"stones being collected from the river at Jibla" - MH
 
Jibla is a town in south-western Yemen and was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List due to its purported universal cultural value. Queen Arwa’s Mosque can be found here "with its white painted walls the bright sunlight made it look as if it was all made of icing sugar" - MH. Queen Arwa was highly intelligent and during her reign she built several aqueducts, opened schools and mosques for girls, oversaw agriculture, wrote 2 books and was also supportive of the arts.
 
"A former capital during the rule of Queen Arwa 1064 to 1138, it seemed as if the town had changed little since. Laden donkeys waited outside in the narrow streets while their masters chatted and bargained. The scene was almost timeless.
After a fdull day spent sketching, painting and sightseeing I returned to Ibb, being able to hitch a lift for much of the way in a truck." - MH