With more than 50 black & white images, the book is the travel journal of photographer Fabio Rangoni’s through Yemen. Inspired by old pictures taken by archeologists during the second half of the XIX century, these photos portray the life and places in San’a, the capital of northern Yemen - the ancient city set in the centre of a wide plateau and surrounded by walls whose legendary origin goes back to biblical time. Among the high and typical towers of this city, considered as miracles of architecture, Rangoni documented life habits and history of the place that fascinated Italian poet Pier Paolo Pasolini, who shot a documentary film about the city and some scenes of his film Il Fiore delle Mille e una Notte. Photos are accompanied by a collection of unpublished poems by Yemeni poet ‘Abd al-’Aziz al-Maqalih. The publication of these verses is due to the encounter between the photographer and Isabella Camera D’Afflitto, Professor of Oriental Studies who suggested Rangoni to introduce these poems in the book. Fabio Rangoni writes: “The experience of visiting Yemen had a great impact on myself; literally, a journey into another dimension of space and time, a dimension where matter has a predominant role and men, animals, earth, mud, towns, towers, water tanks, city walls, market stalls dance around as if under a spell; they continuously gather together and break apart in a slow rhythm so different from our daily lives”. Fabio Rangoni lives and works in Bologna, Italy. Isabella Camera D’Afflitto is Professor of Modern Arabic Literature in the Departmment of Oriental Studies at “La Sapienza” University in Rome. ‘Abd al-’Aziz al-Maqalih, born in 1937, is one of the greatest contemporary Arabian poets. Between 1972 and 2005 he has published 13 collections of poems and several critical essays. He has been awarded several Arabian and international prizes. ‘Abd al-’Aziz al-Maqalih is currently Head of the University of San’a.
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