--- type: Video title: "Inside Yemen: A Country in Freefall πŸ‡ΎπŸ‡ͺ" description: The second half of the Yemen road trip β€” widows in Wadi Doan on what the ranking actually means, a khat market, and al-Mukalla's fish trade, sesame camel and Saddam Hussein portraits. tags: [yemen, wadi-doan, al-mukalla, women, khat, fish-market, food, somalia] timestamp: 2026-08-05T12:00:00Z resource: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sy2AGeH8u3c video_id: Sy2AGeH8u3c upload_date: 2024-10-30 duration: 1225 --- # Inside Yemen: A Country in Freefall πŸ‡ΎπŸ‡ͺ The second half of the road trip, from [Wadi Doan](/places/wadi-doan.md) down to the coast at [Al-Mukalla](/places/al-mukalla.md). The through-line Harry sets himself is the one he flagged at the end of the first video and admits he could have overlooked: [Yemen](/countries/yemen.md) is ranked the worst place in the world to be a woman, and he wants that subject from women rather than about them. He gets it from a group of widows from the north, and from a woman in al-Mukalla who says she would drive if she had the means. Around it: a khat market with competing sellers, a fish market where the Somali workers earn more than the Yemenis, a camel walking in circles to press sesame oil, and a stranger who insists over tea that this place is not Yemen at all. ## Key moments - [00:00] The framing β€” a country on the edge of collapse, the worst place in the world to be a woman, and khat. - [00:31] Wadi Doan from the hotel, which he calls one of the most insane views he has seen. No tourists. The power went off for part of the night. - [01:06] Checkpoints β€” up to an hour waiting for one security shift to hand over to the next. He names this as the only bad thing about Yemen. - [01:37] The women who agree to talk, and his own caveat on camera that being able to pay is part of why. They are widows from the north. - [02:12] Their answers: government help does not reach them. - [02:48] The burka explained to him β€” covering the body so it is not an object of attraction. - [02:48] The male equivalent, asked for directly: nothing above the knee, so **shorts are forbidden in Yemen.** - [03:21] The figures β€” 6% of women in the workforce, over 50% of girls married before 18 β€” and the four reasons he gives: patriarchal tradition, a legal system shaped by Sharia, and a war that destroyed the schools and hospitals. - [03:52] Stopped in the street by two men who want to practise their English. - [04:23] Khalid, studying English, calls it a town of history and invites him home for coffee. - [04:53] Their explanation for the absence of tourists, and their message: they love all people and are against war anywhere. - [05:29] Gaza, named as what they want stopped. - [05:59] The khat market β€” about half the people he has met chew it. - [06:31] Around 30,000 for the good grade (from video – unverified), with good and bad quality sold side by side and every seller pushing his own. - [07:03] Why it's expensive here: it's grown in the north, which is Houthi-held. Tough negotiations follow. - [07:03] His description of the effect β€” about ten coffees. - [08:11] Boys arriving on bikes the moment they see a camera, asking his football team. He notes how unusually confident people are here; India is his comparison and even there people are shy. - [09:17] Al-Mukalla, the trade port and the end of the road. - [09:48] Huda, on the "worst place in the world to be a woman" ranking, and on driving: if she had the ability and the money, she would. - [10:53] Her henna, shown to the camera. - [11:23] A sesame oil press turned by a blindfolded camel walking in circles β€” thousands of years old and needing no electricity. It has no name, so Harry names it Bing Bong. - [11:56] The port is owned by the United Arab Emirates, which he offers as the clearest sign of how fragmented the country is. - [12:31] The fish market β€” the main thing to do here, reached before the catch is fully in. - [13:02] Somali workers, from directly across the water, who earn more than Yemenis because they are paid in dollars. - [13:39] Around 6,000 a kilogram (from video – unverified) β€” about $6 for one of the big fish, which he calls very reasonable. - [13:39] Saddam Hussein's portrait in car windows all over the city. [Jamal](/people/jamal.md) explains: a martyr and a hero for never betraying Muslims and for standing against the United States. - [14:15] Generators, which the richer households run for power around the clock. He recognises them from Lebanon and notes the environment isn't a priority anyone here can afford. - [14:47] A second wedding invitation, and how different it is from the first β€” one day rather than three nights, the contract signed on the spot, and four people marrying at once. The bride is at home again. - [15:56] Inside the preparation room of what he's told is the best mandi in [Seiyun](/places/seiyun.md) β€” goat in every part, including the heads he declines to film. - [16:29] Thirty goats a day, about $100 each. The cook has been to Malaysia to demonstrate his method. - [16:59] Cooked outside in a stone oven, slow, with the rice done separately. - [18:03] His verdict: some of the best meat he has eaten anywhere. - [18:38] Tea with a stranger who tells him this is not Yemen β€” it is South Arabia, its own country until sixty years ago and British before that. - [19:42] The closing: a transformative trip, and permanent gratitude for water, electricity, food and a clean bed. - [19:42] What Yemenis themselves hope for β€” that people recognise their shared interest and unite. ## Extracted pages - Places: [Al-Mukalla](/places/al-mukalla.md), [Wadi Doan](/places/wadi-doan.md), [Seiyun](/places/seiyun.md) - Country: [Yemen](/countries/yemen.md) - Person: [Jamal](/people/jamal.md) - Tips: [Walk into the fish market](/tips/walk-into-the-fish-market.md), [Haggle with a reference price](/tips/haggle-with-a-reference-price.md)