Diaries of Shi b al Dhab

Yemenat

Mohammed Al-Mekhlafi

On my first day at the azba of Shi‘b al-Dhab‘, everything was new to me. I didn’t know the place well. I even kept getting my directions mixed up, unable to tell east from west or north from south.

At nine in the morning, I left the apartment with one of my relatives, Engineer Hamed Abdullah. He drove me to Algeria Street in the Al-Utaybiyya neighbourhood.

I tried to remember the road leading to the entrance of Shi‘b al-Dhab‘. I took the first side street towards Jabal al-Sayyida, but after walking a short distance, I felt that the place didn’t look familiar, so I turned back and took the second street. I kept moving from one street to another for about half an hour, trying to find my way, but without success.

I had called my friends at the azba, but they were asleep, and none of them answered. They had told me before that they usually slept until the Asr prayer.

I sat beside one of the shops, hoping to find someone I knew, and stayed there until the Dhuhr prayer. When I heard the call to prayer, I got up and headed towards the mosque. As I passed by, I spotted Kamal Hammoud Abdo, one of the sons of my village, inside his shop, “Al-Najm Men’s Tailoring.” As soon as I opened the door and walked in, he stood up and greeted me, saying, “Hala, Bin Saeed! Praise God, you’re most welcome.” He then shook my hand warmly and accompanied me to the mosque.

After the prayer, he invited me to lunch at a nearby restaurant. His son Osama and his brother Abdulilah were with him. Abdulilah also had a tailoring shop. I remembered him as a little boy in the village, and here he