When we were in the airport in Cairo, before we boarded our Yemenia flight to Seiyun, we were told not to post on social media live. Not for safety reasons, but because it is so easy to go viral in Yemen that it would be a pain for us to be recognized in the streets everywhere we went. We wanted to keep a low profile. And we did a pretty good job of that… until we went to Mukalla!
The first place we went into Mukalla was the fish market! It was interesting but very smelly – I ended up having to wash out the hem of my abaya in the hotel sink to try to get the scent of fish out of it. I had never seen a market that sold stingrays before. We also headed next door to the market that sold fruits and vegetables.
The markets were cool, but the highlight of our time in Mukalla was the boat tour at sunset. Most cities are best viewed from the water, in my opinion!
The sun was about to dip over the horizon as we got back to land, which meant it was time for iftar! There was a big spread set up near the harbor, and the local people invited us there. A large group of foreigners caused a pretty big stir. Locals were taking photos and filming us as we sat down to break fast with them.
By the next day, we found out that one of the local Yemeni guys who was filming was an influencer, and videos and photos of us were everywhere. I even got recognized in Aden two days later! It was a strange experience, to say the least.
We got dinner, had shisha on the beach, and then headed to the night market. The night markets were so much fun. It felt like the whole city was out and about, buying and selling and bargaining for everything you could want to buy. I didn’t enjoy wearing the abaya, for the most part, but it was nice at the markets because I was entirely invisible while wearing it. I could look around without any extra stares.
The next day, we went back to the same area, and found it completely deserted! It was so strange to walk the same exact streets and find them empty, with no evidence of the chaos of the previous night. When we were done exploring, it was off to the airport for our next destination – Aden.