Asia

[Visited: June 2004]

When we finally arrived in Al Maghraba with a delay because the brakes of the bus broke down, we were lucky to find a taxi to Manakha right away. There, we could directly jump on a pick-up truck which took us still higher up the mountains. While we slowly climbed to al Hajjara, we had a great view on the landscape around us. It was opening up deep below us, it was opening up high above, and on hill tops both below and above, we saw villages of stone houses and fortresses guarding the area.
After a superb lunch and a shooting lesson of the bodyguards of the French ambassador, the only other guest, we started off for a walk. Climbing up we found a perfect place, with a free view on all sides, a rock to sit against, and with only the sound of the villages around us. We had to force ourselves to get up and continue walking, and saw clouds rapidly moving in from the lowlands. This gave the stone tower houses a mystical appearance, and strangely enough it never rained.
The next day we walked up the mountains, through small villages, played football with some children and were greeted by others selling souvenirs; apparently, they had learned we were on the way. The views over the terrace fields, the arresting and closed villages made for a hauntingly beautiful walk. After a few hours we entered Kahil through its only stone gate, inside we heard voices but did not see anyone. From there, it was a short walk down to Manakha.

Around the World in 80 Clicks

Personal travel impressions both in words and images from Haraz Mountains (Yemen). Clicking on the pictures enlarges them and enables you to send the picture as a free e-card or download it for personal use, for instance, on your weblog. Or click on the map above to visit more places close to Haraz Mountains.
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