Hadhramout is a province in South Yemen. It is a spectacular lush, fertile spot and the favorite destination of many visitors to this mystical land. Hadhramout has its own music and its own style of almost everything! Colors are bright and the food is spicy. Pre-Islamic ruins and ancient mosques abound.

A wadi is a river, usually surrounded by a canyon. In Yemen, wadis can often be dry and rocky, seeing water only when the rains come in the late spring and early fall. Most of the time the rivers remain underground, hiding from the scorching sun. Vegetation thrives along the underground wadis and many major villages, like Seyun, are located along these dry river beds.

Once a major stop on the Incense Route, Seyun served as the capital of the Kathiri Sultanate for five hundred years, from 1400 to 1967 AD, allowing it to become the largest city in Wadi Hadhramout. In the city's center the former Imam's palace closely resembled a three tier wedding-cake covered in vanilla icing. It has since been transformed into a museum, complete with a spacious outdoor performance stage. Fresh-air concerts in the courtyard of Seyun's historic Sultan's Palace Museum are a lovely way to spend an evening under the Arabian stars.

All around this famous museum there were little suqs and shops serving shai. Supplies were easily found in the rows of shops surrounding the museum. Batteries, film, razors... If you couldn't find what you were looking for in one of the little shops, there was always a suq near by where you could. Gary was searching for a pair of sandals and I wanted AA batteries. With little difficulty, we found both.

Lingering by the Toyota, my attention was caught by a young man gesturing for me to approach.

"I'll be right back," I told the boys and went over to see what the man had to show me. A strange barking squeaking sound came from the table beside him. Grinning, he leaned down and pulled back the cloth covering the table to reveal a bright eye-ed and energetic little baboon!