Oldest City, Newest Updates

It was a hectic departure from Cairo. In most countries of the world, you are limited to 20 kg (approximately 40 pounds) of luggae. Unlike the US, you aren't limited to number of bags, but this total weight. Of course, I have more than 60 kgs of equipment with me, and I was quite obliged to pay the additional 1220 Egyptian Pounds to bring this along with me.

Mo7ammed, the ticket agent, felt my pain and offered me 10 kg for free. How nice I was thinking as the chaos that accompanies the daily activity at the Cairo Airport began to pick up. In one corner, six men yelling at the female ticket agent. Mo7ammed's manager did not agree with his offer and began yelling at him. Mo7ammed, bless his soul, took to the cause, and stood from his chair, stepped over (and probably on) some bags on the luggage "mover" and began to do the treadmill for five minutes yelling back to his manager.

Over here, men check in the women and the children. Even upon arrival in San'a at mind you 4:30 AM, when going through immigration, men hand over the passports for the women and children and all are let through veil and all. In theory, there should be a woman agent who asks the females to lift their veils and check their identity, but of course only men work at the immigration, so in practice anyone could be anyone...though I'm sure that doesn't happen.

Speaking of veiled women, their are stated to be 12 women in the country of Yemen that do not wear cover their face. I think I have seen 8 of these women here at the UN so I am off to a good start in this regard of uncovering the uncovered's faces. In other regards, as is the theme for this film, things could be going more smoothly.

Once again, the embassy's in the US have not followed through with the permissions. Egypt never sent the info over and hence I never got the permission to shoot on the streets of Cairo. The Yemen embassy sent the info over, just to wrong the department so it of course is floating somewhere where it shouldn't, and once again no permission. Mind you Yemen, is another story from Cairo. Cairo has the tradition of producing most of the media in the Arab world, derives much of its foreign income from tourism and therefore doesn't mind video cameras, and is as modern as any other city that comes to mind. Yemen has the traditions.

The customs barely let me through with the equipment. "Is that video camera for video or TV?" the man asks me. He seems to stress his dislike for TV more than video so I say video, though even the filmmaker in me doesn't know the difference between video and TV. He seems to know, and lets me through because the camera is only for video. Just last year, the first feature film EVER was shot in Yemen. That must have been difficult, because as stated, there are 12 women in Yemen who do not cover their face. This seemed to start as a saying, but because everyone says it, maybe it is true.

Its not as if you can go up to a woman and say, "Hi, you have a beautiful face, I would love to put you in a film!" You first have to ask her husband, a couple brothers, maybe an uncle, the sheik of the village and the religious leader. Wow! Therefore, we may be working with a professional actress from the feature film and take it from there. Little girls (younger than 11 or so), they tell me, prove to me no problem.

If the women follow the traditions here in San'a, the oldest inhabitated city in the world, so do the men. At least 50% were a knife, jeyeba or something, in their belt. Yes, you can wear it into the bank and take out some money.

We are at about 3000 meters above the sea and surrounded by higher mountains, though you cannot go there. The army is placed around the mountains to keep the tribes out of the city just in case they get really upset at the President and have a coup.

I met two little boys and about five of their friends as I went to the old city last night. They were so nice and we had a very good time. They took me to the museum where they have pictures of San'a from 1910 and taken from the same position a matching photo from the 1990s. It is hard to see what has changed; perhaps the building has collapsed or another has been built, but they are pretty much the same vista.

Speaking of qat, it is quite interesting. I have had a slow observation of it, not physically trying it, but seeing most everyone else chew it. You see business close here around 1PM, people go home for lunch, and than chew qat from 3 until maybe 8 or so. You take a baseball size of these leaves, delivered fresh each day to the market where you spend you're hard earned currency, and start chewing. You don't really ever end.

I must now end this blog for my Yemeni fixer is at the gate and I must let me in...more as soon as its in!