First Impressions in Yemen, Sana'a :
Arriving in Sana'a at just about midnight, The Zone's Gary Vey and American born, Sky Sutton, were met by our host, Nasser, and our driver Abdul, a quiet man that we would soon discover is the most amazing driver in Yemen. We were shuttled by Toyota Land Cruiser to a brilliant and regal hotel in the heart of Sana'a: the Taj Sheba.
Sky wrote in her journal
"Standing in the open window of my room, I looked down onto the dimly lit gardens and pools of the Taj, and saw something black and silent fly beneath me, winging its way around the corner before my eye had a chance to chase it... a bat savoring the fruit trees near my balcony? I pulled the window shut, reveled in a hot and strong shower, wrapped myself in a soft white towel, and curled up in the white blankets and thick white sheets in my luxurious suite. Clicking through the channels on Yemeni cable-television, I contented myself with a strange looking MTV, and the cacophony of high-pitched Indian women, crying to the tune of some passionate epic. I began penning letters home, wondering how hard the jet-lag would hit me.
And it did hit me, like a brick. The dead couldn't have slept as hard as I did."
 The roof of the Palace Hotel; still in Sana'a : In the morning, after a breakfast, we were introduced to our guide, Ahmed, and our tour began. The cityscape of Old Sana'a is a living portrait of the past. At night, moving along the narrow and twisting streets, there is a timelessness to be felt in seeing the glow of a multitude of half-moon shaped windows paned with brightly colored glass or the creamy stone alabaster. Just at sunset the windows look to be bejeweled drops of rain resting on pale honey colored walls. "It's raining up," Sky wrote.
" No, it's not!" protested Gary, the man who's hair was standing on end. While the sun set a tremendous thunderstorm had collected around us from the south and the east. As the evening call to prayer sang out from countless minarets, the lighting strikes began. "My world became sight and sound. Lightening, thunder and the cries of the devoted rumbled over me. It was that feeling of the 4th of July when the explosions of the fireworks blast right through you. This was a place one might come to believe in a God..."
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" Hey, Gary, you're hair is standing straight up," Sky's voice can be heard on the footage as the one holding the camera.
Sana'a is a magical city rich with adventures for all of your senses. This is most easily discovered by a stroll through the maze of wares and wonders of the old city. This architectural wonder is well preserved and attributes its fortified wall-and-gate design to Shem, one of Noah's sons. At 7000 feet above sea level, Old Sana'a is truly on the roof of the world. Intricately carved lattices and narrow winding streets lead to exotic smells and different views of ancient and unchanging Yemeni life. Among the wonders to be found in the heart of Old Sana'a is the NGO, a women's organization in the heart of Old Sana'a. Here, I would be henna-ed and "take on the veil." Taking on the passport : The NGO - Sky Sutton
Ahmed brought me under a delicate stone archway, up a smooth winding, whitewash set of steps "to meet the women." He called out loudly to announce that a man was on his way up. I was introduced to Attika, "the boss" of the establishment. The NGO is a voluntary association organized to help widows, divorcees and girls, gain an education, learn to use computers, home economics, health education and the arts of weaving and embroidery. Arts and crafts are created in the old tradition and are sold inexpensively at the NGO, with profits used to fund the organization. The women are friendly and eagerly befriend other women. Although my Arabic was limited, we had a lengthy exchange of ideas. Sorry, guys. This is one of the rare privileges afforded to women and strictly forbidden to men. At the NGO, a young woman, Tazzir, showed me a selection of intricate veils hand-made by the girls. I picked a black light-weight one. Attika patiently taught this clumsy western woman how to properly tie the length of cloth to cover the hair, face and neck. That veil became my most regular piece of clothing for the remainder of my trip. Having adopted the appropriate headgear for traveling in a Muslim country it was time to experience the traditional body painting of henna. Placing my palm on her knee to steady my arm, Tazzir began the deliberate and delicate decorating of my hands. A swirling floral pattern quickly emerged. I was painted in fine black lines from my fingertips to my wrists . As soon as the design was completed, it was patted down with a thin layer of Vaseline. Drying took forever! It was well worth it, though. As I traveled through other places in Yemen, people were able to identify that I had been in Sana'a from that unique pattern. Later, I would be painted in Al Hawta and henna-ed, a much different style, at Taiz.
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