By: Saleh Abdulbaki
YT Staff
The Yemeni people, along with the entire Islamic world, celebrated the Greater Bairam which signifies an authentic orientation toward God's forgiveness.
Now it is commonly observed that the low income and deteriorating economic and living conditions of quite a good portion of the people in the capital and main cities have posed some problems on their migration back to villages. At the same time, there is a mark down in festivals in towns except for some dancing groups: Shops are closed and streets are empty except for some restaurants and shops whose owners are obliged to open by the authorities concerned.
Many people find Eid festivals a great opportunity to get their sons and daughters married as most of their family members get together and as it is a holy festival. It is customary for the majority of Yemenis to spend Eid in villages and countryside. During Eid people used to practice some desirable and undesirable conventions whether in the Lesser Bairam and Greater Bairam. This can be clearly seen throughout different customs performed in the Yemeni countryside in a time in which the economic conditions are very deteriorated and therefore, we see people forget these difficult conditions and desire to enjoy.
Economists take the view that poor families resort to girl-propagation, meaning families marries one daughter to the son of the other family, leading to endless family disputes. Such a phenomenon is prohibited in Islam as such marriages are not made with the consent of all the parities. Other families tend to borrow money from other families which also leads them to future problems with the creditors.
Marriage festivals widely varies from one place to another. However, most families exchange valuable gifts in the Lesser and Greater Bairam including perfumes, jewelry and clothes. Many families feel that they are no longer enjoying Eid due to hard economic conditions, a high rate of unemployment, low purchase ability and limited income. Therefore, the people find it a chance to go down on the government economic policies. Many people as well as experts raise their eyebrows at the increasing rate of poverty at a time there is a sharp increase in oil production in the country.
In conclusion, deplorable economic conditions in Yemen has added to the suffering of people even during Eid, which should be days of happiness and joy. Marriage festivals are the only touches that mark some kind of happiness, though are very expensive unbearable.

Farook al-Kamali
YT Staff
It has a rich past and a promising future. But unless the historic city of Lahj can be supplied with hotel and tourism services, it appears it will remain a tourism secret, and, as some people now believe, just a spot for people to stay briefly on their way to Aden City.
The city, its beautiful beaches and its potential for tourism remains completely ignored.
It seems Yemeni tourism bodies have forgotten that they have a city called Lahj and that it has such a rich heritage.
The city, in fact, lacks services such as, electricity, pure water and paved roads. There is negligence along its beaches, and coral reefs are deteriorating.

Lahj: a multifaceted city
Those who drop-by, albeit briefly, will see a historic Lahj with natural and architectural beauty. There are a variety of attractions, such as, al-Hosaini green gardens and the beautiful Yafae, famous for coffee and old houses.
The area has plenty of bushes and old trees. Around 45 varieties of natural plants, rare birds and wild animals are in the area. Lahj also has a fantastically long coastline with sands and coral reefs.
The city is is known for its lush meadows, its attractive scenes and landscapes. It’s famous for its palm trees and fragrant flowers such as, Arabian Jasmine.
Al-Husieni, the famous botanical garden in the city, is famous for its fruit. It’s also known as the place where lovers sing the sweetest songs because of its surrounding, fascinating valleys.
Lahj has also preserved some of its rich folkloric heritage through its dances, handed down from generation to generation. The most popular dances are known as Lahji dances.

Potential
There is also plenty of potential in Lahj in connection with tourists who like to visit sites of holy tombs, such as that of the Holy Man, Abdullah Bin Ali, Omar Bin Ali, Sufian in Sufian village, or Hassan Albahr in al-Hamra village.
Tourists won't confine themselves to visit the tombs, but go and see some of the surrounding historical sites, particularly after discovering the old sites in the city.
The city is famous for the natural hot bath waters, such as, Shura'a and al-Hoaimi at al-Kabita District.
So, there is loads of potential for tourists, in, for example, seeing desert and environmental diversities, diving, and visiting old historical places.
But as Director of Lahj Tourism, Abdurahman Ahmed recently said, “Tourism activities in Lahj are confined to families in Old Lahj, al-Hosaini green gardens and Dar al-Araes, which is famous for its evergreen plants.”
Without more support, it appears all that the rest of the area has to offer will continue to be unknown.

A valuable area
Sightseers can see wild animals such as, foxes, hyenas, wolves and wild cats, plus reptiles and insects such as, butterflies. Rare birds sing with their sweet-toned voices.
So Bora has economic and tourist value, which makes it an important scene in Yemen. It’s also one of the only places in Yemen that has rich pastures good for grazing livestock.
The area of Bora consists of two main regions, the first one with small trees and grassland, bushes, the second one located in a valley called Wadi Regaf, which is considered to be one of the thickest-bushed shrubs in Bora and it is about 800 hectares.
Rare trees there have medical properties, which are useful for some diseases. The coffee tree is planted in different agricultural and irrigation terraces.
Among Bora’s best attractions are the evergreens grown throughout the year. The region’s mist, which covers the area in an uninterrupted bath, is also a highlight.
The biodiversity in the region, such as, wild animals, long-lived trees with economic importance make Bora one of the best tourist spots in Yemen.
Visitors who enjoy the natural outdoors won’t be disappointed.

The old man's feet shivered as raindrops fell on them. Suddenly he jumped frightfully from his bed, as he heard a familiar sound, which he hated because it used to bring him misery and sadness. That night he stayed up late with sleepless eyes, as if he were waiting, but nothing happened.
When he had went to bed, the sky was clear with scattered clouds, which didn't give notice of heavy rain. But an idea had made him anxious before sleeping. Winds might unexpectedly bring black clouds, which would pour their water on his tobacco outside the village. That would make him sadder.
His life was series of sad things, since he knew that trees of tobacco -- which he called devil's trees -- had purposely did a trick by which he could recognize rain while he was sleeping inside his room. He put his feet out of the window to feel rain on them.
The old man was frightened as thunder echoed loudly and lightning dazzled. He stumbled by his children's scattered clothes and walked cautiously, lest his shivering feet should step on one of the bare bodies on the floor. He took the lantern from the small window, lit it quickly, went out and untied his donkey, saddled it and put ropes, which he needed to tie the tobacco, on its back.
The old man did it all quickly, and left the house while raindrops were disturbed by the wind. He hastened to complete his work before the heavy rain would come. He lashed the poor donkey many times. It hastened in the faint light of the vibrating lancer, held in the hand of the old man.

Donkey hoofs
Along the way, he kept silent, listening to the sound of the donkey's hoofs as they hit the stones underneath. As the way to the tobacco was very long, he felt thought of the latest news of tobacco market. He had suffered from black years during which he had sold old possessions to settle the debts from planting tobacco. He had to pay for water and rent and other things. Prices were down all those years. Debts increased and he lost some of his furniture from time-to-time.
What would happen if the government were lenient with him in paying the rent, or helped him export his product to other countries, as some countries rejected importing the products? But it cared for nothing, but to exhaust his last days.
At that moment, the old man sighed deeply to dismiss such bad ideas. Suddenly his face shone as he looked up and saw a clear sky. The danger that threatened him had vanished.
He arrived at the site where he had planted tobacco. Happy and relaxed is how he felt as he went round it. It was safe from rain while the cold breeze was joking with the golden leaves of tobacco, bringing him magic perfumes. That sight revived him.
Being very tired, he sat down on ground, and leaned on the saddle of the donkey. He kept watching the hanging tobacco in front of him, with its dancing leaves like pure gold ingots. He dreamed of a future, imagining that he was standing in front of his green plantation while long queues of workers and carts were moving tobacco to sites where it would be dried.
He was walking among people who were proud of him, swaggering in his new clean garment. People were pointing to him surprisingly. His house became one of several stories, with different painted walls behind. His sons and the rest of the family were wearing silk clothes. His fingers were playing with gold.

Spheres of luxury
He swallowed his saliva and turned his learning to the other side. His imagination led him to spheres of luxury, which he would taste after getting much of the tobacco when prices would increase. With this idea he slept with a dancing smile on his lips and a nice night of dreaming.
His dreams didn't last for long. He was suddenly awakened by that sound which echoed severely. Clouds blackened the sky and unexpected rain made him jump frightfully. Water prevented him from seeing.
He realized that he went far into his imagination, but, in fact, he had lost everything. Rain had spoiled the entire crop. It was a time to regret. All he could do was cry for help.
He started to shout loudly but no one heard him because of the loud thunder. Suddenly everything finished. Rain stopped, but it was too late. Everything was over, and the old man realized as he was staring at the spoiled tobacco that his dreams were spoiled as well.

Translated by: Sa'ad sharif Taher
Nadira—Ibb


* Abdullah Salim Bawazir is a famous Yemeni fiction-writer born in Hadramout in 1938. He wrote many collections of short stories like “ The way of sin “ in 1965 , “Three Days in prison “ in1967
“The Boots” in 1987 . “Devil's Tree” was published in 1962 in Talia' Newspaper.

Ghael Bawazeer festival
honors distinguished singers
The Hadhramaut governorate will hold a tourist, and cultural folk art festival in the coming months. The festival will include diverse cultural activities such as Yemeni song, drama, and art activities. It will be held under the auspices of the Hadhramaut Governor, Abdulakader Helal in Ghael Bawazeer.
The Chairman of the Culture Office in Hadhramaut stated that a number of distinguished singers will be also honored during the festival, including Mohammed Morshed Nagi, Mohammed Sa'ad Abdullah and other prominent Yemeni singers.

Promoting tourism
The Deputy Tourism Minister, Mohammed Kofla stated that the Ministry has conducted new policies with regard to the tourism industry in collaboration with the Yemeni Airlines and tourist sector.
He added that the Ministry has intends to tackle problems faced by the tourism industry.
New policies are largely concentrated on taking initiatives towards inaugurating open tourist markets in the Gulf States, Eastern Asia and other different countries.
He added further that Yemen had taken solid steps to eradicate kidnapping, a problem that, unless solved, keeps tourists away.

Minister of Culture promises that libraries are on the way
Building new libraries to encourage Yemen’s illiterate population to gain interest in reading is just one of the ways Yemen’s Ministry of Culture hopes to improve the country.
Minister Abdulwahab al-Rawhani, says his desire is to change Yemen’s stagnant culture and bring new hope for the future.
The minister notes he wishes to pay particular attention to children and their cultural needs.
He has met with officials during the last couple of months to discuss such issues, and promote a new sense of cultural pride in Yemen. It’s his plan to also establish new cultural centers across the country, and the ministry has been working hand-in-hand with the Social Fund for Development to this end.
It’s hoped new projects such as libraries will have excellent outcomes in the near future, since Yemen needs an educated population to lead its next generation.