My Visit to the Foreign Ministry in Yemen
The Foreign Ministry building sits on a wide-open plot of land adjacent to to major roads in Sana’a. The building looks fairly modern, and there is a security entrance off one of the main roads. There is a small hut with one guard, and the typical rolling rail of 6” metal spikes across the driveway.
We pull up to the outer perimeter entrance and the driver tells the guard I’m an American journalist. The man looks in the car and waves us in without any inspection of the vehicle, my back, the trunk, etc. We pull up to the second gate, which is at a fence that surrounds the building complex, and the driver again tells the guard I’m an American journalist. The guard tells the driver to park the car and I get out. I walk to the gate and a man asks to look in my bag. I open it, and he asks a question I can’t quite understand. He then says “TV?” I say, “radio.” With that he waves me in and points to the building.
It’s not clear whether I should enter the side by the gate or walk around to the front. I walk in the side and expect to walk through a security check and then announce myself.
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