Yemen - Goodbye to Arabia Felix

The time has come for me to say goodbye to Yemen, known to the Romans as Arabia Felix or 'happy/fortunate Arabia'.  My learning journey to Yemen has been really fascinating and, despite the current political difficulties faced by the Yemeni people, I've been left with a very positive impression of their culture and their potential to create a society that is peaceful and prosperous.  As usual, my 'armchair' travelling has also left me with a great desire to go and see Yemen for myself!

A summary of the topics

Esoteric by Martin Sojka

During the past six weeks I have had the opportunity to learn more about the History of Yemen - how it's a bridge between Arabia and East Africa.  I've learned about the two Yemens, north and south, following separate paths until reunification in the 90's.  I learned a little bit more about Islam and the Madhabs, or schools of Islamic thought.  I learned about the Queen of Sheba and the current situation for women in Yemeni society.  I learned about Coffee and Qat, two plants that were first cultivated in Yemen, they have had very different destinies in the modern world.  I also listened to the music of Mohamad al-Harithi.  I learned how to make Saltah, Yemen's national dish and I also visited a Yemeni restaurant just off the Edgware Road here in London.

Books about Yemen by me

I read several books about Yemen.  Tim Mackintosh-Smith's travelogue Yemen: Travels in Dictionary Land was very readable and informative, Mackintosh-Smith is a great authority on Yemen and his book gave me a lot of ideas about the themes I should research for this blog.  I also read the popular novel Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday, which was really funny and enjoyable and I read The Hostage by Yemeni writer Zayd Mutee' Dammaj, which was darkly sensual and frightening.  I watched several movies relating to or shot in Yemen, including King Vidor's Solomon and Sheba (1959) and Pasolini's Arabian Nights (1974).  I also learned a lot about the island of Socotra, the part of Yemen that isn't really all that Yemeni.

Other themes for further research

Of course I touched on a whole range of themes that I didn't have time to research fully, but would be interesting to explore further, if you want to learn even more about Yemen.  Some of the other themes were:

The beach in Socotra by Martin Sojka

- the History of Frankincense and Yemen's role in exporting it to medieval Europe
- the poetry of Imru' al-Qays and the theme of nostalgia
- Mad Mitch and the last battle ever fought by the British Empire
- The Yemeni poltergeist  idar al-dar and the Arabian approach to the supernatural
- Yemeni dress and that ultimate male accessory, the djambia
- The skyscrapers of Shibam and the development of architecture in Yemeni towns
- Joseph Wolff, the Jewish Anglican missionary
- Cush and the sons of Noah

I really regret not having time to do some research on the Temani, the Jews of Yemen.  To make up for it, I'm posting a YouTube video below from Ofra Haza, one of the most famous Yemeni Jews.  This is a traditional Temani song called Im Nin' Alu and comes from her 1984 album Shirey Teyman aka Yemenite Songs.  Madonna fans might recognise this, as she also sampled a version of this song on Isaac from her album Confessions on a Dance Floor



Did you know?

As well as the 'big' themes I didn't have time to blog about, I also picked up lots of trivia related to Yemen, which will come in handy in dinner party conversations, I'm sure.  I learned that:

- the prophet Mohammad said the Yemenis have 'the kindest and gentlest hearts of all'
- the official Arabic word for 'motorbike' translates as 'fiery bicycle'
- the Yemeni general Abdul Rahman al Ghafiqi conquered Bordeaux in the 8th century
- there are baboons in Yemen

Young man chewing Qat by Martin Sojka

- the mountain tribesmen of Yemen didn't use to eat fish, as they thought it was some kind of inedible worm
- the Arabs call rain 'barakah' which is also the word for blessing
- Yemeni fans of Michael Jackson are called mutamaykalin
- by the time the British pulled out of Aden in 1967, it was costing them £60 million a year
- Aden's busiest market is called 'the Suq of rumours'
- Aden was known as the 'white man's grave'
- Al-Maqah was the god of the moon
- There are people on the island of Socotra who have blue eyes
- the 1994 Yemeni census included 'cave' under types of accommodation
- a Kurdish dynasty ruled Yemen in the 12th century
- many cities in the Middle East have a Tahrir square, tahrir تحرير means 'liberation'
- the Queen of Sheba had hairy legs
- Marriage between cousins is permitted in Islamic traditions
- Yemeni weddings usually begin on a Wednesday and end on a Friday
- at 2300 metres above sea level, Sana'a is the 7th highest capital city in the world (just below Addis Ababa and Asmara)
- Yemen is one of only 7 countries in the world that apply the death penalty for same-sex relations

I hope you've enjoyed my virtual trip to Yemen as much as I have.  I'm going to leave you with the words of a very poignant poem from Imru al-Qays (Diwan, Poem 2):

Djambia by Martin Sojka

Weep for me, my eyes! Spill your tears

And mourn for me the vanished kings

Hujr ibn 'Amru's princely sons

Led away to slaughter at eventide;

If only they had died in combat

Not in the lands of Banu Marina!

No water was there to wash their fallen heads,

And their skulls lie spattered with blood

Pecked over by birds

Who tear out first the eyebrows, then the eyes.

Image credits:

For this final blogpost on Yemen, I wanted to highlight the work of a very talented Slovak photographer called Martin Sojka - Martin has taken some stunning photos in Yemen and Socotra, but also in places like Iceland and New Zealand.  You can see more of his images on his Flickr photostream  

Thanks Martin for sharing these images with us using the Creative Commons License. 

Yemen - the Queen of Sheba and the women of Yemen

One of the things people from Yemen seem to be quite proud of is the country's claim to be the birthplace of the Queen of Sheba.  Sheba is also claimed by the Ethiopians, who called her Makeda and I'm beginning to see a pattern of cultural exchange that has blurred the edges of Yemeni, Ethiopian, Eritrean  and Somali culture.

Archaeological evidence from Ma'rib, a town in the desert just east of Sana'a, is offered as proof of the existence of Sheba.  Whether or not Sheba was a real personage hardly seems to be the point - it's what she symbolised that has become so important, not only to the Yemenis, but to the early Christians, Jews and Muslims.

Sheba and King Solomon

Solomon and Sheba by Piero della Francesca

Just as there is a paucity of historical evidence of the Queen of Sheba's existence, I've also found that there are very few interpretations (in the Western world) of the Queen of Sheba's life - the ones that do exist relate to her visit to Solomon, the King of Israel.  Most accounts tell how the Queen of Sheba had heard of Solomon's great wisdom and faith, so she travelled all the way to Israel to see his kingdom with her own eyes.  She has been depicted as being wealthy beyond belief and brought gifts of gold, spices and jewels which, I'm sure, made an impression on Solomon and his subjects.


As part of my research, I've read Kings 10:10, the paragraph in the Bible that relates to Solomon and Sheba.  It's an incredibly short version of the story and I can't help wondering what was left unsaid.  Other accounts have linked Solomon and Sheba romantically, but the Bible, rather enigmatically, merely states that 'King Solomon gave the Queen of Sheba everything she asked for'.

The Hollywood movie

Of course, the Hollywood version, King Vidor's 1959 epic, Solomon and Sheba is a lot more exciting.  Not only does Sheba (played by the Italian beauty, Gina Lollobrigada) seduce King Solomon (played by Yul Brynner, who was born in Vladivostok), but she is also partly responsible for the fall of Solomon's kingdom and the Hebrew God's destruction of Solomon's temple, when he allows Sheba and her cortege to hold a festival in honour of the Sheban love god, Ragan.

It's a great movie and I really enjoyed watching it.  I'm posting the link to a YouTube video, which shows one of the movies' most famous scenes, ie. the pagan orgy in honour of Ragan.  Gina Lollobrigada is fantastic and the scene reminded me of a Lady Gaga video.  Whilst Lady Gaga might only raise a few eyebrows in our modern times, Lollobrigada's dance in this scene caused quite a stir in late 1950's America!

Claude Lorrain's Embarkation of the Queen of Sheba

The Embarkation of the Queen of Sheba

Also as part of my research for this blog, I went to see Claude Lorrain's 1648 painting The Embarkation of the Queen of Sheba, which hangs in the National Gallery, here in London.  The Sheban port, as depicted by Lorrain, looks nothing like the photos and images I've seen of Yemen, but Lorrain's approach to this story was innovative, not only because of the way he used light in the painting, but also because of the subject matter - most artists and writers have only been concerned with Sheba's visit to Israel, whereas Claude chose to focus on her departure from Sheba, reflecting his interest in the theme of voluntary exile. 

The arrival of the Queen of Sheba

Handel's oratorio, Solomon, based on biblical stories about the wise king, was first performed at the Theatre Royal (now known as the Royal Opera House) in Covent Garden, London  on the 17th of March 1749.  The sinfonia from Solomon is better known as The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba and is a piece of music I have loved for many years.  I'm posting a video from YouTube below, so you can enjoy this piece of music firsthand (if you're not already familiar with it).



Soft diplomacy or cultural subjugation

I've been thinking a lot about Sheba's story and how it can be interpreted.  The optimist in me sees the story of Solomon and Sheba as one of the first portrayals of a diplomatic mission - one that wasn't based on war and conquest, but the exchange of gifts and cultural ideas.  In the biblical version of this story, Sheba leaves Israel peacefully and you get the impression that both Sheba and Israel have been enriched by this cultural contact.

I get the impression that, for many Yemenis, Sheba represents the 'glory days' of Yemen, when it was a land rich beyond any one's wildest dreams.  There are echoes of Yemeni history in the story of Sheba and, I think she is more a symbol of fertility and bountiful harvests, than an actual person.  Like a fallen queen, Yemen in more modern times has been culturally subjugated to the influences of a wider world.  Early Christians interpreted this story as the subjugation of pagan beliefs by monotheism.  For modern Yemenis, Sheba symbolises a country that is passive, female and exploited. 

Women in Yemeni society

Yemeni woman by localsurfer

The position of women in Yemeni society leaves a lot to be desired.  According to the Washington-based NGO, Freedom House Yemeni women have limited access to judicial institutions and the majority of law makers are men.  In the tribes, there does seem to be a strong role for women, but this varies from region to region and, in general, Yemeni women are discriminated against under the law.  For example, women in Yemen need a letter of approval from their 'guardian', before they can marry a non-Yemeni.  Bizarrely, Yemeni law considers the testimony of two women to be equal to that of one man.

There are no laws to protect women from sexual harassment at work - that is, if a woman can find a job, literacy levels amongst Yemeni women are incredibly low - according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), 61.6% of women in Yemen are illiterate, which is double the illiteracy rate for men.  I'm not quite sure where the Queen of Sheba would fit in to modern-day Yemen! 

Image credits:

The image of Piero della Francesca's painting Legend of the True Cross - the Queen of Sheba Meeting with Solomon hangs in the Basilica de San Francesco which is Arezzo, in Italy.  This image is copyright-free, as it's in the public domain

The image of Claude Lorrain's Embarkation of the Queen of Sheba is also in the public domain.

The image of the young Yemeni woman was published on Flickr by localsurfer who is from Barnstaple in North Devon.  You can see more of his images on his website.  Also, it's worth having a look at the information he's written about this image, to get an idea of what life is like for women in Yemen.  Thanks localsurfer for sharing this image with us using the Creative Commons License. 

Yemen - How I made Saltah

Research into the national dish of Yemen very quickly brought me to a dish called سلتة Saltah, which is very close to the Arabic word سلت which means salt.  I don't know what the real thing tastes like, but the version I made wasn't too salty.  There seems to be only one recipe for Saltah knocking about on various different websites and this was the one I used.


Ingredients:

The Ingredients for Saltah, Hilbeh and Zhug

كوب واحد من النفط  one cup of oil
بصل 2 onions
البطاطا 4/6 potatoes
لحم مفروم minced meat (I used beef, but you could also use lamb)
لحوم البقر الأسهم beef stock
طماطم 2 tomatoes
بيض 2 eggs (which should be beaten)
عصير الليمون lemon juice
تشيليز 3/4 chillies
فصوص ثوم 6 cloves of garlic
حلبة نبات fenugreek seeds
كمون ground cumin
هال ground cardamom
كزبرة fresh coriander

Preparing Hilbeh and Zhug

Preparing Hilbeh

Preparing Zhug

Saltah is usually served with two condiments called Hilbeh and Zhug which are stirred into the dish at the very end.  I prepared these first, so I could put them in the fridge and chill them slightly.

Spices

Zhug and Hilbeh

Hilbeh حلبة نبات is a green-coloured condiment based on fenugreek.  It was my first time ever cooking with this spice (the English name comes from the Latin for Greek hay).  Fenugreek is popular in Indian cooking and is often used to make curries.  I steeped the seeds overnight in a glass of water, as recommended by the recipe, then blitzed them in the food processor, with some water, 2 garlic cloves, a green chilli, chopped coriander and the juice of a lemon.

To make Zhug مهدي الشوق I mixed some red chillies, oil and coriander with 4 garlic cloves, ground cumin and cardamom seeds.  Zhug is a popular condiment throughout the Middle East and I'm sure many of us have had this on kebabs or falafel.

Preparing the Saltah

Fry the onion

Fry the beef

To make the Saltah, you start by frying the onions in a frying pan, then adding the minced meat and frying this until it is brown.  I fried the meat and onions in a pan, then added them to the main stewing pot later - this was mostly because I'd underestimated the amount of space I would need to cook this dish - however, it worked out quite well doing it this way, so I would also cook the meat separately in future.

Heat the tomatoes and potato

Add the beef stock

I parboiled the potatoes before adding them to the main pot with the tomatoes (which I had salted) and fresh coriander.  In retrospect, I probably should have added the coriander later. Once the tomatoes had softened a bit, I added beef stock and brought the mixture to the boil.  It was at this point that I added the meat and onions to the pot and reduced the heat.

Saltah

The original recipe recommends simmering for one hour, but I was in a bit of a hurry, so I let the ingredients simmer for forty minutes, before stirring in the egg and adding the condiments.

It was a really straight-forward dish to make and incredibly delicious.  I made quite a bit portion, so we also had Saltah for dinner the next day.  I'm sure you could add rice to the mixture (which would make it a bit like kabsa) but we decided to eat it with yummy slices of country bread.

Traditional Yemeni food in London

The Queen of Sheba restaurant

Halloumi starter

I decided to add a new element to my learning experience this time, by visiting a traditional Yemeni restaurant.  I'm sure that most of the world's cuisines are represented in London and, sure enough, there is a traditional Yemeni restaurant, not far from Paddington Station, called The Queen of Sheba.

Kabsa Lahan

I went there with some friends and, this being Ramadan, the restaurant was pretty empty, most of the bookings being later in the evening, after sunset.  Unfortunately, I couldn't try their Saltah, but we had a range of starters - halloumi, falafel, moussaka and kibbah (which I hadn't tried before).  We all ordered lamb-based dishes and I tried the Kabsa Laham which was quite good.  The portions were massive and, for the first time ever, my partner couldn't finish his dinner (he's usually asking for more!)

It was a nice addition to the learning experience and one I hope to repeat in future blogs.   

Image credits:

All photos were taken by me - please feel free to use this under the following Creative Commons license:

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