Sanaa, Thursday 14 September 1972
On Saturday I went round to Yemen Airways to see if there was any news of my luggage. There wasn't, but I arranged that when it turns up in Hodeidah Yemen Airways will bring it up to Sanaa. It will cost a couple of pounds probably.
I tried to buy some sheets of stamps for my father (avid stamp collector) at the post office, but they don't like selling them by the sheet, as they can sell sheets of stamps on the international market at a lot over face value - the highest denomination is 18 buqshas, which is just over 2 new pence, so a sheet wouldn't cost too much if they could be persuaded to sell it.
I went for a walk in the suq in the old town and some friendly Yemenis bought me a soft drink - they were really kind. In the afternoon I thought that Mr Baldry was going to take me to see the museum, but it turned out later that the visit had been postponed till Monday. Instead I spent the afternoon at a qat party given by the Boyds' servant, who was celebrating his birthday.
On Monday the term started at the International School, and I left the Boyds in a state of (semi-)organised chaos at 8.45 to go to the orientation course that was being run for the VSO volunteers. In the afternoon there was a colloquial Arabic lesson given by a dynamic French priest cum engineer who apparently runs the power station. He is called Pere Etienne Renaud. Afterwards we were taken on a tour of the ethnographical section of the National Museum which has been set up (ie the ethnographical bit) by a French lady doctor called Madame Fayenne.
On Tuesday I went to the Yamaha dealership to enquire about buying a motorcycle to get around on. Theoretically, as a foreigner, I should be able to get one tax-free which would be about 1800 riyals instead of 2400, but apparently the governor of Hodeidah isn't quite under Sanaa's control and won't let any motorbikes out of Hodeidah without charging tax, even if the Sanaa authorities have signed a permit for it to be imported tax-free.
In the evening the VSO volunteers and I were invited round to drinks with the Ambassador. He was very nice, and promised to make sure that I get looked after well in Hajjah. I'd thought of seeing if there were any VSO vacancies in Sanaa, but I've given up on that idea, and discovered that people who know Hajjah are very envious that I am going to be there. In the evening I went round to see Mr Jarvis, but he had just heard that theere was an English language film being shown that evening at the UN house (Viva Zapata, as it turned out) and I went along to that.
Still no news about my luggage - I suppose it must still be in Cairo airport somewhere. Clothes are rather difficult to get hold of here - especially as I am quite tall compared to Yemenis.
News is filtering through here about the attack in Munich. Most of the Yemenis population haven't heard about it, it seems - others think that it might make a profound impact on the Palestinian issue, but that West Germany was not the place to do it.
On Saturday I went round to Yemen Airways to see if there was any news of my luggage. There wasn't, but I arranged that when it turns up in Hodeidah Yemen Airways will bring it up to Sanaa. It will cost a couple of pounds probably.
I tried to buy some sheets of stamps for my father (avid stamp collector) at the post office, but they don't like selling them by the sheet, as they can sell sheets of stamps on the international market at a lot over face value - the highest denomination is 18 buqshas, which is just over 2 new pence, so a sheet wouldn't cost too much if they could be persuaded to sell it.
I went for a walk in the suq in the old town and some friendly Yemenis bought me a soft drink - they were really kind. In the afternoon I thought that Mr Baldry was going to take me to see the museum, but it turned out later that the visit had been postponed till Monday. Instead I spent the afternoon at a qat party given by the Boyds' servant, who was celebrating his birthday.
On Monday the term started at the International School, and I left the Boyds in a state of (semi-)organised chaos at 8.45 to go to the orientation course that was being run for the VSO volunteers. In the afternoon there was a colloquial Arabic lesson given by a dynamic French priest cum engineer who apparently runs the power station. He is called Pere Etienne Renaud. Afterwards we were taken on a tour of the ethnographical section of the National Museum which has been set up (ie the ethnographical bit) by a French lady doctor called Madame Fayenne.
On Tuesday I went to the Yamaha dealership to enquire about buying a motorcycle to get around on. Theoretically, as a foreigner, I should be able to get one tax-free which would be about 1800 riyals instead of 2400, but apparently the governor of Hodeidah isn't quite under Sanaa's control and won't let any motorbikes out of Hodeidah without charging tax, even if the Sanaa authorities have signed a permit for it to be imported tax-free.
In the evening the VSO volunteers and I were invited round to drinks with the Ambassador. He was very nice, and promised to make sure that I get looked after well in Hajjah. I'd thought of seeing if there were any VSO vacancies in Sanaa, but I've given up on that idea, and discovered that people who know Hajjah are very envious that I am going to be there. In the evening I went round to see Mr Jarvis, but he had just heard that theere was an English language film being shown that evening at the UN house (Viva Zapata, as it turned out) and I went along to that.
Still no news about my luggage - I suppose it must still be in Cairo airport somewhere. Clothes are rather difficult to get hold of here - especially as I am quite tall compared to Yemenis.
News is filtering through here about the attack in Munich. Most of the Yemenis population haven't heard about it, it seems - others think that it might make a profound impact on the Palestinian issue, but that West Germany was not the place to do it.
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