Yemeni British Friendship Association hosts talk on ‘The Hall of a Thousand Columns’ [Archives:2005/903/Local News]

SANA'A, Dec. 13)The Yemeni British Friendship Association (YBFA) hosted a talk by Sana'a author and YBFA member, Tim Mackintosh-Smith on his recently published book, “The Hall of a Thousand Columns.”

“This name comes from a 14th-century palace in New Delhi, India. The story is like Ibn Battuta's trip in the time of Sultan Mohammed Shah. My book is about detective work.” Smith said about his book.

“The Hall of a Thousand Columns”' is a detective story that repeats the sights of Ibn Battuta's adventures and visits in India.

Smith said the book also speaks of a relationship between Yemen and India. “I found there are a lot of Yemeni people, especially from the Alsada people of Hadramout governorate” (a community of descendants of the prophet Mohammed, PBUH). Alsada people immigrated from Hadramout to Kerala, India. They came to India 500-600 years ago for trading, then became Islamic leaders in Kerala's Islamic society. Alsada still have Yemeni family names such as Al-Atass, Al-Gafry, Shab Dean, etc., and Arabic is spoken in some Kerala communities.

Smith is a writer and a translator in English and Arabic. He came to Yemen in 1982 particularly to study Arabic language. He prefers to live in the capital of Sana'a. He has published many books about Yemen, including his first, “Yemen: Travels in Dictionary Land.” Describing his love to Sana'a, Smith says, “Sana'a is my inspiration for writing.”
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