Qat Markets

The afternoon markets where Sana'anis buy the daily leaf

Qat (or qaat) is the leaf-stimulant chewed by most of adult Yemeni society in the afternoon, and the qat markets that fan out across the city in the late morning are one of the most vivid spectacles of daily Sana'ani life. The largest are near Bab al-Yemen and along the road south of the old city — open-air stalls of green bundles, each variety carefully ordered by region, freshness, and price.

The buying ritual is precise: each man selects a particular variety (Hamdani, Khawlani, Hodeida and so on), tests a leaf, negotiates a price, and walks home with the bundle ready for the long afternoon makhzan session. Foreigners are welcome to watch and even buy. The chew itself is more social than chemical — a long conversation over a slowly-built pouch in the cheek.

things to do market
A story
Qat (Catha edulis) is a mild stimulant chewed across Yemen and the Horn of Africa. An estimated 60–80% of adult male Yemenis chew, and the afternoon qat session is the central social ritual of the country — sometimes 4–5 hours of conversation, politics, poetry, and gossip with a leaf-cheek-pouch the size of a tennis ball. The water-thirsty crop accounts for a large share of Yemen's agriculture and a significant share of its water table problem.

Other places in Things to Do