Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder [Archives:2005/866/Last Page]

By Yasser al-Mayasi
Yemen Times Staff
[email protected]
In the last issue, a friend of the Yemen Times Corinne Levey wrote a beautiful article on Yemen and the perception of this country in the outside world. She touched on many critical points such as no available information and documents on Yemen, lack of media interest in this country whether local or international – of course unless it is linked to terrorism- and finally the absence of dialogue between Yemen and the rest of the world. Corinne found out that most of what she heard about Yemen before she came here to study Arabic did not hold true. And this surprised her and upset me. It upset me because this means that my country is portrayed negatively and tourists are actually discouraged from coming to my homeland. It upset me that although I know, Corinne and other friends of Yemen know how beautiful this country is and how it does not deserve this reputation.

And this has made me want to write more about Yemen. Sadly we don't realize many of our local issues until someone from outside points them out for us, nevertheless Yemen or as known in the past Arabia Felix is a legend that must be told.

Terrain

This country in the south-west corner of the Arabian Peninsula fascinates every visitor with the variety and the contrasts of the vegetation, landscape, the architecture and the people. Picturesque urban settlements with houses of clay, bricks and stone and colorful markets with the sounds, fragrances, and faces from 1001 Nights

This country covers the has the longest costal line in the region falling on two great seas. And if you are a mountain lover then the high mountains of Sana'a, Taiz and their rural areas would instantly take your breath away. The dessert in Hadramout and Marib are excellent for safari trips and adventure while the oasis in south Yemen would prove your dreams come true.

History

You will meet the old wisdom and the art of the Land of the Queen of Sheba everywhere – in the antique ruins, in the mosques and on the facades of the houses.

The old history and rich tradition of the Yemeni people are the sources of their identity, dignity, kindness and hospitality.

Sana'a has been inhabited for more than 2,500 years. It became a major center for the propagation of Islam in the 7th and 8th centuries. This heritage can be seen in the 103 mosques, 14 hammams and over 6,000 houses, all built before the 11th century.

Zabid was the capital of Yemen from the 13th to the 15th century. It played an important role in the Arab and Muslim world for many centuries because of its Islamic university. Unfortunately, the city is currently in decline and in a very poor state of conservation.

Nicknamed the “Manhattan of the desert”, Shibam is one of the oldest and best examples of urban planning based on the principle of vertical construction.

Governmental efforts

The increasing number of governmental bodies working in the field of tourist promotion is one of the reasons behind failure of tourism promotion in the country. Numerous governmental parties concerned with tourism are found to work without any coordination, in addition to investment and material gain being the primary aim of the private sector. Yemen's guests including tourists and foreign visitors do not seem to be interested in search of excellent hotels to reside in as they look for attractive tourist sights to explore the reality of Yemen.

It is not strange to say that tourists promote the Yemeni tourism better than the concerned authorities. They write wonderful stories and convey good impressions about Yemen that help attract great influxes of tourists.

Tourism officials should take into account that tourism promotion cannot be achieved by external participations and staging international exhibitions. They should bear in mind that tourism promotion is an art that requires knowledge and scientific skills. They must know that tourism promotion has become an “industry”, and the skilled person is the one who masters it.

For a better tourism promotion, officials at different tourism authorities should be replaced by other people skilled enough in the field to help increase tourism-related revenues. So that one day we can say – for once not ironically – “welcome to Yemen”.
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