From the Land of Sheba

Although Yemen, at the southern tip of the Arabian Penisula, is one of the oldest inhabited regions of the world, in the West, it is one of the least known places. Ancient Yemen is mentioned in the Bible as the home to frankincense and myrrh, which was once more costly than gold; but what else do we know of this place the Romans called Felix Arabia? As stories often moved with commerce, perhaps some of our earliest stories were born in Yemen’s legendary incense groves and traveled with caravans around the world. The Romans called this land happy or prosperous because of the region’s geographic diversity: it is not just another country of vast deserts, and its history goes back thousands of years. Legends tell us, in fact, that Sana’a, the present-day capital, was established by Noah’s son, Shem. The fabled past is ever present in Yemen, and stories are told about events that happened long, long ago—as if they happened only yesterday. From the Land of Sheba brings a rich assortment of folktales from this ancient land.