Harasi is another coffee region within a few hours of Sana'a. They have great coffee here, and more of the crop is terrace-grown than what we saw in Saihi the day before.

Our first visit to a coffee area was the Saih valley. The coffee from here is called Saihi, which is the normal conjugation here... coffee from Bani Mattar is Mattari, etc. This is coffee is different than the other origins we visited, because it is grown in the narrow confines of a valley, and it was the only place I saw the use of shade trees for the coffee in Yemen.

So basically we were on the main road between Hodeida and Sana'a, and we were going to meet farmers in the Haimi growing area. But we were flagged down and a turnout along the way by farmers from the Ismaili growing region (one of the most rugged regions, and known for intense coffee). They insisted we come with them to visit their coffee farms, have a meal, chew qat, and talk. How could we refuse? Well, in Yemen, you don't. So it was an ambush, a kidnapping ... but only in the friendliest of ways. What we were about to see was some of the most rugged terrain, incredbile stone terraces, most vertical roads (narrow too), a challenging hike, a great meal, hospitality, and no chance of getting back to Sana'a! So it turned into a Yemeni sleep-over, traditional style, on the floor. I also found out that, unless Duane was somehow channeling the prophet Muhammed in his sleep, the Sowaids are real sleep talkers. Imagine, I could have left Yemen and never known that.