The old city centre of San’a, the capital of the Republic of Yemen, is home to a long history and a bustling market. Inhabited as early as 7000 BC, Islam spread here during the Prophet’s lifetime shaping the religious makeup of the city to this day. What better place to experience the history and culture of San’a than at the city’s biggest market, Suk al Milh.

Although translated as “The Salt Market”, everything is sold here but salt. The market is divided into 40 smaller souks. The blacksmiths are hard at work at Suk Al Haddadin and in the Suk Madaiy, craftsmen create water pipes. We pass souks selling baker’s cushions and an essential item for Yemeni men, the Jambia, a curved dagger that is worn on belts from an early age. Each alleyway is home to a special trade, professions that have long since died out in our country.

From noon onwards, Qat, a euphoric drug, is also sold in the market, to provide for one of the main afternoon activities loved by the Yemenites, Qat chewing. On our tour, we pass by old sesame mills, powered by camels, merchants trying to shift their wares, such as Abdullah and his Chinese underpants and the “Shaik al Suk”, who keeps order in the market, threateningly swinging his stick.

All of this activity can be observed comfortably from the Bab al Yemen, where tourists like to position themselves to take pictures of the crowd below. As forms of communication modernise here, some stallholders may struggle but we can be sure that the market will retain its important function as a meeting place for people, where ideas and opinions are peacefully exchanged.

As night draws in, the business at the Suk al Milh begins to slow and we are weary from an exciting day getting lost in the tangle of the market. Winding through these vibrant alleyways is a unique and unforgettable experience, like living out the images from the storybooks of a thousand and one nights