September 26 – Revolution Day in Yemen

Posted on September 26, 2015


When an oppressive king has ruled your nation badly – Wikipedia says that Ahmad bin Yahya, King of the Yemen, was “ruthless, arbitrary and inconsistent” – maybe having a monarchy doesn't sound so good. Maybe having a democratic republic begins to sound a bit better...

But I believe that the main reason that there was a revolution against the new king just a few days after Ahmad died – on this date in 1962 – is because Ahmad had made Yemen an enemy of Egypt. It was Egyptian soldiers who fought alongside nationalist forces to overthrow the king.

Sigh. I SO wanted Yemen to be a bit of democracy on the Arabian Peninsula, but in actual fact, the Republic of Yemen has seen civil war, corruption, abductions, torture, terrorist attacks, and rebellions! It's pretty much a mess...

We are warned NOT to travel to Yemen right now because of all the violence. So let's, instead, enjoy the beauties of the country in the comfort of our own homes:

The Shahara Bridge was created in the 1600s to connect towns at the tops of two mountains. It's super scary – but locals cross it often every day.



These weird-looking “umbrella” trees seep red sap and are therefore called dragon's blood trees. They are found on Socotra Island, which belongs to Yemen.



Also on Socotra Island, this tree is pretty ugly...for a tree!



But if you get an entire group of the “ugly” trees – and they look pretty darned cool.



I love this “rock palace,” found in Wadi Dhar.




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