Yemen's Qat tradition

Before I went to Sana'a, I heard about how people chew qat there all the time because it is simply "legal narcotics". Of course, Yemenis never accept that it is drugs, or that it is bad for health, for them it is only herbs.

When I arrived there, I was shocked by the number of chewers, few start since the morning, more by  noon, and by the afternoon almost all men walking around the streets have a bulge in their cheeks.


While I overcame my shock months after the week I spent there in the capital, I could not prevent my eyes of getting very wide when I saw men talking on state TV, while they look like each have ate a tennis ball for breakfast! (Actually, they were blaming rebel tribesmen, who president Saleh to step down, on all the chaos in the country - but that's a different story).

Yemeni men in the capital Sana'a talking to state television

All were chewing. It was ok to come on TV, with their mouth full with the green substance, as it was fine to talk to tourists through a mouthful of leaves.