Final Day - Wadi Al-Dhahr & the Rock Palace

Amin, my terrific Sabre colleague in Yemen, was kind enough on this my last day in the country to offer one last excursion to see Wadi Al-Dhahr and the beautiful Rock Palace only a 20 minute drive out of Sana'a. This amazing structure was built over several hundred years by ruling Imams in this region.

The castle's location, perched high upon a large rock cropping, was chosen because of its ease to defend, spectacular view of the Wadi and strategic location along trading routes. The castle was also built with interesting innovations for the time including cooling rooms for meat & water on each floor. Separate winter and summer accommodations were built based on the angle of the sunlight thru the windows and air vents. It boasted an indoor water well and a private sundeck.

After this quick tour it was off to the airport for Christina and me. As I would soon discover my time in Yemen was not over. We checked-in together for our Gulf Air flight back to Bahrain, didn't happen to notice the gate agent placing the bag tags on the wrong bags (D'oh). Then we moved to Passport control, it was here that we realized I had a slight problem. When I had driven across the Saudi - Yemen border near Haradh, the Immigration officials had neglected to tear and retain the upper portion of my Yemeni visa and most importantly hadn't placed an entry stamp in my passport. They had however, registered the vehicle to me in my passport.

Unfortunately for me the Manager of Immigration at the Sana'a airport was out of the country and his deputy was not exactly a decisive replacement. Even after last minute calls by our local team the score was Bureaucracy 1 and Darren 0.

Adding insult to injury was the very courteous Gulf Air airport manager who dutifully pulled the bag with my tag from the aircraft before it departed. I was presented with Christina's bag while mine traveled with her back to Bahrain.

Since flight frequencies are few from Sana'a I had to wait another 24 hours. Again our local Sabre team was extremely helpful taking me to buy what was needed and sorting a hotel for one more night.

The following day an agent with the British Embassy, Mahmood Al Harazi, sorted out both the vehicle Customs matter and my Immigration issue. If you are traveling to Yemen, this is the man to know!

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