We are in Damascus now, and continue to be very impressed by the Syrian hospitality. This is a good example of what I am talking about: Chris and I were just walking in a busy square and I had taken a drink from our water bottle, which was about half full and very warm. An employee at the Commercial Bank of Syria came out of the bank and welcomed us, and offered to replace the warm water with cold, from inside the bank. Shocked, I handed over the bottle and watched him run into the bank. When he came back he handed over the bottle of cold water, and told us that he was very happy we were here. I don’t know about anyone else, and though I am a big fan of my local TD branch, that certainly went above and beyond!!
Damascus is the oldest continually inhabited city in the world (I know that Aleppo vies for that title, but Damascus seems to win). We spent the morning getting lost in the souque. You can feel the age of the city when walking down the very narrow streets and looking at the different stores, mosques and homes. One blackened little shop had an anvil and a fire, with a man sitting on the floor pounding on what looked like a pair of scissors. Next door to that was a man selling beautiful silk scarves. We also visited the Umayyad Mosque, built in 705 AD. Upon entry, all non covered women (which are primarily the tourists visitng) must put on a hooded robe, and everyone must remove their shoes. The mosque is very elaborate, and has 3 minarets and a huge courtyard that enter into 4 large halls for prayers, gatherings, etc. There is white, pink and black marble everywhere, and the most gorgeous well preserved mosaics decorating the interior walls. Al-Hussein’s Hall is the shrine to Al-Hussein, the Muslim name for John the Baptist. His head is in a huge iron box covered with a shroud, and it seems to be a big attraction for visitors to the mosque. (Have to correct an earlier posting from Selcuk… It was not John the Baptist’s tomb there, it was the Apostle John’s). The mosque is a nice, cool place to sit and relax and watch the world go by. Everyone is welcome there, as long as they are modestly dressed and respectful.
We are in Syria just prior to an election (voting is tomorrow). The current president, Bashar Al-Assad will clearly be the winner (not actually sure if there is another candidate, though this is a democracy…) - The people here have devoted great effort to show their love for him…his face is literally everywhere, and there have been parades, rallies, parties, crazy loud music, dancing in the streets etc, for the whole week and in every city we have visited. It is diffcult to pass by one of the campaign tents without being pulled in for coffee, a chat or even a dance! I asked Chris how many times he guesses that we have seen Bashar’s face since arriving in Syria… he guessed 85,000. In Palmyra we were invited for coffee by a lone man who was manning the tent in the early afternoon. He spoke about 5 words of English (”welcome” being one of them, of course), and the only clear communication that we had for the 15 minutes we were there was when I said “Bashar” and gave a thumbs up. He then said “Bashar, Bashar, Bashar!”, pounding his fist in the air triumphantly!! It was hilarious.
We are heading to Jordan tomorrow and looking forward to it very much. The Middle East has been fascinating and can’t wait to see more.
Note: Chris has also posted today, so read on!!
P
Don’t just focus on politics and history ;
Have some Baclava ,
Simon
May 28th, 2007
Hey guys,
Don’t forget to try Kunafa with cheese . It’s great
Mo Lafta
May 30th, 2007