Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
stantinople and Europe. After the deals were signed and sealed, the coffee beans were
packed up and shipped around the world from the nearby ports of Al-Hudayda or Al-
Makha. With the collapse of the coffee trade, Beit al-Faqih sought to diversify - today
coffee makes up only a tiny fraction of the items on sale. Instead, it's the day-to-day needs
of the Tihama villager that form the bulk of the trade.
The market kicks into gear just after dawn every Friday morning and by lunchtime
everyone's heading back home for the week. Try to arrive as early as possible (if only to
beat the heat) and give yourself at least two hours to explore properly. Should you be un-
lucky enough to pass through on a different day of the week, you could stop off to watch
the town's famous
weavers
at work (from 7am to 1pm and 4pm to 6pm daily, except Fri-
day). There are no recommended hotels in town, so it's best to stay overnight at Al-
Hudayda (62km to the north).
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Zabid
Zabid is Yemen's third Unesco World Heritage Site, but unlike its fellow club members,
Old Sana'a and Shibam, who like to flaunt their beauty for all to see, Zabid likes to keep
its secrets well hidden.
The countryside around Zabid has been inhabited since virtually the dawn of humanity,
with Zabid itself built around AD 819 on the orders of Mohammed ibn' Abdullah ibn Ziy-
ad, the local Abbasid governor. Not content with founding a city, he also established the
first in Zabid's long and distinguished line of
madrassas
(Quranic schools). The city soon
became known - both inside and outside of Yemen - as a centre of Islamic and scientific
learning, and between the 13th and 15th centuries, when it also served as the capital of
Yemen, Zabid played host to over 5000 students in more than 200 colleges.
The last 500 years have been less kind on Zabid and the town has gradually faded in
importance. Don't feel sorry, though, because this is just karma paying Zabid back for the
pain it has caused school children the world over: it was a scholar from Zabid who was re-
sponsible for that school days torture called algebra!
The walled town was declared a World Heritage Site in 1993 and, in 2000, with over
40% of the old city houses replaced with new structures, Zabid was registered on the or-
ganisation's 'Danger List', requiring urgent funds for restoration.
Finally, as if algebra and Unesco recognition wasn't enough, Zabid has another dubious
claim to fame. It's reputedly the hottest town on earth.
