Wadi Hamel 02: Plowing fields for spring rains

A man and his donkey plowing a field for planting (Wadi Hamel, Yemen, April 2010)
Originally uploaded by Kate B Dixon

Last Thursday, Rosanna, Mats, their two dogs, and I hiked Wadi Hamel, an easy half-day trip from Sanaa. You pass no checkpoints, so a tasreyah is not needed. A 4 wheel drive vehicle is not required, but preferable if you want to drive to the end of the village and hike right into the Wadi. The entrance to Wadi Hamel is less than 20 km south of Sanaa, just beyond Bayt Baws. (Our next goal is to hike from one to the other).

We left their house in south Sanaa at a little past 8:30 on Thursday morning. (Adel, the young driver was late). Less than 30 minutes later the dogs were out of their cage and we walked past a group of veiled women washing clothes at a disel powered pump. An old man leaning against a tree called out to us as we passed, heading up the narrow wadi. So many trees! lovely.

No people aside from a young man who passed us quickly. We walked until the Wadi split into two and scrambled up the steep rocky cliffs to a ridge and could look down to the other side. Below in the valley, small terraced plots, carefully tended.

An old man plowing one with a donkey.