A TRIP TO THE HOUSE OF STONE

We may be holed up in a hotel most of the time, but that doesn't mean we don't get out. A group of us went just outside Sana'a to see the Dar al-Hajar, or Stone House. The home acted as the residence for Imam Yahya, who ruled Yemen as the leader of the Shia' Zaydi sect which is prominent in Northern Yemen. Inside the seven story tall house are wells, stained glass, several kitchens, baths, and lots of aging guns and swords given as gifts to the leader who fought his whole life to unite greater Yemen. The house, and its occupants, all look timeless, like something out of a storybook, but Yahya's reign (and his use of this house) came to a close in the early 1960s, and his family's influence and rule continued on into the 1970s.

The Dar al-Hajar is built upon a stone point on an escarpment, and looks out over a vast and fairly green wadi. We were able to walk through some of the wadi, through fields and orchards, and a bit of town. In the town, someone had decided to use one of the old guard towers to place their house. Why not? The wadi is something impressive to behold, and along the escarpment opposite the Stone House are a series of benches and overlooks that families and the youth frequent. One of our guards said when he got married he came to the overlook where we were and the whole party shot guns off the edge at a nearby hill. I knew Erin's wedding was missing something.