- [Ale] How's life in Yemen for him?
(translator speaking in Yemeni arabic)
(man speaks in Yemeni arabic)
- Thanks God we're still alive.
- What's going on in Yemen?
- [Reporter] The Arab world's poorest country.
(tank discharging) (gunfire blaring)
- [Interviewer] 13 years old and you wanna fight?
(man speaking in foreign language)
- A civil war has been raging in Yemen.
- [Reporter] It's a proxy battle between
Iran and Saudi Arabia.
- [Reporter] Houthis rebels backed by Iran.
- Fight the Yemeni president
backed by a Saudi-led coalition of Arab countries.
- The worst humanitarian crisis in the world.
- [Reporter] The largest ever outbreak of cholera.
It's the children who suffer most.
- Nearly every single Yemeni child.
- The damage is absolutely devastating.
- I'm going to Yemen.
So we are now in a city called Shibam.
The buildings, they are all kind of a tall building.
They have this weird elevation, very colorful.
You can see mud bricks as well.
A lot of shops selling clothes, backpacks, antiques;
literally, you can find absolutely anything.
Pay attention to the way all this stuff is built.
I mean, if you're an architect,
how do you even calculate all the stuff?
- Shibam got to make these tall houses
to be seen from distance.
You will see different towns,
they don't like these towers, these big houses.
So the Manhattan of Arabia is the original,
and the Manhattan that you have is a copy.
- This is kind of an antique shop.
Trying to get some kind of souvenir here.
- It's a wood sculpture
of Shibam
This is Shibam. - [Ale] Wow.
- It's all wood made by cedar.
Cedar tree is the tree which brings the seeds
for the bees, where they take
the best luxury honey in the world.
Only exists here.
- [Ale] What are your names?
- Ali. - Ali.
- Shahzar.
- [Ale] Shahzar.
- Yasim. - Yasim.
- Amal. - Amal.
Like in other countries in the Middle East,
they're very quiet in the mornings
and there's a lot of people in the afternoon and night.
I guess, probably the weather.
I see a lot of people on the streets.
(men speaking in Yemeni arabic)
Really the buildings, they look super impressive.
Have some people looking at me at the moment
and then kind of hide.
Wherever you go, even if you do like,
I don't know, five minutes walk,
a bunch of people will gather and start following you.
Don't get me wrong,
but they're just curious about what you do,
and this is one of the most interesting things
about this place.
(child speaks in Yemeni arabic)
All the kids are, as I told you before,
kind of following us and they're just playing.
What is that?
What is this?
They kind of use this stuff to play.
How do you do it? Like you just roll it, huh?
Show me.
Tell me something about the knife.
- It's called the jambiya.
The first historical proof about the jambiya,
it's on the 50 rial bill.
The king who wear the jambiya, Dhamar Ali.
It's called jambiya because it comes on jamb, on the side.
The original ones used to be from the rhino horns.
That's why it's forbidden to buy
anymore horn jamiyas from Africa anymore
because we have millions of the jambiyas.
Long ago, with the sword,
if you want to defend yourself at night or anytime,
it would take time that you take the sword,
but the dagger is so easy and quick.
So it's only for dancing and self-defense.
And when the man working in the farm,
he put the dagger in his back like this,
then he can work in the farm.
And when he wants to sleep
and he's in the desert or anywhere else,
he put it aside and he can sleep easy.
(rhythmic Middle Eastern music)
- We're exploring a different way of the city
and we have kids over there playing football.
So yesterday we saw volleyball.
Now, they're playing football.
In the half time, some drinkable water,
and then they keep playing football over there.
Penalty time.
(kids cheering)
Barcelona or Real Madrid?
- Madrid.
- [Ale] Messi, or Cristiano Ronaldo?
- Messi.
- Messi or Cristiano?
- Messi.
- Benzema.
- [Ale] Benzema, oh!
Messi or Cristiano?
- Mbappe. - Mbappe.
- Messi! - Messi.
- Mbappe! - Cristiano.
- I love this. This is football, right?
This is the passion.
Everyone is like "Messi, Cristiano, Mbappe."
This is so cool, you see?
Football is one thing that is always bringing us together
In Yemen or anywhere you want.
Probably if it's the first time here,
you think it's like an old town,
but the whole city is like that.
(man speaks in Yemeni Arabic)
- [Translator] He's making the wooden houses
that you have bought, so you are helping him.
- [Ale] How's life in Yemen for him?
(translator speaks in Yemeni Arabic)
(man speaks in Yemeni Arabic)
- Thanks God we're still alive.
- [Ale] Is he happy about everyday life
or he needs to have multiple jobs?
(translator speaks in Yemeni Arabic)
(man speaks in Yemeni Arabic)
- Satisfied with what Allah brought.
- This is really, really impressive.
Closing the shop now because it's closed for prayers
and they need to go to the mosque which is right here.
(member chanting)
We need to hurry up 'cause you cannot stay for long
in many of these places.
It's only for few minutes you can really explore this.
(lamb baaing)
Have a lot of people around now kind of following us
just to know what we're doing and stuff.
(intense music)
So we're now close to the valley.
This area is spectacular.
What's your name?
- Hi, my name's Abdhal Timime. I'm in high school.
- [Ale] How is life in Yemen?
- Really good. I enjoy my life in Yemen.
I'm so pleased for what I have.
- [Ale] How is a normal day in your life?
- I wake up at six o'clock or at five o'clock.
I go to pray first.
And then, go to school until 1:00 PM.
I come back to home, have lunch,
then go to the institute at the evening.
And at night, I study
and make a quick review for my lessons,
and then I sleep at nine o'clock.
Yeah, that's a summary.
- [Ale] So it looks like a simple life, good life?
- Yeah.
- [Ale] And studying a lot?
- Not a lot. (all laughing)
- [Ale] Do you like football?
- Yeah.
- [Ale] What do people play here? Football, volleyball?
What is the national sport?
- Well yesterday, at my school,
we played football and volleyball,
also we played basketball.
- Yeah? - Yeah.
- [Ale] And in football, what team you like?
- For teams, I like-
- [Friends] Madrid.
- Real Madrid.
- [Ale] Real Madrid, nice one.
- [Group] Welcome to Yemen!
- Don't know exactly what we're gonna see now,
but it's gonna be a special dance, right?
- Some people call it sharh.
- How did you say it again?
- Sharh. - Sharh.
Sharh. (rhythmic music)
- You, say stop at any time.
Different time, yeah, say stop.
- [Ale] Stop. - Here?
Show it.
All those cards, different.
(crowd chuckling)
All cards will...
- Whoa! - What the hell!
- Congratulations, I loved your trick.
- Yes.
- So this is a little bit strange
because once again I'm kind of showing you another hotel.
It looks pretty nice.
But can't forget we're still in Yemen
and this is the safe way for us to do this.
It's not my first choice as I told you before.
This village is called Haid Al-Jizil.
We can see mud brick buildings of the village
that are built on a huge boulder
and overlooking the whole valley.
This is where we're going now.
(rhythmic Middle Eastern music)
So we are very, very, very close to the valley here.
You can see all those buildings made out of brick.
They're very colorful, yellowish.
You can listen to some Yemeni music on the back
because we have somebody with their car
put on some local music to try to understand that
a little bit further.
Obviously, we have some security with us,
so we'll probably stay for another two minutes
'cause we need to move fast from here.
(relaxing Middle Eastern music)
Today, we met three different generations
and I wanna share with you a quick thought
coming to my mind.
First generation was in Shibam
where we met those kids playing football
who were so happy and passionate.
Even in the toughest times,
the spirit of these Yemeni children was truly inspiring.
Second generation was in this village
where we met a group of high school students
who shared with us their lives in Yemen.
Completely unexpected, but they also performed for us
and even played a few tricks with the cards.
Always smiling and positive about the future.
The third and final generation
was that gentleman crafting those souvenirs in the market.
He shared his gratitude for being alive
despite the challenges he's faced in Yemen.
- [Translator] Thanks God we're still alive.
- [Ale] The three generations have something in common:
strength, resilience, and hope.
These are the people of Yemen.
Thank you for watching. And see you in episode 3.
(soothing Middle Eastern music)