| |
|
|
| |
Home
>
World
> Middle East
> Yemen
|
Social Profile
Food & Drink: Hotel restaurants serve both Western and Oriental dishes, particularly Indian and Chinese. There are a few independent restaurants serving international and Arab cuisine. Seafood is particularly recommended, as is haradha (a mincemeat and pepper dish). Also marag lahm (meat soup), hanid (lamb meat cooked in typical oven with spices) and kabsa (rice with lamb meat) should not be missed.
Alcohol is not generally available but may be served in hotels. It is illegal to buy alcohol for a Yemeni citizen. Tourists are advised to respect Muslim customs and traditions.
Nightlife: This is generally centred on the major hotels.
Shopping: Souks (markets) are interesting places to shop and buy handicrafts. Purchases include foutah (national costume), leather goods, jambia (daggers), candlesticks, scarves (woven with gold thread), amber beads, brightly coloured cushions and ceramics. Other items include gold- and silver-work, spice, perfume, bukhur incense with charcoal and pottery containers in which to burn it, coloured mats and sharks’ teeth. Shopping hours: Sun-Thurs 0800-1300 and 1600-2100.
Special Events: For details of special events and festivals held in Yemen, contact the General Authority of Tourism (see Contact Addresses section).
Social Conventions: Traditional values are still very much part of everyday life and visitors will be treated with traditional courtesies and hospitality. Many of the population work in agriculture, with several thousand dependent on fishing. The rest live and work in towns and there is a small nomadic minority living along the northern edges of the desert. Guns become more noticeable further north, slung over the shoulder and carried in addition to the traditional jambia. In towns, women are veiled with black or coloured cloth, while in the villages such customs are not observed. Yemenis commonly chew qat, a locally-grown shrub bearing shoots that have a stimulant effect, chewed in markets and cafes but more stylishly sitting on cushions in a guestroom or mafrai at the top of a multi-storeyed Yemeni house. For the visitor, conservative casual clothes are suitable; visiting businessmen are expected to wear suits. Men need to wear a jacket and tie for formal occasions and in smart dining rooms. Women are expected to dress modestly and beachwear and shorts should be confined to the beach or poolside. Smoking is forbidden during Ramadan. Foreigners are requested not to smoke or drink in public. Tipping: The practice of tipping is becoming more common. Waiters and taxi drivers should be tipped ten to 15 per cent.
Copyright © 2003 Columbus Publishing Ltd.
Terms and Conditions apply.
|
|
|
|
|
