Photos

English version:

A morning, while I was walking in Sanaa, I saw a woman shaking off her carpet at the window, in the street I was passing by. When she saw me looking up, and smile, she made a sign, inviting me to come inside. It was my second day in town, and I felt very lucky and honored to be so easily and so quickly offered such an opportunity. I was fascinated by the facades, I was very curious to discover what it looked like indoors.

When I reached the first floor, I arrived nose to nose with two teenage girls without veils. They greeted me warmly, took my hand and gave me two kisses on the cheek to which I replied. That was so spontaneous and friendly!
I immediately felt at ease. They proposed me a mint tea, and while it was cooling down a bit, they leaded me to the roof from which we could have an incredible view on the city. It was very hot beacuse it was midday, and the light was not the best for photos but I couldn't help myself on this point and took my camera to fix that moment. This is the view from their roof. I wish I could have done their portraits as well but they opposed to my request a polite but firm refusal.

The purple/blue tree that you see is called a jacaranda, in french. I thought it was the first one I had seen, but when I came back to France I discovered that there was a big tree of the same kind in front of my mother's appartement!

A morning, while I was walking in Sanaa, I saw a woman shaking off her carpet at the window, in the street I was passing by. When she saw me looking up, and smile, she made a sign, inviting me to come inside. It was my second day in town, and I felt very lucky and honored to be so easily and so quickly offered such an opportunity. I was fascinated by the facades, I was very curious to discover what it looked like indoors.

When I reached the first floor, I arrived nose to nose with two teenage girls without veils. They greeted me warmly, took my hand and gave me two kisses on the cheek to which I replied. That was so spontaneous and friendly!
I immediately felt at ease. They proposed me a mint tea, and while it was cooling down a bit, they leaded me to the roof from which we could have an incredible view on the city. It was very hot beacuse it was midday, and the light was not the best for photos but I couldn't help myself on this point and took my camera to fix that moment. This is the view from their roof. I wish I could have done their portraits as well but they opposed to my request a polite but firm refusal.

The purple/blue tree that you see is called a jacaranda, in french. I thought it was the first one I had seen, but when I came back to France I discovered that there was a big tree of the same kind just in front of my mother's appartement!

Version française:

Un matin, alors que je marchais dans Sanaa, j'ai vu une femme secouer son tapis à la fenêtre, dans la rue dans laquelle je passais. Quand elle m'a vu lever les yeux et sourire, elle m'a fait un signe, m'invitant à venir à l'intérieur. C'était mon deuxième jour en ville, et je me suis sentie très chanceuse et honorée de me voir offrir si facilement et si rapidement une telle occasion. J'étais fascinée par les façades, j'étais donc très curieuse de découvrir les intérieurs. Quand j'ai atteint le premier étage, je suis tombée nez à nez avec deux adolescentes sans voiles. Elles m'ont salué chaleureusement, ont pris ma main et m'ont fait deux bises sur la joue auxquelles j'ai répondu. C'était si spontané et amical ! Je me suis immédiatement sentie à l'aise. Elle m'ont offert un thé à la menthe, et tandis qu'il refroidissait un peu, m'ont entraîné sur le toit d'où l'on pouvait admirer une vue incroyable sur la ville. Il faisait très chaud parce que c'était midi, et la lumière n'était pas la meilleur pour faire des photos mais j'ai pas pu m'en empêcher, et j'ai empoigné mon appareil pour fixer ce moment.

C'est la vue de leur toit. J'aurais bien voulu aussi faire leurs portraits mais elles ont opposé à ma demande un refus poli mais ferme.

L'arbre mauve/bleu que vous voyez s'appelle un jacaranda. Je croyais que c'était la première fois que j'en voyais un, mais quand je suis revenue en France j'ai découvert qu'il y avait un grand juste devant chez ma mère!