Business for Peace Award
1583, Section: Culture

Culture

You better not be chewing qat right now!

Published on 17 June 2013 by Sara Al-Zawqari in Culture

I hope whoever is reading this now is not chewing qat.

If you don’t know what qat is, let me give you a brief introduction. Qat is the son of plants, he’s lettuce’s cousin, and spinaches’ wicked brother! Qat is the green leaf that is chewed and stored in your left cheek if you are a pro, in your right cheek if you are a beginner, and in both sides if you are a dinosaur.

The wells in Al-Shosha’s garden—like others all over the city—are dried up.

This article has photo galleryWill historic Old Sana’a gardens vanish?

Published on 17 June 2013 by Samar Qaed in Culture

Mohammed Al-Shosha looks up to the sky, hoping that rain is on its way.

He says that with each day, his garden becomes more parched. It’s not like it was in the past, he says. He remembers how green and verdant this space used to be, when his father handed it down to him 30 years ago.

Don’t hit that child: Rethinking our culture of discipline

Published on 10 June 2013 by Sara Al-Zawqari in Culture

Have you noticed that when parents attempt to hit their children, grandparents defend the kids?

“Hitting isn’t a good way to bring up kids,” they say. Grandparents are adorable, but have they forgotten the days when they hit our mothers and fathers?

What makes you a men? Two friends walk down a Sana’a street, Klashnikovs slung over their shoulders. Throughout the country, weapons are a sign of prestige and a marker of manhood. (YT archive photo by Nicholas Linn)

Yemen’s culture of weapons

Published on 6 June 2013 by Ali Abulohoom in Culture

In Yemen, a weapon is a symbol of manhood, power and pride.

Traditionally, it was just the curved dagger, the jambiya, that held this significant position, a symbol of virility and strength.

You’re on a plane, not a bus!

Published on 3 June 2013 by Sara Al-Zawqari in Culture

Travelling in a Yemeni plane is an exceptional experience.

You can’t get on without seeing an argument about seats. There is always a family that wants to sit together, even if they haven’t booked the seats together beforehand. They stand in the airplane corridor refusing to budge, and people behind them wait until the dilemma is over.

Breaking an egg after a bride has left her family’s home for the first time, supersition holds, will fend of any jealousy or envy that might be sent her way. (Photo illustration by Yemen Times)

Folk superstitions abound in Yemen: Bad luck or good luck?

Published on 3 June 2013 by Amal Al-Yarisi in Culture

There are hundreds of superstitions in Yemen, passed down through the generations—a kind of living folk history of the country.

The benefits of walking?

Published on 27 May 2013 by Sarah Al-Zawqari in Culture

The benefits of walking are numerous. Walking boosts the blood circulation, prevents the risk of heart attack, strengthens bones and muscles, boosts the immune system, lowers blood pressure and decreases cholesterol.

What started as a groups of sisters informally holding classes has now officially been recognized as a non-profit.

This article has photo galleryFour women empower others with vocational center in Sana’a

Published on 27 May 2013 by Ryam Al-Qadi in Culture

Outside the Kunuz Educa- tional and Vocational Center in the Al-Noor neighborhood on Taiz Street, children play outside, but inside the building some serious work is going on.

Food, dress and language: The legacy of national unity on Yemeni culture

Published on 23 May 2013 by Samar Qaed in Culture

Prior to unification, the North and the South of Yemen had completely different cultures. What happened when the country became one? Have the cultures butted against each other, intermingled or integrated into one coherent whole since unity?

Road Bumps

Published on 20 May 2013 by Sarah Al-Zawqari in Culture

If your kids are bored, there’s no need to take them to a theme park.  All you have to do is put them in the car, put their seat belts on and cruise around the city.

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