It's getting hot in here...

weather dah makin panas... time to pack weekends with outdoor activities while we can... start end may till september... jangan mimpi la nak buat aktiviti outdoor except waktu malam...

but mcm dah takde aktiviti menarik dah... except the same makan-makan... or main ping pong... or bbq... n even crabbing pun dah pernah cerita...

searching for new activity n new member... any idea???

The next best place after Paris...

Ada sesapa tahu...

1. where is the 2nd best place to visit in France apart from Paris???

2. where is the best area to stay in Paris??? (Montmarte? Latin Quarter? Champ Elysse? Montparsse? St Germain? any other place?)

3. Is Versailles really worth Euro25 to spend on? worth the time going there?

hehehehehe... sesaja berangan ni... :-)

Takde rezeki...

since 1 januari... dah 3 kali cubaan aku nak apply for umrah... dan masih takde rezeki lagi :-(

sbb aku keje kat company ni mmg susah nak dapat visa... actually bukan susah nak dapat visa... tapi takkan dapat visa for umrah. first kena minta permission then br blh minta visa...

1st try : awal tahun, aku hantar application/minta permission for umrah direct to the embassy. surat dikeluarkan oleh company... until now.. no news

2nd try : March... ada budak office ckp dia blh tolong dapatkan visa... so aku berpakat dah ngan kawan nak g... tetiba plak kengkawan tak leh nak commit... tak de lah aku apply visa tu

3rd try : April... aku minta thru travel agent dan minta tolong kawan kat office.. both said tak dapat permission dari embassy...

now am thinking of ikut org g haji naik bas.. but still i do not think i will obtain the visa.. :-(

takde rezeki lagi....

p/s - one might ask nape staff company aku tak leh dpt visa dr saudi... hmm.... panjang cite nya

'Dunestock 2008'...

Last weekend Doha Player Theatre organised the annual Dunestock event... mcm last year... which u can read my review utk last year dunestock 07 here.... (dunestock 07)

the guys sibuk2 mempertajamkan skills bermain ping-pong... it was fun and exciting (esp bila yg kalahnya kimi.. hahahaha)

aku dah plan since last year yg aku akan pergi lagi dunestock tahun ni... and aku dah rancang utk ajak semua org.. n berbbq... everyone has agreed and setuju nak g dunestock... and dah decide dah nak masak apa...

which at the same time compete with the kids main Wii (dah jadi best plak Wii ni)... siap berpeluh lah jugak depa ni main Wii... berebut ngan bebudak...

Dunestock ni (for those yg malas nak buka link kat atas tu) mcm woodstock... ada amatur performer buat live performance.. while the rest melepak sambil makan2 n enjoy the music lah... location dia kat singing dune area and diorganise setahun sekali.

while the girls enjoying themselves berborak2... bersembang2... :-) apa ntah depa citer ni pun tak tahu... sambil menyembang... habis kan makanan...

tahun ni punya dunestock tak ramai sangat orang datang berbanding tahun lepas... most probably sbb sandstorm lepas sembahyang jumaat tu... so group of ppl with kids decided not to join the event. and because of the sandstorm, petang tu kat singing dune (tpt dunestock ni) very windy... and malam plak quite chill... for those yg prepare ngan seluar pendek n shirt je, sejuk lah jugak...


well, this year punya performance pun lebih kurang mcm last year... ada performance syok sendiri.. ada yg gempak.. ye lah amatur... but indeed we really enjoyed our bbq session... aku bawak satay n nasi goreng... we also have chicken wings, fish/ketam balls, kambing, lontong, bihun goreng etc... kenyang

ooh at one point, ada 2 org akak ni, pun try nak berpingpong jugak... (ye lah... bebudak and bapak budak dah main Wii, tak leh nak berkaraoke... )

The dunestock ni like last year ended at 12 midnite.. tp biasalah org putih ni.. will stay till wee hours.. enjoy minum2 and lepak2... oh... they can bring their alcoholic drinks here and can drink in public... otherwise kat tempat lain kat doha ni... tak boleh (except kat hotel or private function).


p/s - actually we didn't go to the dunestock.. heheeh... sbb kan sandstorm tu...instead we packed our food and buat adhoc bbq makan2 kat umah aizal & yeen.. it was full of fun activities... semua org kecoh and suasana mmg meriah.. :-) tak rugi pun tak g dunestock... (read the green color for the activites we did last weekend :-))


kita minum dulu.....

Travel Report : Sanaa' (pt finale)

ada lagi cite pasal yemen yg aku tak habis nak citer...

Transportation

for those yg nak plan ke sana... transportation tak lah menjadi masalah... aku rasa berbanding dengan doha, aku jumpa lagi banyak teksi di Sanaa'. mungkin sbb kat sana org tak mampu nak beli kereta sendiri kot. tp for travelling luar daripada Sanaa', i think it's best utk hire a car n driver sepertimana yang aku buat. ni kerana, untuk keluar dari Sanaa kena ada permit.

nak dapat driver n kereta, tanya je kat hotel, ada punya. price sendiri tawar menawar lah. sebenarnya agak bahaya melawat keluar dari Sanaa', banyak kes pembunuhan/terrorist berlaku... seperti cerita ni, dan ni, dan juga sini.(yg ni berlaku 2 minggu sebelum aku ke sana) kejadian pengeboman ni berlaku banyak nya kat kawasan Al-Qaeda, jauh dari Sanaa' tp on the way nak menuju ke Hadramawt dan juga kat bahagian utara. tp org nak kata bahaya tu, ramai lagi org mati sbb accident jalan raya masa cuti perayaan kat Malaysia... so no big deal lah. Kalau dah ajal...

anyway, berbalik pasal transportation, around sanaa' teksi mmg banyak... as per above pics (clockwise). ada teksi biasa tp tak bermeter, agree ngan price dulu br naik... or kalau kat luar sanaa' blh gak tumpang lori macam ni. tp yg unik nya ada jugak van2 kecil ni, yg tak sure ke mana dia pergi, tp yg pasti nya masa dia bergerak mmg tak tutup pintu. tp bg aku, aku prefer meter.. so teksi baru mcm ni pakai meter... and it's really2 cheap lah teksi sana. btw, i do not advice drive sendiri... hehehe... the do not stop at traffic lights... hon org bagai nak gile!!! and seriously, no traffic rules!

satu lagi perkara yg menarik ialah abt,

People & Culture

specifically pasal 3 benda/peristiwa i.e.

Qat n Yemeni

Qat ada lah sejenis daun. see pic first kat atas... dan pic sebelah dia ladang Qat.

dah menjadi satu rutin hidup Yemeni, depa mmg kena kunyah qat ni sepanjang hari... depa blh kunyah benda ni sampai kembung pipi... selalunya dari jam 2 ptg sampai around 6-7mlm... its a routine dan culture yg aku pun tak tahu apa faedah nya... org kata mcm dadah, tp blh plak depa memandu kereta masa tu, n tak khayal. org kata mcm stimulant... ntah lah... but seriously, dari polis n pak guard sampai lah penjaja tepi jalan.. semua org akan kunyah Qat pada waktu petang. they could spend dalam 600YR (dlm RM9) bg yg normal/org biasa ke 1500YR (RM22) bg org yg kaya utk Qat ni....

pic atas tu, second line tu... pakcik tua melepak tepi jalan sambil kunyah Qat, later tgk betapa besar and kembungnya pipi penuh ngan qat... oooh lagi jijik kalau tgk hasil kunyahan yg depa ludah.... mcm taik lembu basah.. hehehe

Kids

Yemen merupakan negara mempunyai pertumbuhan bilangan penduduk paling tinggi di dunia... so u can see kids around... tp kebanyakan nya miskin dan dari kecil lagi ada yg dah mula bekerja.... and as in my previous entry... kalau depa minta sedekah, they need pen instead of money... (tp mungkin sbb european tourist byk bg pen lah kot)

1. budak perempuan ni among sellers kat pekan thula, dia je penjual perempuan... so cute, and kecik je kedai dia... (tp... aku tak beli apa2 pun :-( )

2. tu budak tu duduk kat tepi ladang Qat yg group of pics sebelum ni, dia tgh jual Qat kat driver kereta aku...

3. 3 adik beradik comel ni sambut aku setelah sampai ke pekan Shibam, turun dari Kawkaban... they are the ones yg mintak pen.... the eldest sister tu lah... yg baru angkat kain jemuran... pastu adik dia 2 org... :-)

4. ni bebudak nak g sekolah... also requested for a pen... (which i didnt bring) they tried to converse in english...

5. bebudak kecik ni plak menari2 pegang jambia... ikut style orang2 tua kat wadi dhar

6. 3 org budak ni br balik dr sekolah kot... cuba memperdaya aku utk jadi guide menuruni kawkaban... tak perlu sebenarnya... sebab ada satu jalan je.. no need guide... tp cute cara depa buat marketing

7. kids at pekan thula... br balik sekolah

8 & 9... kids kat street.... sorang jual jagung, lagi dua jual telur... jagung tu kering ya amat (aku beli) telur tu aku tak sure makan macam mana... but thats telur rebus...

pakcik tua

anyway, sebelum aku balik aku citer aku g masjid... memang ramai org kat dalam masjid, baca al-quran.. mostly org tua.. sebab aku memang lain macam dressing dan rupa... semua org pandang lah.. until sorang pakcik ni tegur aku.... this one of my memorable memories kat yemen...

pakcik ni berbahasa arab dan bertanya kan samada aku org cina ke? then setelah aku cakap dtg dari malaysia... terus dia bersalam n senyum, and terus cium tangan aku... aku jadi hairan kejap... tak tahu mcm mana nak reflect... then dia cakap lah malaysia negara bagus... then nasihat muslim kena bersatu... dan berpegang ngan al-Quran....

tak semena-mena dia tanya aku samada aku tahu baca quran ke tak? of course lah aku mengangguk.. then dia suruh baca kejap tu jugak.. hik hik hik.. aku terus terkasima... hahaha.. then dia kata... ok, dia buka alfatihah n baca... aku pun baca... he was so happy and senyum meleret.. terus cium tangan aku n siap cium dahi... bertambah lah keterkasimaan aku.... hehehe... kemudian dia kata.. jemput lah berziarah ke serata masjid...

setelah aku pusing sana sini ambil gambar... pakcik ni panggil semula n ajak bergambar :-)

*memang tak proper dressing masuk masjid aku tu.. hahaha... still a memory that i won't forget :-)

yemeni people are very friendly... they'll greet u welcome whenever they see u (most of the times lah)... i wish i could stay there longer and explore other parts of yemen

Thai & 'Terror'...

dah hampir dua bulan aku tak mengemas umah... hehehe... bukan lagi debu kat umah, dah rasa mcm berpasir... nak jemput org datang umah pun segan... dan dah lama pun aku tak menjemput org datang umah... aku pun dah lama tak memasak :-) time for another makan2...


sejak kitaorg mem'banned' thai snack (kedai siam yg mmg selalu pergi, murah dan 'sedap') sebab ada ura2 dia mandrem terlebih, lama gak lah aku tak makan makanan thai. so aku pun nak buat lah makanan thai... hmm... aku pun mmg ada few thai food yg aku suka... setelah fikir aku decided utk masak2 thai....


ala-ala trial and error lah... ni... i've decided to cook the following....

1. steam fish with spring onion n ginger ---- ni thai chinese
2. daging masak merah ---- ni thai malaysia :-)
3. asparagus with udang---- another thai chinese
4. sawi goreng ikan masin ---- another thai malaysian style
and two of my favourite thai dishes
5. ayam pandan
6. green curry chicken :-)


sebab dah namanya try and error... aku menjemput lah kengkawan ni jadi tikus makmal utk try my food :-)... except for item 1 and 6, yg lain tu mmg first time i've tried :-) n instead of try and error.... aku rasa macam dah 'terror' plak... especially my chicken pandan yg mmg sedap (hahaha puji diri sendiri)...
tp tak 'terror' mana pun, sbb punya lah sibuk for main dishes... tetiba agar2 blh plak tak menjadi, sbb terlupa taruh gula.. hahaha... :-)

for those yg nak resepi.... this is what i put utk marinate ayam pandan (for half pound chicken fillet):
1. 2 tblsp oyster sauce
2. 2 tblsp santan kelapa
3. 1 tblsp minyak bijan
4. 1 tblsp kicap sotong
5. 2 tblsp bawang putih
6. 1 tblsp halia
7. 2 tblsp tepung jagung
8. 1 helai daun pandan dihiris halus hehehe....
lepas marinate 2-3 jam.... balut lah ngan daun pandan n goreng (marinate dalam balutan pandan pun better kot :-)) *thanks to org kat bandung yg tolong carikan resepi

so, apa lagi masakan yg nak di try n error kan plak pas ni.... hmmm....

Lesed memandu Malaysia expired...

Q : lesen memandu qatar memerlukan lesen memandu malaysia..lesen memandu saya dah 'expired' dan tidak sah kata mereka..ada sesiapa yg boleh beri pendapat utk selesaikan masalah ni..saya perlu membuat lesen memandu qatar secepat yg mungkin

A1 : Ini masalah besar, tanpa lesen memandu yang valid,kenalah masuk sekolah memandu dan belajar semula dari abc...z. One proposal: send the lesen back to Msia and someonehelp it renewed for u.Then follow the qatar procedureto get the lesen in Qatar.

A2 : Rasanya lesen mesia x laku disini, dan tidak membantu apa2 untuk mendapatkan lesen qatar, dan untuk mendapatkan lesen memandu qatar, haruslah mengharungi pahit getir yang teramat sangat. Itulah yg telah saya alami, dan ramai lagi telah alami. Factor luck amat lah berharga, dimana sekiranya terlalu lucky, kamu mngkin dapat convert lesen qatar dalam 15minit. Sekiranya sangat tidak lucky, mungkin kamu give up after 6 mth. Kita ada kenkawan yg sudah 2 tahun masih gagal test lesen disini ...

A3 : saya dulu dia org tak tya pun pasal lesen msia.......terus apply utk wat lesen qatar jer...camtu klu org tak penah ader lesen camna nk wat lesen kat sini.....confuse....

A4 : tapi kalau dah expired (for too long) dan tak boleh renew....tiadapilihan lain.... but to take full course and test offerred by localdriving schools...

A5 : law baru qatar kena ada lesen negara asal..kalau xde kena buat full course..law ni baru je apply (14 April 2008)

A6 : Woaaa ... that is really hurting you man ... have to go full driving lesson ... but you already bawa kereta 5-10-15-20 years ... better wait, go back to mesia get mesia license revalidated/renew ... then apply here ... where you need only 5 days only (full course 26 days I think, and to go to / coming back from drv school is really time wasting & leceh)

A7 : My sponsor cakap kalau ada lesen memandu Europe atau America yang dah expired boleh convert terus. Dia bagi lesen Qatari.

A8 : maaf mencelah. setahu saya, UAE or any GCC licence boleh tukar terus. sama dengan licence UK or US or South africa

A9 : convert direct dr M'sian Lic. to Qatari Lic. adalah faktor nasib pada warga M'sia..... bila cuba untuk diri sendiri dan juga isteri (awal 2008) : both gagal! hahaha. tapi saya sendiri ada jumpa rakyat M'sia (bukan pemandu kapalterbang QA) yang dapat terus tukar.... rezeki masing-masing lah.

tak ada M'sian Lic., no prob. bedanya cuma kena masuk banyak kelas memandu lah. kalau ada M'sian Lic. tu, kalau ikut sekolah memandu "United", bolehlah ambil kelas 12 jam (on paper, selalunya lepas 8 kelas dah boleh mintak test). kalau tak ada M'sian Lic. tu... rasanya kena ambil kelas sebulan....

fee tu kalau di United, masa saya (~2 bulan lalu) = QR 950. Tapi this month pulak = QR1,100 (merika ikut kadar inflasi agaknya!).... btw... itu tak masuk duit kopi nak kena hulur pada warga kerala / lankan yang banyak membantu semasa hari ujian (parking guna kereta yang kita guna masa latihan!)...

Travel Report : Sanaa (Pt 3) - Day 2 & 3

2nd day
pada hari kedua aku g keluar dari old sanaa' menuju ke Thula, Shibam dan Kawkaban yg terletak lebih kurang 40km-50km dari Old Sanaa... kitaorg dah siap tempah land cruiser dan driver utk ke tempat ni. aku rasa mmg tak blh drive sendiri ke sana, tambahan plak kena buat permit utk ke sana. cost USD50 utk dua org. bertolak seawal jam 8am.

Thula
ikut citer nya pekan ni dah wujud beribu tahun dulu. asalnya perkampungan yahudi, yemen kemudian masuk umat islam ke dalam pekan ni. tp sekarang ni tak de dah lagi org yahudi. thula ni kat atas bukit.

sesampai je kitaorang kat situ (we were the only tourist pun) beberapa org offer diri utk bawak kitaorang pusing2... and the guide is totally free!!! but the trick is.. we have to go to his shops... mmg menarik barang2 yg dijual... saifol, being very nice, stop kat almost all the shops and siap beli itu ini. aku pun ada gak beli. and mmg barang2 sini ok lah... setiap 'guide' tu ada 2-3 kedai and kita kena berhenti at each shops... kenkadang rasa gak geram... but kenkadang kelakar gak...

am being reluctant to buy anything digelar sebagai bedouin dan ali baba oleh salah sorang pekedai... heheeh... sesekali depa berpura2 sebagai guide, sampai lah kita termasuk lorong menuju kedai dia.. barang2 tak lah banyak benda2 tu jugak :-) tp bg kaki shopping worth going lah, quite cheap... we spent there dlm 1 jam lebih... then menuju ke kawkaban...

apa yg aku perasan, org lelaki byk keje jual kat kedai, tp yg mengusahakan tanaman dan bela binatang peliharaan byk perempuan. kat tepi jalan ada nampak perempuan jalan menuju ke tempat keje or balik umah. perempuan keje berat, lelaki nya relax je.

Kawkaban
driver kitaorang mencadang kan kitaorg g ke Kawkaban dulu baru ke Shibam. Actually Kawkaban terletak 3000meter above Shibam (i.e. kaki bukit lah). tak de apa sgt kat Kawkaban ni. Bandar ni antara tempat perkampungan imam, kiranya tempat holiday dia lah kot. kawasan ni mcm bandar tinggal je, tp masih lagi ada org yg duduk sini.

view dr Kawkaban ni cantik... ada mcm grand canyon (mcm lah aku dah pernah g grand canyon hahaha) bukit2 batu dan lembah... kebanyakan tourist akan hike dr Shibam ke Kawkaban utk menikmati kecantikan muka bumi... but we did the other way around.. hehehe.. as advice by the driver, kitaorang menuruni bukit plak... which is easier dan kurang penat.... perjalanan turun bukit 45 minit tak terasa pun :-)

btw, kepada sesapa yg ke sana, masa nak turun bukit ada bebudak offer nak jadi guide, blh lah bayar ciput kat depa. but seriously say, u do not need them sebab jalan nya satu je, u can survive without them :-)

-pics kawkaban & shibam-

Shibam
antara bandar yg dah wujud beribu tahun dulu di kaki bukit Kawkaban. antara tempat yg popular kat sini adalah masjid lama yg dah 1000 tahun, tp aku tak g pun. setiba nya kami kat Shibam kami disambut oleh bebudak yg baru nak g sekolah dengan pakaian warna hijau (sek rendah) dan yellowish (sek menengah kot)

bandar ni mmg uzur, no proper road... semua berdebu... and what surprised me was, bebudak ni instead of minta sedekah duit depa minta pen (qalam). i felt so bad sbb aku tak de bawak pen... so for those yg akan ke sana, ingat bawak lah pen banyak2. mmg uzur sungguh bandar ni. and pada hari tu aku ngan saifol je org asing yg ada kat situ, terasa mcm UN ambassador plak...

kitaorg bersembang sambil berjalan ngan bebudak tu mencari restoran hamidah tpt driver kitaorang tunggu for lunch. Lunch was really great!!! :-) by 2.30pm kitaorg meninggalkan Shibam menuju semula ke Sanaa.

Muzium Sanaa
sesampai je kat Sanaa, kami minta driver tu berhenti kat muzium Sanaa'. tp kitaorg sampai awal skit, muzium buka dari jam 4 - 6 petang (2 jam je, so u can imagine apa sangat la ada kat muzium kan). tp we used the opportunity utk jalan2 sekitar bandar baru Sanaa' yg takde apa2 sangat :-)

malam tu... kitaorg g melawat sekitar souq (again.. :-)) dan menikmati Sanaa for the final night.
3rd day
kitaorg tak banyak masa ari ni. so we've decided utk pergi ke masjid terbesar di old sanaa' (Jami'ah Kabirah). masjid ni kalau ikut kan cite adalah masjid ketiga dibina setelah masjid Quba' dan masjid Nabawi . ruang dalam dia simple, masa aku datang tu ramai orang2 tua baca al-quran. ditengah2 masjid ada satu bentuk binaan umpama kaabah. aku yakin yg depa tak lah bina kaabah kat sini, mungkin mirip saja. btw, kat masjid ni rasanya tak nampak lah chandeliar yg biasa nampak kat masjid lain :-) dan disebabkan muka aku pelik kot, semua org pandang hehehehe... after 3 days... i felt norm je.. hehehe....

jam 12.45pm... kitaorg meninggalkan Sanaa dgn kenangan indah

Travel Report : Sanaa' (Pt 2) - 1st day

Aku fly ke Sanaa' menggunakan Air Arabia melalui Sharjah. Sebenarnya aku ke Sanaa' ni pun sebab ajakan member aku kat Dubai... so aku jumpa dia kat Sharjah dan terus ke Sanaa'. Lagipun tiket Air Arabia lagi murah dari airlines lain... murah almost QR1k jugak lah...kitaorg tiba di Sanaa' lewat tgh malam, jam 12am++ dah mmg tempah kereta ke hotel pun, sbb dah tahu sampai malam. at first we thought kena bayar visa on arrival, tp ntah macam mana free plak :-)

hotel murah je, 20usd. memang berbaloi sbb location dia kat old sanaa'. bagi sesapa nak dtg ke sini, mesti duduk kat hotel kat dalam old sanaa' kalau tak rugi. ada few hotels kat sini, tp semua mid level je, jgn expect lavish room sbb dia ubah suai bangunan lama je. cuma ada 1 je hotel 4 star, yg lain biasa2 je. there's nothing much kat sanaa' apart from the old area, so mmg wajib duduk kat old sanaa'.

kitaorang tempah sanaa nights hotel, tp ntah mcm mana ditempatkan kat golden daar yg lebih baik qualitynya (based on dlm blog). dah hari kedua br perasan benda ni. since harga dah murah

Day 1 : Jumaat 4.4.08

after breakfast kat hotel kitaorg pusing2 lah tgk Sanaa' n tanya2 kat hotel apa patut buat. after scout kat dua hotel, we have decided utk pergi ke Wadi Dhaar. Katanya ada upacara perkahwinan kat situ every Friday. kitaorg ingat nak gabung with few other places, tp tak blh sbb nak keluar lebih jauh kena ada security permit, since jumaat is a public holiday mmg takkan dapat permit.

wadi dhaar ni terletak dalam 30 minit dr Sanaa'. it is famous for its rock palace. istana ni dibina zaman imam yahya (nama penuh imam ni ialah H.M. Amir al-Mumenin al-Mutawakkil 'Ala Allah Rab ul-Alamin Imam Yahya bin al-Mansur Bi'llah Muhammad Hamidaddin, Imam and Commander of the Faithful, and King of the Yemen) yg digunakan sebagai umah rehat musim panas. terdapat 5 tingkat, setiap tingkat ada fungsinya, bilik imam, bilik tidur, ruang tamu, kitchen dan tempat melepak kat atas bumbung.

mengikut kata driver kitaorang (ooh, dia tak leh cakap english pun, so aku tetiba blh berbahasa arab plak ngan dia hehehe). tak de wedding ari ni, tp still ada wedding dance. tarian berserta jambiya (pisau) oleh beberapa org lelaki.

we spent time kat situ for few hours, then balik ke Sanaa'. setelah berehat seketika kat hotel, kitaorang keluar jalan2 n buat photo session :-) that night we went to the Yemen Mall. mengharapkan dapat lah tgk the modern yemen. but tersilap.. mmg mundur, even the Mall tu pun macam Yik Foong, Ipoh during my school days... brand yg ada pun Giurdano (bukan Giordano hehehe)

actually mlm tu, we thought of having McD. being working kat mid east, aku tak de lah nak try sgt makanan arab, because dah used to it pun. tp this is the first time i've been to somewhere yg orang2 nya tak tahu apa itu McD. mcm tak pernah dengar apa itu McD n KFC... hmmm cool kan... no western influence.

that was our first day... this is the old sanaa' from the top of Taj Talha hotel. lovely kan? unique...

Travel Report : Sanaa' (pt 1)

Undeveloped, Unique, Friendly, Wasted, Historical, Poor beberapa perkataan yang aku boleh describe berkenaan Sanaa...

Ok... sebelum aku cite panjang lagi... ni extract dr Wikipedia berkenaan sejarah Sanaa'.

San‘a’ is one of the ancient Yemeni cities dating back to the Sabaean dynasty of the 6th Century BC. The oldest written reference to its existence is found in inscriptions which date back to the 1st Century AD. It is suggested that San‘a’ was the capital of the Himyarite kingdom at the onset of the 6th Century AD.

When King Yousef Athar (or Dhu Nuwas), the last of the Himyarite kings, was in power, San‘a’ was also the capital of the Ethiopian viceroys, then after 570 of the Persians.
As of the dawn of Islam until the detachment of independent sub-states in many parts of Yemen Islamic Caliphate, San‘a’ persisted as the governing seat, who himself is Caliph's deputy in running the affairs of one of Yemen's Three Makhalifs: Mikhlaf San‘a’, Mikhlaf al-Janad and Mikhlaf Hadhramawt. The city of San‘a’ recurrently assumed an important status and all Yemenite States competed to control it.

The Mamelukes arrived in Yemen in AD 1517. Following the collapse of the Mamelukes in Egypt at the hands of the Ottoman Turks, Yemen fell under the Ottoman Rule and during the first Ottoman rule of Yemen between 1538-1635, San‘a’ became the capital of the Ottoman Vilayet and also during the Ottoman second rule 1872-1918. In 1918, San‘a’ was the capital of Imam Yahya, who ruled North Yemen. At the onset of the 1962 revolution which deposed the imamate rule, it became the capital of the Yemen Arab Republic. It was then the capital of unified Yemen in 1990 where it is dubbed as the historical capital of Yemen.

sebuah negara yg memang sudah pesat membangun pada abad sebelum ini tetapi stuck 'somewhere' yg menyebabkan dia masih ditakuk lama... pada zaman negara lain tak de bangunan, kat Yemen ni dah ada the "the oldest skyscraper-city in the world" atau "Manhattan of the desert" yakni Shibam (aku tak g tempat ni). tapi pada masa kini yang dibanggakan hanyalah sejarah lama, development tak muncul2 lagi...

aku cuma melawat Sanaa dan lebih specific lagi the Old Sanaa'. Dahulunya bandar ni dikelilingi tembok batu. wujud lebih 2500 tahun dahulu dan pada tahun 1984 diisytihar sebagai World Heritage City oleh UNESCO. Seperti biasa, tempat lawatan bg negara2 arab mestilah Souq dia... dan Masjid... tak de lah apa2 yg sangat menarik... tp sebabkan seluruh bandar memang bangunan lama, memang sangat unik.

next entries aku akan cite pasal my itinerary n trips... my views and opinions... what i saw and what i did... :-)

enjoy some of the pictures... (ni gambar introduction je :-) )

Mana Nak Cari Kedai Tayar???

Q : Sesapa tau kat mana ada kedai tayar utk tampal/replace tayar in/around the city area?

A1 : On B-Ring, coming from Jaidah flyover, make U-turn atAl Muntazah signal. it will be the first tire shop onthe right.(if you are some where in that vicinity)

A2 : Across the Home Centre (near Jaidah flyover) ada kedai tayar. I tampal my tayar once.............

A3 : ada deret kedai2 tayar di airport road arah ke wakrah sebelah kanan

A4 : ader kedai baru kat sebelah shop rite......dpn airport...leh wat balancing n alignment skali...kedai tu computerized mcm kat msia...std kita la.....

A5 : Sebelah shoprite airport ada satu kedai tayar ( Falken Tire )
Atau kat area Bin Mahmoud ada banyak kedai tayar....buka sampai lewat malam tapi banyak tayar cap ayam lah...

A6 : Dekat rumah saya ada sebuah kedai tayar. Sebaris dengan Rameez di jalan Airport. Tak pun kedai tayar di Al-Waab petrol station.

weekend treat...

this weekend am gonna go here :

exploring the wonders of the city:

and maybe wanna try this....

all pics taken from internet... nanti aku balik aku tunjuk gambar yg aku sendiri ambil :-)

Resigned....

You may have read...

Senior al-Jazeera staff quit English service
Al-Jazeera English, the global news channel launched as a sibling to the Arab-language service, has suffered its most high-profile defections yet amid growing unease among staff about its future.

Insiders say more than 15 staff have quit or resigned in recent months amid complaints of a lack of clarity over its direction, contractual disputes and speculation over a relaunch later this year.

Clark was a key figure in the long delayed launch of al-Jazeera English in November 2006, with an ambitious mission to challenge the dominance of CNN and the BBC with an "alternative worldview".

Insiders say Clark's departure was expected after his wife, Jo Burgin, the former head of planning at al-Jazeera English, launched a claim for sex, race and religious discrimination. It is expected to be heard in the next two to three months.

But they said it was a further example of the disharmony that has gripped the broadcaster, particularly in Doha, since its launch. Even before it launched, there was a split between the management of the original channels, launched in 1996 and funded by the emir of Qatar, and the new international version

you can read more here...

and you might have read this previously.... now it becomes this.... Dave Marash quits Al-Jazeera English

Former "Nightline" reporter Dave Marash has quit Al-Jazeera English, saying Thursday his exit was due in part to an anti-American bias at a network that is little seen in this country.

Marash said he felt that attitude more from British administrators than Arabs at the Qatar-based network.

Marash was the highest-profile American TV personality hired when the English language affiliate to Al-Jazeera was started two years ago in an attempt to compete with CNN and the BBC. He said there was a "reflexive adversarial editorial stance" against Americans at Al-Jazeera English.

"Given the global feelings about the Bush administration, it's not surprising," Marash said. But he found it "became so stereotypical, so reflexive" that he got angry.

Al-Jazeera English has been largely unsuccessful in getting U.S. cable or satellite systems to pick it up, except for the municipal cable system in Burlington, Vt., and a small system visible in Toledo and Sandusky, Ohio. But its programming is available on the network's YouTube site.

Marash said there are other reasons for his exit. He said the network has quickened the pace of its broadcast instead of having the slower, more reflective tone than he had expected. But he praised the network for its coverage of issues south of the equator.
read more here...

so... this morning ada lah keluar rumours... katanya the Director of the Channel has tendered his resignation as well... gosh... i've decided to resign as well....













but luckily... it's just another APRIL FOOL joke.... hehehehe... so i will stay... :-)