We went with the family and Asia's brother in his taxi to see the Rock Palace: Dar-al Hajar. It is about 30 minutes outside San'a. The palace as built as a summer residence for Imam Yahya in the 1920s. It is a huge structure made of red and white stone and sits perched on a rock.
We visited on a Thursday which is the first day of the Yemeni weekend. There were several groups of school children from a private school visiting as well so they were happy to practise their English each time they passed us on the stairs!
The palace is a favourite area for weddings and the weekend is the best time for them. We saw the men from a wedding party who wanted us to take photos of the groom and his entourage. We never saw the bride. Weddings are usually celebrated with lots of gun fire.
At a lookout point near the palace we were besieged by beggars, jewelery sellers, scarf sellers, falcon owners, as well as a 15 year old boy with small glasses who called himself Harry Potter and spoke 6 or 7 languages so he could sell souvenirs.
John and the falconsOn the way home we passed several plaster factories. John was keen to look at the cornices and coloured window frames that the workers cut by hand. The workers were happy to show him their products and Victor could translate for him.
Later we met a travel agent and planned a tour to Shaharah and bought a flight ticket to Sayun.
At dinner time we watched Asia making bread and cooking it in her gas oven. It was delicious. Yemen has over 40 types of bread.
