Bab al Jemen - De poort van Jemen

Documentary about everyday life in the Yemeni Republic. Simple traditions and customs characterise the Arab state of Yemen. Arranged marriages and tribal conflicts over land are commonplace. Yet in recent years there have been changes. Old habits increasingly have to give way to the achievements of the modern Western world. Bab al Yemen portrays sheiks, housewives, drillers for oil, guards and well diggers and sketches a picture of a changing society. In a world of Toyotas, Kalashnikov machine guns, tents and gat chewing, the Bab Al Yemen, the gate to the capital Sana'a that was still locked every night only thirty years ago, symbolises Yemen's turn to the modern world.