Sanaa Things to Do

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Sanaa in the past used to be a walled town with six entry gates - the only one rmeaining in its original form is Bab Al Yemen. Through Bab Al Yemen you find yourself directly in the souq - the nastiest part of the souq, where sellers are quite aggressive and sell only junk... then again the gate is your best option out of the old city's maze if you are lost. Ask anyone for Bab Al Yemen and they will point you in the right direction. Once you get there, there's plenty of taxis to take you "home".

It is possible to climb to the top of the gate, for some good views of the square and souq at its foot - entrance is through the Al Bab art gallery, which allows anyone to go in for free. Most people head straight up and shoot photos - but one should also spend osmetime looking at the paintings on sale in the gallery. They are all by young and promising Yemeni artists, and some are really nice. Prices are affordable (in the 50-300 dollars range), which is always good news.

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Mosques seem to be everywhere in Sanaa, in particular in the old town. There are over 100, just in the old town - 103 someone said. Basically more than one for each quarter... which does sound likely. Some just don't look much like mosques - because they have no evident "element", but most have at least a minaret. Only 5 have domes.

Sanaa's mosques are off-limits to non-Muslims, so the best you can do is just peek in from the door. The Great Mosque is the oldest (it was built during the life of Prophet Mohammed) and largest in town, although a new huge one is being constructed in the new part of town.

Depending on who you are talking to, in the old town there are either twelve or fourteen public hammams. One other person said: over twenty. Hammams are turkish style baths - usually located underground but recognisable because of their large white domes. There is often a stone sink outside, too.

Hammams have separate days, or hours, for men and women - or else separate rooms. In a hammam you "wash" and you "are steamed". It is often also possible to have a body scrub. Some names are: Hammam Abhar, Hammam al-Maidan", Hammam Saba. Apparently it looks like there's a hammam in each quarter, but don't quote me on this.

Other than coming out clean, hamman have other advantages: it seems like they can cure many illnesses, including back pain. Even if you decide not to have a steam bath, I would still suggest to go inside one and see what it looks like.

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The best bird's eye view over the old town is from the top floor of the Taj Talha Hotel, near the Qubat Talha mosque. There's a terrace on top, and a few tables and plastic chairs - so that the terrace doubles as a bar/coffee place. it takes 6 long flights of uneven stairs to reach it, but the sights over the old town is definitely worth it.

Everyone is free to go up to the terrace - since the management is very accommodating - and anyway you can still say you are going to stay for a drink. Apparently the views are even better at sunset.

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As any arab city, the most interesting and colourful part of the town is the suq.
Here it's in the middle of old town, and walking around it gives you an idea of the local life as you will hardly see any tourist around.
The difference betwen this suq and the other ones I visited in other arab citis is the total lack of pressure, I have never been asked to stop at a shop or to buy anything: incredible but true you can stop at watching crafts without been asked to enter and buy, sometime it's even hard to find the owner of the shop even if you are interested in buying something.
The only pity is that in all the old town and so in the suq there is no good place to stop and have a tea or some water.

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Going around the old town of the old town, just walking and looking around is the only way to explore and above all enjoy this incredible city.
Any single house, any single side of the house, any window, surprises you in a different way.
It's just like walking in another time, another world, another atmosphear, this is the city where I felt further from home and it's a great sensation.

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Just wander around for hours, do some shopping (of course don't forget to bargain), have some tea near Bab el-Yemen (Yemen Gate), have lunch or dinner at Arabia Felix hotel.
Old Turkish and Jewish areas are off the beaten track: not as scenic as the Old City, but interesting enough (head due West from the Old City).
Excursion:
Dar al-Hajjar (Palace on the Rock) at Wadi Dahr, 15 minutes northwest of Sana'a. Built in 1935 as one of the (many) residences of the last imam, Yahya.
Daytrips:
1) Sana'a-Amran (Old City)-Thula (little town restored by UNESCO)-villages of Hababa, Shibam (not to be confused with Shibam - Hadramawt) and Kawkaban- return to Sana'a. Net driving time: 3 to 3 1/2 hours (plus sightseeing time).
2) Up and down to Manakha and Hajjara in the Harraz mountains, excellent for walking trips from one hour to many days (Sana'a-Hajjara takes 2 hours over good but spectacular winding roads).
3) Rada (beautiful mosque restored by Dutch development cooperation) and Hammam Damt (weird stand-alone volcano one can easily climb). Net driving time: 5-6 hours.

Yemen is not really the place to bring children due to the lack of services but if you do have chidren one option is to get horse rides. In the main square opposite the Honda building you can get rides for 5 to 10 minutes for really cheap. They will even allow you to take a photograph while on the horse for 100 YR. Just an option.