We went with my friend Abubaker (in the middle of the picture) and his friends on a little trip out of the city. We visited the highest point in Yemen, Su Haib mountain (3000+meters), where his friends' village was and where they still owned some land, even though they live now in Sana'a. We drove around in the area and saw some of the most beautiful landscapes. Little villages are spread out all over the mountains. They said that the whole area becomes lush and green over the summer. Some of the pictures give some idea of what that can be like.
At some point one of the guys (the old man on the right, the uncle of the younger man on the left), threw an empty drink container over the edge, when we were sitting down sharing snacks. Marian told him that she was shocked. She pointed to the sky and said "Allah gave you this beautiful country and you guys keep on trashing it." After Abubaker translated that, the old guy got up and walked away. We were told that he was 'feeling shame'. Later we talked a bit more about trash and how it gets handled in the Western world (getting fines for trashing, etc). They looked really surprised. In Sana'a, there is trash all over the streets. See picture below. This is not a single image. Every street has trash spread out on the sidewalks.
Hi Marc and Marion, It is so terrific to be able to read of your adventures. I hope many others here take the opportunity to share in your journies. We have posted your blogspot address in the Saints' Alive. You can read it by going to our website allsaintsepiscopal.info
ReplyDeleteand clicking on the saints alive link.
Blessings, Father EJ.