ME/NA pictures

[jordanianprincess 0]

Karak Castle

Playing the Girbeh in Petra

Boooooozhhhhh!

Ajloun Castle

Bedouin Woman in Petra

Il Balad

Al Hussein Mosque

Abdoun Mall

Circassian Dancers at the Jerash Festival

Dabkeh at the Jerash Festival

Ok thats all for now!

[Ban Hammer 13,110]

And more again...

Stadium in Jerash

got a link for more info on this one? it looks very interesting.

[Henia 11]

Henia...I love the Yemen pics! I'll have to scan in the ones I have of my sons' trip there. Aden is beautiful! I love their buildings with the white trim.

LOL @ the qat!

Ye have alot of káat pics... more then I care to admit

JP: Jordan looks very beautiful! Keep the pics coming!

[jordanianprincess 0]

Henia...I love the Yemen pics! I'll have to scan in the ones I have of my sons' trip there. Aden is beautiful! I love their buildings with the white trim.

LOL @ the qat!

Ye have alot of káat pics... more then I care to admit

JP: Jordan looks very beautiful! Keep the pics coming!

No problem! You should go!

[AngelK96 0]

Ajloun Castle

Ok thats all for now!

Ajloun Castle where I about knocked myself out going through a small door way and tell my husband from that time on it made me majnoona and habla and it's all his fault.

Edited January 26, 2007 by angelk96

[jordanianprincess 0]

Ajloun Castle

Ok thats all for now!

Ajloun Castle where I about knocked myself out going through a small door way and tell my husband from that time on it made me majnoona and habla and it's all his fault.

Did you go to the global village when you were there?

[Henia 11]

Tiázz Yemen

night

Aden beach, yemen

Aden Yemen...the port where the USS Cole was bombed.

[Henia 11]

Women shopping in Aden

shopping

Boy shooting qat

Qat pricing

Woman shooting qat

[AngelK96 0]

Ajloun Castle

Ok thats all for now!

Ajloun Castle where I about knocked myself out going through a small door way and tell my husband from that time on it made me majnoona and habla and it's all his fault.

Did you go to the global village when you were there?

nope first time just checked out northern jordan. second time went to petra, third time just hung around irbid and amman, fourth time explored irbid more and hung out with the family. Next time we are going to rent a house in Aqaba for a couple of weeks. Awesome pictures though brings back a lot of memories!!

[Ban Hammer 13,110]

what is qat?

[ya falaha! 0]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khat

It's a mild stimulant that is chewed. My ex was a big fan of it as are most Yemenis. I would say it's more than a mild stimulant since when he would chew it he wouldn't be able to sleep at night. It would also make him very thirsty.

[Ban Hammer 13,110]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khat

It's a mild stimulant that is chewed. My ex was a big fan of it as are most Yemenis. I would say it's more than a mild stimulant since when he would chew it he wouldn't be able to sleep at night. It would also make him very thirsty.

ah ok. ty. is this also the same thing as khat, which i've seen mentioned in several news stories in somalia and such?

[UmmSqueakster 54]

Women shopping in Aden

This is my favorite way to shop in Egypt. Dig through the piles of stuff and barter Or more accurately, pretend I'm a deaf/mute and let my husband barter so that I get the egyptian price and not the inflated tourist one

[brnidokiegurl 0]

Again thanks for all the pictures, girls at work here come often to look at the new ones. Most have never been anywhere out of the US so it is vey exciting to them to see all

[Henia 11]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khat

It's a mild stimulant that is chewed. My ex was a big fan of it as are most Yemenis. I would say it's more than a mild stimulant since when he would chew it he wouldn't be able to sleep at night. It would also make him very thirsty.

ah ok. ty. is this also the same thing as khat, which i've seen mentioned in several news stories in somalia and such?

Qat spelled qat, khat, kaát, tchat, chat or kháat is the national Yemeni narcotic pastime. Also in several areas of India, east Africa and more recently the US and UK. Qat, a lettuce-green or bruise-purple leaf from the Catha Edulis tree, originated in Ethiopia. I believe qat is called the betel nut leaf in English.

Indians used the leaf crushed up in a powder for sexual stamina and Arabians used it in lieu of alcholol (which after the start of Islam was forbidden), to reduce fatigue, aide in staying up all night for religious ceremonies, lower blood sugar, treat cough and malaria.

Qat has become a cultural phenomenon in Yemen, and other African countries in the past 20 years. It is before basically a pastime for the wealthy similar to how hookah is used as a social pastime. Now more then sign of social standing and time to socialize, it is inmy opinion the laming habit of nations.

Mostly by men (90% of the men in Yemen) but women and children consume it as well. Qat is very expensive. I would estimate one third of a men’s income in Yemen goes to qat. And given the low incomes of Yemenis and that many have a wives and at least 6 children…not much is left for the household to live on. In my opinion, qat is a huge social problem. Similar to what opium was for the Chinese. Qat also uses up wast amounts of agricultural land and precious water, which could be used for food. I know my ex’s family have a vast farm and they only grow qat for their own comsumption. One would think it would be wiser to grow vegetables or coffee but I guess not.

This leaf is for the most part is chewed the leaves thoroughly one by one and stored in the mouth near the molars. It is called ‘shooting’ in Yemen, cos one stuffs or shoots gram after gram of the qat into the mouth. Many times it looks like a ball is inside the mouth. It tastes rather bitter, but spooning sugar into the mouth, drinking water or Pepsi balances it out. The major effect are basically alertness, euphoria and short-term ability to ‘concentrate’. Qat’s high can begin in 15 minutes and last up to 24 hours. Many use qat to be in a good mood, aphrodisiac and for sexual stamina, other then the social ascept. The negative side of qat is the severe depression after the high of qat is gone, it is addictive and withdrawl is harse, impotence in long term use, constipation and paranoia. Qat has also been linked with thousands of hours of work lost, families going hungry (when the men spent more on qat then food), poverty, engaging prostitutions, homelessness, violence, death, rape and the spreading of HIV.

Qat parties are held on a daily basis in Yemen. The men leave to the souqs at noon time in order to buy the freshest quality. Funny, for a substance so expensive, and the users being rather poor, they still spend a lot on the best quality. My ex’s family had their own land for growing qat and would literally sit around in the living room… many times all the men of the area from 2pm until dawn the next day where they would talk for hours after going throu the qat leaves. There would also be women’s qat parties in another area in private, where they would have music and dancing. Also in my ex’s family they would have family qat parties, with all the men on one side and all the women on one. The children were given qat to chew as early as age 2. Pregnant and breastfeeding women used it too, to ease the ‘pains’ as they said. Qat is also consumed in the street along with drugs and alchohol by the less previlaged.

Qat contain cathinone, a natural amphetamine which gives the user a high after prolong chewing. The Food and Drug Admin has listed cathinone as a Schedule I drug, found to be highly abused and addictive, in the same category as hashish,cocaine, opium and heroine. After the qat matures and decomposes within 48 hours it becomes cathine, listed as a Schedule IV drug meaning that it can be used for medical reasons in the US.