I took a short trip to Shabwa (or Shabwah) with a friend to see her family. The province borders Marib, Abyan and Hadramaut, and has been the wild wild west of Yemen long before the recent conflicts began. Northern Shabwa is dry and mountainous while the southern part is dominated by volcanic landscape and beautiful beaches.
Click on the map to see photos from the trip.
Shabwa trip route map, April 2012
Nowadays the government still controls the provincial capital Ataq, but five minutes outside the city the army is conveniently absent until the coastal town of Balhaf five hours down south. In between the land falls under the control of Ansar Al Sharia, an offshoot of Al Qaeda, Hirak Independence movement, and various tribes and villages. On our way to the beach, we passed through Azzan where Ansar Al-Sharia fly their own flags at checkpoints and broadcast propaganda over loudspeakers. The father cursed Al Qaeda as he pulled over in the middle of the market not far from a tree where two government informants were hanged just a week ago. I asked nervously: “Do we really have to stop here?” “The qat is awesome here.” He hurried to the sea of qat sellers leaving us and the kids in the car staring at a sign that said “The Islamic Emirate of Azzan”.
The highlight of the trip was definitely swimming in the Arabian Sea at a deserted beach north of Balhaf. Since no one else was willing to brave Al Qaeda territory to get here on that day, we had the whole place to ourselves. As I floated mindlessly in the turquois sea, war was looming on the horizon. The government troops have started the offense on Ansar Al-Sharia positions in the neighboring Abyan province, it’s only a matter of time before they reach Shabwa. We might as well enjoy the calm before the storm hits.
I apologize for the lack of quality photos from this trip. Shabwa has huge potential for great photos with its mountains, sand dunes, lush oases, and unique architecture, but I was too afraid to use my large SLR camera that would’ve definitely attracted unwanted attention. A few photos I posted here were taken either from a moving car or from my phone camera.
Click here to view photos in Picasa.
A typical adobe house near Markha, Shabwa. مدينة مرخة بمحافظة شبوة
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The area near Markha Shabwa is littered with granite domes full of climbing potential.
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A village outside Ataq, Shabwa. Houses with bad taste in color ruin the whole neighborhood.
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Haban, Shabwa. مدينة حبان بمحافظة شبوة
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Haban, Shabwa. مدينة حبان بمحافظة شبوة
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Azzan, Shabwa. مدينة عزان بمحافظة شبوة
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Azzan, Shabwa. مدينة عزان بمحافظة شبوة
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A typical mansion in Azzan, Shabwa. مدينة عزان بمحافظة شبوة
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A deserted beach at Balhaf near Bir Ali, Shabwa. بالحاف شبوة
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This is my first attempt at displaying photos on Google map using the embedded GPS data. The interface is buggy and the photo size can not be controlled. For a friendlier version directly from Google, click here. WordPress/Google Map API gurus out there, if you know a better solution, please let me know. Thanks in advance.
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