Why Yemen’s Ancient Terraces Are My Wonder Of The World

The soil, treasured for centuries, turns steep Yemini slopes into fertile and productive land. Coffee grown here was served at London’s first coffee house in 1652

You always know you are about to see something interesting when the driver of your vehicle removes his shoes and firmly grasps the foot pedals with a powerful set of calloused toes. I was new to Yemen and had no idea what to expect. All I could see was that we were on a stony mountain plateau rushing towards a cliff edge in a Toyota pickup truck that no one had remembered to service and MOT.

The twin parallel tyre marks on the dusty mountain top took a sharp left and the horizon fell away into a hazy, bluish void. Our descent had begun: a bone-jarring series of lurches and crashes.