Inside The Middle East

SHOW #57

Hosted by Hala Gorani from Oman

LAND OF FRANKINCENSE AND MONSOONS

Hala Gorani travels this month to an oasis in the Arabian desert, where monsoon rains create a unique ecosystem in Southern Oman. Sand and rock dominate this desert kingdom of Oman until one glimpses Salalah.  The monsoon season transforms Salalah into a uniquely green vision with waterfalls, rivers and plant growth not seen at other times of the year. IME visits Salalah, where we discover traces of the ancient frankincense road and follow in the footsteps of illustrious world travellers.

SAUDI WOMEN JUMP THROUGH HOOPS

The Jeddah United women's basketball team openly flaunts a law banning women playing sports in public in Saudi Arabia. The team, made up mostly of Saudi students and housewives, meets four days a week for practice. But finding a place to work-out is tough, as is even getting there, since women are banned from driving.  There are other women's basketball teams in Jeddah, but most maintain a low profile, for fear of drawing attention and being forced to shut down. But Jeddah United seeks to make public appearances in an effort to push for change. Wilf Dinnick reports.

JEWISH LIFE IN YEMEN

Yemen's ancient capital of Sana'a is so drenched in its devotion to Islam; but drive some thirty miles north, past villages steeped in Muslim culture, until you reach a cluster of homes, and you start to hear and see it. In the heart of this conservative Islamic country, the Jewish culture is preserved. To hear Hebrew so fluently entrenched in the tiny enclave of Khalef is surprising, and yet so natural for the few hundred Jews still left in Yemen. Paula Newton took a tour of their Jewish home, embedded in a Muslim homeland.