In recent months Yemen’s economic and social problems have been well documented but the most evident problem to the visiting tourist isn’t covered by the news.
It is ‘gat’, also pronounced ‘cat’ and spelled ‘QAT’ which is a legal drug openly available and openly consumed throughout the country. It is a growing concern as more and more of the population spend their earnings on this opiate. Our taxi driver, small-time tour operator and all-round nice bloke Selim takes Cilian of ‘Cobble’, Robbie of ‘Rhumb Do’ and Jamie on a tour of Aden.
He constantly refers to ‘Crazy Place’ which, we eventually find out in this podcast, is the Gat den. This covered market, with men selling the drug from wrought iron beds or from the back of their pick-up trucks, truly is a crazy place.
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Wow-I now realise listening to that how much of a problem qat has become. Sad really when you think that Yemen was famous for its coffee.
Yes, Mike, it was really sad. We loved the people of Aden, but after lunch they disintegrated before our eyes and the city ground to a standstill. It’s a tragedy to which the rest of the world is turning a blind eye.