It was raining just afte 6 o?clock on the second night of Ramadan* but reddish sunlight reminded hungry fasters that it was not yet time to eat. Hadda Street in in Sana?a was barren. A few busses to Bab Al-Yemen flew past me and the other wet stragglers trying to get home. The bus drivers were in a hurry- it was almost time to break the day?s fast. I wondered if the drivers could see me waving at them through the rain and mist. I moved further into the street.A minibus that was labeled ?Tahreer? stopped* and the driver said he was changing routes and going to the Bab. Around 6:30* the driver must have heard the melodic calls from the mosques announcing the end of the fast* because he passed dates back to me and the other two passengers. All I heard was the rain pounding on the metal roof of the minibus.Water sprayed into the open doors* and we zipped down the empty streets. Suddenly* it was night. Ahead we saw street lights reflecting off a wet road descending into a brown river* and the driver slowed the bus. A taxi in front of us had driven around the next corner* and was now backing out. Our driver pressed on* past an empty car and another minibus* abandoned in the flood. Soon the river covered the tires* and splashed onto the floor of the bus. We moved slowly* but our wake still broke over the raised sidewalk. I wondered if the bus was going to make it. On the sidewalk* men socialized and ate under awnings and in shops. As we inched by* several men* who chomped while they watched the bus* cheered. At the same moment* the man on the front bench and I realized that the people on the sidewalk were encouraging us because our bus was conquering the flood. We both laughed. When we rolled back onto a solid ground* I didn?t recognize know where we were. There are many routes from Hadda Street to the Bab* and this one was new to me. The other passengers got off the bus* and there were few* if any* streetlights.A few minutes later* the driver told me he couldn?t make it to the Bab because of the floods* but he would drop me off as close as possible.When I got off the bus* the water was about a foot deep* and the current flowed fast. As I trudged through the streets* bits of trash and plastic bags swept by me. A few men picked through the water with bare feet* and robes in hand. On the sidewalk and under tarps men and boys were eating. I hopped up onto the crowded sidewalk and saw a couple of teenage boys in track suits breaking their fast under a blue tarp attached to a building. The rain was loud and they did not look up.?Excuse me?? I said. They could not hear me over the rain drumming on their tarp. I repeated myself louder. ?Excuse me?? They continued eating.?Guys!? I shouted.They looked up mid-chew* and one told me the Bab was straight ahead.When I reached the corner of Bab Al-Yemen Street* there was a happy* just-fed crowd on the corner. Some were pressed against the buildings to stay dry* but most stood in the rain on the edge of the raised sidewalk* watching the action in the lake that once was an intersection. Slowly* cars descended into the deep. When they rolled back up to solid ground* the growing crowd cheered. A white car with a flat roof got stuck. A half a dozen men hiked their white robes up and hooked them onto their traditional jambiyya knives. They plodded into the water* laughing. They pushed and the car?s wheels reconnected with the asphalt. The driver pulled out of the lake and the spectators on the sidewalk celebrated.A burly man with wet black hair looked proud and delighted.?Cool* right?? he said. I agreed. The next morning* the rivers had turned back into roads. The Old City was quiet and dry* and the date shops were closed.Around 10 o?clock* while most people rested after a night of feasting and praying* the markets slowly came back to life. Later that day* as the third night of Ramadan drew closer* the rain began to fall again and streets began to flood. By 5 o?clock* robes were hooked over jambiyya knives on Bab Al-Yemen Street and umbrellas covered the fruit in the market. Shoppers waded through the deepening river roads to buy last-minute items for the coming night?s feast.And as the time to eat drew nearer* the intersection flooded* and the first minibus of the night got stuck. About five men jumped into the muddy water and pushed* ready to celebrate another rainy night of Ramadan....

المزيد...