SANAA, Yemen — The crowds shopping ahead of Eid al-Adha, the Muslim holiday also known as the "Festival of Sacrifice," start from Bab al-Yemen, the main gate of Sanaa's old fortified wall. Here, there is no indication that there is a war, as people chat, inspect the goods for sale and bargain for clothes and sweets. Most Yemenis have just two cheap items on their shopping list: henna, the red paint for hands and feet, and jambiya, a special knife with a curved blade.
With a few days to go until Eid al-Adha (Aug. 11-14), one of the vendors, just concluding a deal with a couple, turned around and asked how much henna I wanted to buy, assuming that I was a customer. He scooped up the henna with an old metal can, showing off its rusty red color.
