The 11th Century Meets the 21st Century

It was bright outside and dark inside, so all I could see framed in the uneven stone doorway were two young boys wearing light-colored blazers. They stood and spoke with the confident demeanor of men four times their age, but they were probably only about 12.

As I entered and my eyes adjusted to the light, my nose took in the strong earthy scent of an animal. The boys, it seemed, were in charge of an ancient stone mill, which was just below and to the right of the doorway. The mill was surrounded by a well-worn dirt ring, around which a camel, when he was on duty, would walk, pulling the mill and grinding sesame seeds – sim sim – into oil. Plastic bottles of the amber liquid were arranged on a shelf to the left, behind which was a stall where the camel was currently taking his lunch break.

It was a scene straight out of another century, but so was most of my morning walk through the old city of Sana’a. This is the Arabia of childhood legends and fairy tales, breathlessly trying to catch up to the 21^st century. Men dressed in head wraps with scabbards tucked into their belts walk down the street chatting on their mobile phones. Outside the ancient wall of the old city, I am sitting in a hotel with wireless Internet access.  A huge, multi-million dollar mosque complex has just been built by the president. Across the highway is a Pizza Hut.

This is going to be a curious adventure.