Once you go to Yemen once, you will want to go to Yemen again. It's intoxicating -- sort of like qat. Hung out around Sana'a and the mountains surrounding it. We took some "treks" (when did the word "hike", a perfectly good word, disappear in favor of trek?) and drank some good Yemeni coffee and managed even to have a decent meal or two. Hung out with Abdellah in his shop, had tea on the roof of the Taj Talha, and took about 3,000 pictures in seven days. Also had long discussions about why it is that Yemen, an amazingly beautiful, cheap, exotic location, so empty of tourists. ONCE, SEVERAL years go, some tourists were killed. Tourists are killed in Egypt al the time, yet Egypt is swimming in toursts. My personal theory is that young people tend not to go because you can't drink in Yemen. Last summer I noticed, for instance, that when I was in Gujarat state in India, there were virtually no backpackers. This despite the fact that it borders Rajastan, backpacker central, and is filled with amazing temple complexes and all that stuff. But, it's dry: No Alcohol. Hence, no tourists. But Yemen is so amazing and really needs the tourists. The people are extremely welcoming, wonderful people and so if you are thinking of going to Yemen but fear it, don't. I would imagine there is not a single city in the west that is more safe than Sana'a. And if you're worried about not being able to booze it up, well, you can always fly to Dubai, my home, and a decadant wasteland of clubs and hookers.