Product Description

In this work, the author describes his journey through Yemen, portraying hyrax hunters and dhow skippers, a noseless regicide, a sword-wielding tyrant with a passion for Heinz Russian salad, as well as examining the extraordinary history of the ordinary Yemenis.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #309973 in Books
• Published on: 1999-06-11
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Financial Times
'scholarly and entertaining... Mackintosh Smith succeeds admirably in shining a light on an obscure corner of the world'

Synopsis
Originally published by John Murray this is an account of Smith's time in Yemen, which started as a sabbatical year in 1982 and grew into fifteen years. Smith travelled the mountains, the desert and the sea and brings the country, the people and three millennia of history to life.

About the Author
Tim Mackintosh-Smith studied Classical Arabic at Oxford. At the age of 21, he headed east for the real Arabia. For the past 17 years, he has lived in the Yemeni capital, San'a - a place which has missed out on many of the more awful aspects of the post medieval period. His first book, Yemen: Travels in Dictionary Land, won the 1998 Thomas Cook/Daily Telegraph Travel Book Award and his next book Travels with a Tangerine was critically acclaimed.

Customer Reviews

the best place to start
This love letter to an infuriating but mesmeric throng is deft and flippant. His wordage deliberately deep-woven to hold the warp and wafts of a brad swath of Yemen.
If you have anything to do with this unique country, please read this twice and make note of the names - the old men still live in gorgeous langorous madness, asprawl in the mafraj amid the qat leavings.

Revealing the mysteries of a forgotten world
Yemen - travels in pictionary land captures the sights, smells, culture and magic of Yemen, seen through the eyes of author Tim Mackintosh-Smith. Tim's lovingly crafted narrative takes you from the bustle of Sana'a to an adventure in the empty quarter, chronicling every conceivable aspect of the clash between the modern and ancient world. A must for adventurous travellers, people watchers and anyone who enjoys reading a beautifully written book.

Magical Mystical Modern day tour of unknown lands
A wonderful modern day travel adventure, refreshing to know that there are still places unpolluted by mass tourism. I didn't know anything about Yemen until reading this book and it gave a great insight into the people and their poisons, unusual eating habits and old tales , you could almost smell the air they breathed. It was a great escapist read from the winter blues and would recommend to anybody planning to visit.My only criticism is that it put me off cheshire cheese for a while