The plane had plenty of room and the flight was a short 35-40 minutes. I truly enjoyed seeing the terrain from up above. Around and after Sanaa, mountains and valleys abound, some reminiscent of Grand Canyon vistas. Upon closer inspection, I found verdant lines that followed the contours of the formations. Those are the carefully managed terrace plots of qat and coffee that Yemenis have been cultivating for centuries. Qat, aside from being a favorite way for Scrabble-lovers to use up the letter “q”, produces a leaf that many in Yemen chew as part of their cultural traditions. Qat is actually banned in many countries due to an active ingredient that causes narcotic effects. Coffee, historically, has been important for trade. In centuries past, many Arabica beans cultivated here were sent to Paris and London and worldwide. The term Mocha comes from the port city where much coffee was shipped abroad, al-Mukha.
The mountains continued and I did not grow tired of gawking at them, spotting villages that would be worthy of a visit in the near future.

The dramatic terrain then gave way to sand and we begin our descent upon Aden. Aden is along the coast. The region is referred to as the Tihama, and Aden is considered to be one of the hottest places on the planet. Fortunately, right now during fall/winter, the heat is very mild. No worries though, as I recall the heat in the Sahara. I’d rather deal with extreme heat than extreme cold.

Note: the pictures here are from Telegraph Bay in Aden. It's a place where local Yemeni's go to relax on the weekend: they swim, play soccer, walk along the beach, and some chew qat and take in the majestic views.