We these days are hearing a lot about Yemen in the news. Most of it doesn't actually show the place, or how it's people lived. And as the conflicts over there now continue to get worse - Lots and lots of people will form their own opinions about that place, based only on hearsay, and on whatever unfortunate pictures they get to see on their TV screens... However, if one really needs to know what Yemen is/was like - Without any politics, without any conflict or turmoil, then just see this article: http://www.dawn.com/news/1174881/when-you-come-to-yemen-i-will-be-your-tour-guide I am sharing this only because I want everyone to see the actual place, (so no geo-political discussions please, neither any need to display our own personal views regarding how things should now be done over there)... I am sharing this only because A, it is a very beautiful and culturally rich place, with a very proud past. And B, some Pakistanis have Yemeni ancestry also, (not myself, but many do), so for us it is a place with some emotional attachment too. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys seeing how Yemen actually is, or was...
I know Donna. Yemen's Socotra island for example is a one of a kind place in the world, specially when it comes to plant life! So I always wanted to visit it someday, still do actually - However I now do not know when and how (after all the turmoil)... We here have no idea what will become of that place now, what the future holds for that area, it's people, and it's wildlife. So just like everyone else, I too can only hope for the best now. Really feels like a damn shame - And I am reminded of an old phrase in the Urdu language. It goes like this: Aik gaandi machi sarray talaab ko gaanda kar-dait'ee hai... When translated into English, is just means: One filthy/disgusting fish can easily spoil/ruin the entire pond... So this is a phrase which I often heard in my early school life, to describe some bad, disobedient, and ill mannered student - Who's activities and horrible display towards others soon gets repeated by everyone else... So this I guess is more or less the same story with Yemen, where just a handful of idiots seem to have succeeded in ruining everything for everyone else...
That just so totally pwns! It's also the 1st time I've really seen Yemen and Yemen culture. Amazing. Thanks for sharing! When that 2nd video started, I thought someone was filming Kamchatka, lol. All that white sand looks so much like snow. But yeah, it's really scary what's been happening there (and other places like Syria, Iraq, Debaltseve, Donetsk, Lugansk... so many cities and countries). So many people and cultural monuments are replaced by devastation and bad feelings. Btw, we also have an old phrase - «??? ? ??? ?? ??????.» (Everything's upside down). I only hope Yemen won't be changed up too much by the conflict.
Few years ago Egypt (mainly the ancient Egyptian heritage) also suffered a lot during their turmoil, (as mobs looted and ransacked their historic museums)... Now they say things are somewhat normal over there again - But to be very honest, how can the stolen and/or destroyed ancient Egyptian artifacts ever be replaced now??? So this time it seems that it's Yemen's turn... Therefore here as well, I think the world will lose a bit more of it's unique global heritage... By the way, you speak Russian?
That really bites! Egyptian relics belong in Egypt. People put price tags on relics but the history of mankind is really priceless and there shouldn't be any price tags ever. Now the only place that many of those important things can be seen is on vids and in photos. And nobody can learn as much from those as they could from the missing or destroyed objects. I just hope that not too much of Yemen is taken or destroyed. It looks like a really cool place.
Unfortunately, another place where such items can now be seen/found - Are the black markets of the world, where illegal trade of such items continues without any checks and balances... What's even more worse is that the money obtained from them also then fuels the conflict further. Very similar to the "Blood Diamond" trade, which secretly brings to market the mined diamonds from conflict regions like Angola, the Ivory Coast, and Sierra Leone... It's not known to many, but Yemen had a very rich past too. So the exact same thing is now probably being repeated right under everyone's nose again... We often grow up with some phobias - Like some people fear getting eaten up alive by wild animals, others fear drowning in floods, or being in the middle of some other type of natural disaster. However, realistically speaking, the one thing which we all must really fear - Is the true ugliness of raw human greed, (as it compels us to do some of the worst possible things in imagination). History is witness to it all, but the ultimate saddest thing of them all is that, (despite so much progress in the world today), history often repeats itself... Only thing changing is the time and place, otherwise not much is different.
I so much appreciate the international community at GS. I have only now discovered this thread and look forward to reading it. You are right, the news mostly tells us who is killing whom and how and with what and very little about the people, daily life, etc so we end up with distorted views. The world is very small now, we are all neighbors (like it or not) and it is important to get to know the neighbors. I agree that human greed is epidemic and very likely something to be feared.
