Two ways to hell

You can't really avoid religion in Yemen, there are mosques everywhere, almost all women wear the full burkha and hijab - leaving only their eyes visible, and when everyone disappears to pray - kids look at me and ask why I am not joining them. And whilst everyone takes it all very seriously, I find it a little hard to resist - two items for your entertainment:

The nearest mosque to my hotel blares out the usual call to prayer five times a day - starting at 4.30am. Those ... ignoramuses whinge that it wakes them in the morning and why can't they keep their prayers private, meanwhile the Loiterer sleeps through the early calls, struggles to make them out over the general din on the streets, and relishes the diminished crowds meaning less waiting time at restaurants and shops. However every time I hear the call from my hotel I can't stop laughing as the iman's voice is breaking, he sounds like a teenager with all the hormones firing. The pitch waivers up and down without rhyme or reason, any note he tries to hold starts with some base in it and usually trails off in a high pitched squeal - and all of it amplified by dodgy amps and tinny speakers. At first I thought he was just having a bad day, but it has been going on all week, fives times a day. I wonder what Allah thinks as She hears her name exalted by a pimply teenager.

The second is this mosque that is just outside old Sanaa. The photo doesn't show too well but yes it is baby pink and white - possibly the world's first (and only) gay friendly mosque.