When a Stranger in a Niqab Rescued Me

I was stuck. Not on the Wordle word of the day. Not on how to escape from a boring conversation at a party. Not even on how to complete my tax return. I was a white girl with about five words of Arabic, stuck with nowhere to go and no-one to help me, in a big city in Yemen. 

I was at the tail end of a fascinating six weeks travelling around that beautiful country. It was the kind of place where you felt you’d stepped back a thousand years into something like Arabian Nights. It was thrilling. I’d been travelling from city to city, visiting friends of friends, using the local bus service and in public, always wearing a hijab and abaya (a long black overdress). I’d gained confidence in managing by myself, felt very safe and was treated very respectfully. Putting on a hijab is an artform which I’d nailed. Getting the right amount of tension in the wrapping so that it doesn’t slip off, let a strand of hair peek out, and declare you to be immodest!