Then we went to Thula, a cute little town on the mountainside.

Thula is a small village built high up on a mountainside. The streets are very narrow, the houses seem to be leaning towards each other. Some of them are connected at the upper floors by little walkways. When we got there we were surrounded by a flock of children, trying to sell us things. Next, we were dragged into the little stores by store owners who hadn't seen clients in a long time. Apparently, tourism has gone down tremendously since Yemen has some trouble with rebels in some provinces in the North. People are advised not to leave the capital, so little villages like this don't see any tourists anymore. We were beleaguered by the shop owners who pulled is into their little stores left and right. We bought some nice things, and left the little town a little poorer, but with some precious items. Some of the kids weren't too happy because we didn't buy their stuff. They had been waiting outside the stores with their hands full of cheap things. They followed us around the whole time. Our guide had told us to ignore them. We promised that we would be back and send some more people.
Some of the women don't wear the black abaya robes, but some very colorful dresses, mostly older women.