a great role to show Yemeni as
a civilized and cultural country.
Courtesy to Al-Thaqafiah
