Let the morningtime drop all its petals on me.

Here's a few photos from my last four countries. After Yemen, I have visited twenty-one which is the same as my age! The logical goal is to have as many different stamps in the passport as years on the planet. I may try to front load it a bit this year, although for the first time since I moved to Qatar I have no travel plans in the next two months.

Sunset in Assiut, Egypt

We flew in and out of this city halfway between Luxor and Cairo the same way that Kansas City is halfway between Los Angeles and New York. Nobody could understand why we were there, it seemed like Legit Everyday Egypt, and there was not much to do by way of touristy activities except enjoy the sunset and the hilariously cracking voice belt out the call to prayer.

Sunrise in Amritsar, India.

I met my friend Briana here and she took me on a fabulous trip to the mountains near Daramshala. But first we explored the Sikh's most photogenic and impressive Golden Temple in Amritsar at night and then again in the damp foggy morning, walking slowly around the temple barefoot on the cold marble with all of the pilgrims.

Wagah Border between Lahore, Pakistan and Amritsar, India

The other big tourist attraction in Amristar is the nightly flag raising at the Wagah Border - the only land border crossing between Pakistan and India. Crowds gather in the grandstands on either sides of the border (a gate) and shout Indian (Long live Hindustan!) or Pakistani (I couldn't hear what they were saying!) cheers at the other side while the tall guards in funny hats march around dramatically and raise the flags of both countries. The attendance on the Indian side was quite a sight - with foreign passports we were able to get front-row VIP seats.

Chapatis in Ball Village - Himachal Pradesh, India

What I spent most of my time in India doing was sitting around a cooking fire warming my toes and watching, mesmerized, as nice Indian mothers cooked delicious food for their families (and me). Here is one of them - Rinku's mother, who we visited towards the end of my stay in Daramkort.

OmanMobile Cell Phone Tower - outside Khasab, Oman

Over spring break, I ended up spending two days bopping around the Musandem Peninsula in a OmanMobile Land Cruiser helping a very friendly Sudanese electrical engineer repair cell phone towers in beautiful places. Sammy took it upon himself to introduce us to all of the Sudanese people in Oman and also show us the sights of Khasab as he made his rounds. He took fantastic care of us from the moment he found us stranded in a downpour at the immigration desk north of Ras Al Khamiah. He also, notably, wore a reversible dishdasha (Arab man-dress) that had the same pockets on the front as the back so that when he woke up in the morning in a rush he would not have to even check before pulling on his outfit for the day.

Peter & Sammy - Musandem Peninsula, Oman



Old Sana'a, Yemen

The call to prayer in the old city was always very sudden and urgent, surrounding each delightful tower house with a chorus of echoing shouts overlaid with the few melodic muezzins. My time in Yemen was very relaxing (bet you didn't see that coming!) and I had fun bro-ing out Middle East style - we haggled at the qat market and ate delectably salty roasted chickens with our hands in grimy cafeterias.

Shibam, from the hike to Kawkaban (The two towns are always referenced in tandem, since there is another city in Yemen called Shibam. Now I have been to a place whose name sounds like "Sha-BAM Koko-BAN!")

Wee Yemenis - Shibam, Yemen

My favorite shot of the trip - these two cutie-pies asked me to take their photo as we were hiking back down to Shibam. ("Sura" is photo in Arabic, which I unfortunately did not figure out until halfway through the trip and consequently missed countless photos of adorable and willing schoolchildren).

Habibis - Shibam, Yemen

These two bros caught me sneaking their photo as they walked around the market in Shibam and I then invited them to pose. They're wearing traditional Yemeni man-garb: loose dishdasha, blazer, and decorative dagger (jambiya). We met many kind men who helped us find cabs, bought us mango juice, brought thermoses of tea out to enjoy while the sun rose . . . I have learned a good deal about the impossible kindness of strangers as I've traveled these past few months.

The highlight of the trip, however, I have no photograph of. We visited the home of one of my students, where I interacted with other women (and see their faces!) for the first time in over a week. I was invited to sit with the sisters, grandmothers, and aunts in the women's parlor while Peter chatted with our student's father in the men's living room. I met the men for dinner downstairs while the women stayed upstairs (as they did not meet male visitors) and then we split up for tea after dinner. I remember excitedly reading up on eating dinner with Arabs several months I moved to Qatar - it was the only chapter of "Understanding Arabs" that I finished. So I was ready, mentally if not stomach capicity-wise, for the fourth serving of meat and the insistence that I try the dessert drenched in famed Yemeni honey.

One element of dinner mentioned in the book, however, I had forgotten - "In the Arabian Peninsula countries, incense or cologne may be passed around just before the guests depart" - until the smallest daughter, dressed in purple tights and a curly braid, enthusiastically sprayed me six times with Chanel No. 5 after I was served tea. I found out later that she also got Peter with two hits of cologne (the little girls were allowed to go to both the men's and women's parts of the house). And so, though we had different conversations and experiences while visiting the family, we both left the Alasaly home very full and very fragrant.