The Emir of Wady Hadhramaut and his Harem

Anyone who has lived or spent time in Hadhramout, especially in the Wady, will most probably have seen baboons; the hamadryas baboon, which belongs to the Genus Papio species and which is the northernmost of all the baboons. The same type of baboons can also be found in: Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Saudi Arabia. It's the hamadryas baboons which the ancient Egyptians revered and depicted in their art as sacred.

It's said that the hamadryas baboons were introduced to the Arabian Peninsula, by the ancient Egyptians. These days, due to human encroachment and modernization, the sight of these primates is becoming very rare here. Most baboons here and in Saudi Arabia - live very close to human settlements. Humans, as always, the most dangerous, most aggressive and most selfish of all living creatures - haven't been caring or kind to the baboons; and as these baboons are crop pests, that makes it even more difficult for them to survive.

'Kumo' Search to be unveiled

Here we go: before we can even get used to Wolfram Alpha and its unique way of giving search results, Microsoft is said to be planning to unveil its newest search engine, Kumo, next week. What happened to Live Search? Wasn't Live, which has been 'updated' several times, supposed to have been the 'killer'? Microsoft, from before, should have named Live Search, Kumo,and then worked on it, fine tuning it to compete with Google and Yahoo. As it is, Live Search, is incomplete and not at all competent or good enough. And now it means that, probably - all the other Windows Live products will be Kumoed too.

Microsoft spent an enormous amount of resources and time, on Windows Live, and now it's doing the same with Kumo. Unlike before with Live - which Microsoft vigorously and aggressively advertised, with 90,000 Microsoft employees currently testing Kumo, Microsoft is being rather very reserved and quiet about its new product.

The ouskirts of Tarim

Tarim or Tareem , pronounced tarīm, (Arabic: تريم‎) - which has been chosen by the cultural organization ISESCO as the Islamic cultural capital for 2010 - is not only known and famous for its libraries and 300 plus mosques; or for its stunning architecture, palaces and mansions; or for its excellent traditional, master craftsmen and masons; or for its rich history, culture and centers for knowledge. Tarim too, is known for its beautiful outskirts and countryside.

Site of Note: Healthy Muslim

It is sad, but a fact that very few Muslim websites are absorbing and interesting enough to capture one's imagination; even fewer are original or innovative. Once in a while, there comes a site that truly shows the best and positive sides of Islam. That show the beauty of Islam. One of those very few sites that I find truly absorbing, informative and useful is: HealthyMuslim.

Any one looking for health tips and information, with reference and relevance to Islamic teachings will find Healthy Muslim very absorbing and full of information. As they say on their site: Healthy Muslim is a a growing online resource that aims to provide coverage on all aspects of health, nutrition and disease with a specific focus on natural health and sound principles of nutrition.

The date palms of Hadhramout threatened

Date palms are amazing plants: they are dioecious, that is - they have separate male and female plants; they are naturally wind polluted; after planting, date palms take 4 to 7 years before bearing fruit; they ripen in four stages, which are known throughout the world by their Arabic names kimri (unripe), khalal (full-size, crunchy), rutab (ripe, soft), tamr (ripe, sun-dried; fresh dates are rich in vitamin C and energy; dried dates can be and are eaten by both humans and animals and young date leaves can be cooked and be eaten as vegetable. Dates can also be used as medicine. More on dates here, here, here and here.

Can Wolfram Alpha compete against Google?

In less than a week, on May the 18th, the much anticipated Wolfram Alpha search engine will be launched. When it launches, 'it will be one of the most computationally intensive websites on the internet', so claims Wolfram|Alpha on its blog; however different the search engine, which its creators insist is not a search engine but a 'computational knowledge engine' - wants to be and wants to give search results, it still has to serve the same one main purpose as Google, Yahoo and the other major search engines and what they strive to be - Wolfram Alpha has to answer questions and give search results in a way that is useful. Google, has so far, excelled at doing that.

Two great books on Hadhramout

For any one interested in reading, learning and knowing about Hadhramout, two voluminous books are a must read: 'Indian Ocean migrants and state formation in Hadhramaut' (hardcover: 589 pages) by Ulrike Freitag and the other 'Hadhrami traders, scholars, and statesmen in the Indian Ocean' ( hardcover: 392 pages) also by Ulrike Freitag; and William Clarence-Smith.

Indian Ocean Migrants..... was published in 2003, about 6 years after Hadhrami Traders...... Both books were written by very gifted, skilled scholars: Dr. Ulrike Freitag is a lecturer and presently is the Director at the Center for Modern Oriental Studies, Berlin, in conjunction with an S-Islamic studies professor, FU-Berlin; and Professor William Clarence-Smith is a celebrated historian, lecturer and writer from Britain.

Some reviews about the books:

Sights from Seiyoun, Wadi Hadhramaut

Seiyoun (Arabic: سيئون‎), some times spelt Seiyun, with a population of about 100,000, is the largest urban center and capital of Wady Hadhramout. It's famous for its splendid, intricately built mud bricked houses; and its palm trees and wonderful souqs in narrow streets, where: frankincense, myrrh, antique silver and authentic Hadhramy souvenirs are sold. On a recent visit, I took these pictures:

Ever heard of Dahabshiil?

It competes with some of the largest international money transfer companies in the world. Here in Yemen, it does more international money transfers than Western Union or any other international money transfer company. Its head quarters is in a most unlikely place: Hargeysa, the largest city in the northwestern Somaliland and the second largest urban area in Somalia after Mogadishu. Note: Somaliland is the former British Somaliland, and Hargeysa was its colonial capital from 1941 to 1960 when it joined with the Italian Somaliland to form the Republic of Somalia.