Eight days in Yemen

In 1976, Peter Schlesinger visited the Yemen Arab Republic - as the northern part of Yemen was then called. He was accompanying the photographer Eric Boman who was on a fashion shoot assignment for a French magazine. Yemen had been closed to foreigners for many years and in the interest of encouraging more tourism the government decided to court media outlets into coming to Yemen.

During the eight days he was there Schlesinger took hundreds of photographs documenting what he saw as he travelled from the capital Sanaa and on through the northern city of Sa'da where the Houthis are now fighting.

Schlesinger shared these images with Bernard Haykel, a professor at Princeton University and an expert on the Middle East who was taken aback at their existence as such documentation of Yemen in the 70s is so rare. Haykel provides a highly enriching introduction that brings to life the world Schlesinger captured with his camera. Together we have an unprecedented look at one of the Middle East's most extraordinary cultures with cities filled with ancient skyscrapers and its own visual language.