Virtuous Flowering Blossom of the Desert

In Iran, my name first aroused curiosity and then suspicion. Zahra is a very common girl's name in Iran, so hearing it made most people think I was of at least half-Iranian parentage. When I protested that I was, in fact, Canadian, they assumed I was some sort of stuck-up brat whose family had fled Iran at the time of the Revolution and who had refused to learn her own language, culture and heritage.

In Yemen, my name mostly seems to arouse reverence. "Do you know what it means?" they ask excitedly. "Yes, it means 'flower'," I answer, only to be politely corrected and then guided into the various and deeper levels of meaning the name seems to carry for many people here. "Not just flower," they say. "The most beautiful flowering blossom." Others say it means 'beauty' or 'brightness' or 'the shining one.'

"It literally means flower," one young man told me, "but it implies aspects of virtue and high moral standing." Other people just smile and say, "I love that name," giving me a congratulatory look, as though as a very wise baby I had chosen the name for myself.

This, to me, is just one example of the deeply romantic spirit of the people I have encountered here in Yemen.

I'm now reading a book called "Travels in Dictionary Land," by a Brit who has been in Yemen for years and clearly is in love with the place. I can see why, and I can't help but smile as I read of his experiences. I am glad to be reading it now, after being here for a month, so I can relate to what he is saying. Like this:

My reading revealed that others, too, had been bewitched by Yemen. 'Never', wrote one medieval visitor, 'have I seen glances more penetrating than those of the Yemenis. When they look at you, they dive into you...'

Iranians love to hark back to their storied history, but when you are in the country you look around and think, "that was long ago and far away." Here, people don't bring up their past nearly as often, but you can feel it all the time. History never seems far away. As I read about Shem, son of Noah and founder of Sana'a, or the Sabaeans or the Sultans of Lahj, it all feels like it could have happened yesterday.