In Damascus, we are regularly asked how we find Syria. Everyone is very concerned with the impression of Syria in the Western media, and wants Syria to be known for its good people and safe travel.
Since we are at the end of our trip, we thought this would be a good time to go back over some of our expectations, surprises, and impressions.
E expected Syria to be a place of surprises, but had no idea what these surprises might be. M assumed the travel would be easy and was surprised by some of the challenges.
We were largely pleased with the generosity of the people we met, and the difficulty of refusing a cup of tea. Backgammon, nargilehs, and children are signs of a good life. Young boys run around all over Syria. They fall down, and they get up without crying and keep running around. Older boys balance on the tops of ruins. Women, young and old, move in flocks. The run-ins we had that were not positive, seem to derive from the parts of society that are more sexually segregated and repressed (largely in Aleppo and Hama). We saw no anti-Western behavior. There is clearly a very large young, urban population that is very in touch with the Western world - iphones, ringtones, and clothes. We wonder if big changes in culture and religion are on the horizon in Syria, but are reminded also of the very traditional lifestyles that are still found around the country as well.
Traveling is not easy, but works well with patience and the recognition that time in Syria does not run on Western clocks. We had mixed experiences with food and wish our stash of granola bars had been greater. Mid-range hotels were largely bug-free and AC-ed, but probably best parallel budget-range hotels in the Western world. Busses work well for moves between major cities, the major downside of train travel is the difficulty of purchasing tickets and the early-departure times. Private cars are great for sites, but smoking drivers and other problems may arise. Prices are always to high, so bargain, bargain, bargain. Gas costs nothing here, so calculate by the time. Shopping in the souqs is a must-do, but dont expect to find "unique" treasures. Bargain, and look for workshops if there is time.
We came here for E to visit the sites and museums and we are leaving having seen so much more. Tells are not for everyone, but they are for us. Syria is often called the "crossroads" of civilizations and we saw why. Sites in Syria cover almost all of human history. People come here to see Crusader sites or Islamic architecture at its finest but they also find some of the best preserved Roman ruins in the world and dozens of ancient tells. Many times, as with the statues from Palmyra, the blending of West and East artistic traditions is evident. Christians and Muslims cohabit in the major cities, and sties like Dura Europos reminded us that this is not a new circumstance. Sites in mountains, on the sea, and in the desert exhibit a variety of adjustments to the local environment: brick architecture near the mountains, mud-brick along the Euphrates, and the tents of the Bedouins still dot the perimeters of the cities.
It wasn’t easy, but it was remarkable. Inshallah, we will see Syria again.
Monday, July 6, 2009
You might be in Syria if...
You get confused between the pool showers and bathrooms because they look so similar.
You have a familiar pain in your stomach.
The sign above a road side gas station reads "DIZEL."
You cant find Coca-Cola products but you can find Ugarit Cola.
Red means cold, blue means hot. Or the shower has two faucets that both say "H".
7/10 songs on the radio use the word "Habibi," "beloved". For variation, "Ya habibi", something like "hey beloved."
Children throw stones. For fun.
Fisherman fish. With bombs.
People say "donkey" and you dont know why. You may also see donkeys, even in the city.
The beduoin tricycle-truck. Full of people and ready to fall over at any minute.
A whole family can fit on a motorcycle.
A car backs up. On a main road.
Speed limits are ignored. As are lanes.
The American president is Muslim. Surprise.
You see the Mari water goddess. Everywhere.
Car horns are used more often than the break.
Seatbelts are tucked into the backseat. Apparently safety ruins the decorative appeal.
Every other person is smoking a nargileh.
A bottle of water at a store = SL 25. At a hotel resteraunt, this same bottle = SL 125. (US $ 2.50)
A plain cheese pizza has olives, tomatoes, and spices.
Your Lonely Planet guide is wrong. About opening hours, quality, names of resteraunts, maps, bus companies, and more.
Your taxi driver has no idea where you are going, and doesn't know street names.
The guards at the museums will let you take photos. For Bakshish.
You driver insists on buying you juice, cookies, or water. He (a) wants bakshish or (b) went inside to get directions. Probably both.
Opening hours subject to change.
The jewelry seller in the souq tells you he has a necklace with the Ugaritic alphabet. He then points to a stone and says: "See this stone? This is the color of sincerity." You say: "I can read Ugaritic, and thats not the alphabet." He coughs and says "Ah. I see."
Figeh water bottles leave blue stains on your hand and clothes.
You are at a site, and the driver comes over. Just to make sure you haven't been eaten by dogs.
The train is a family free-for-all. So are planes.
You have to squeegee the bathroom floor after each shower to avoid flooding.
"Do not disturb" signs dont exist at hotels. If they do, they are ignored.
A menu entry says "Chicken dinner." You ask the waiter what this is. He says: "Chicken."
Facebook is blocked at the internet cafe. So is your blog.
Dinner is at 10pm.
Feral cats want your dinner. You decide to eat inside.
Cracks in the windshield are not a concern.
Breakfast is woeful. Unless you like cheese and olives at 8am.
Each shop in the souq makes or produces its own goods. You start to get suspicious.
You stop noticing photos of the president. Because you've seen so many.
People bang their two index fingers together to ask if you are married. Then they ask (slightly horrified): "No baby?"
The sound of Celine Dion blasts across the Palmyran desert.
You have a familiar pain in your stomach.
The sign above a road side gas station reads "DIZEL."
You cant find Coca-Cola products but you can find Ugarit Cola.
Red means cold, blue means hot. Or the shower has two faucets that both say "H".
7/10 songs on the radio use the word "Habibi," "beloved". For variation, "Ya habibi", something like "hey beloved."
Children throw stones. For fun.
Fisherman fish. With bombs.
People say "donkey" and you dont know why. You may also see donkeys, even in the city.
The beduoin tricycle-truck. Full of people and ready to fall over at any minute.
A whole family can fit on a motorcycle.
A car backs up. On a main road.
Speed limits are ignored. As are lanes.
The American president is Muslim. Surprise.
You see the Mari water goddess. Everywhere.
Car horns are used more often than the break.
Seatbelts are tucked into the backseat. Apparently safety ruins the decorative appeal.
Every other person is smoking a nargileh.
A bottle of water at a store = SL 25. At a hotel resteraunt, this same bottle = SL 125. (US $ 2.50)
A plain cheese pizza has olives, tomatoes, and spices.
Your Lonely Planet guide is wrong. About opening hours, quality, names of resteraunts, maps, bus companies, and more.
Your taxi driver has no idea where you are going, and doesn't know street names.
The guards at the museums will let you take photos. For Bakshish.
You driver insists on buying you juice, cookies, or water. He (a) wants bakshish or (b) went inside to get directions. Probably both.
Opening hours subject to change.
The jewelry seller in the souq tells you he has a necklace with the Ugaritic alphabet. He then points to a stone and says: "See this stone? This is the color of sincerity." You say: "I can read Ugaritic, and thats not the alphabet." He coughs and says "Ah. I see."
Figeh water bottles leave blue stains on your hand and clothes.
You are at a site, and the driver comes over. Just to make sure you haven't been eaten by dogs.
The train is a family free-for-all. So are planes.
You have to squeegee the bathroom floor after each shower to avoid flooding.
"Do not disturb" signs dont exist at hotels. If they do, they are ignored.
A menu entry says "Chicken dinner." You ask the waiter what this is. He says: "Chicken."
Facebook is blocked at the internet cafe. So is your blog.
Dinner is at 10pm.
Feral cats want your dinner. You decide to eat inside.
Cracks in the windshield are not a concern.
Breakfast is woeful. Unless you like cheese and olives at 8am.
Each shop in the souq makes or produces its own goods. You start to get suspicious.
You stop noticing photos of the president. Because you've seen so many.
People bang their two index fingers together to ask if you are married. Then they ask (slightly horrified): "No baby?"
The sound of Celine Dion blasts across the Palmyran desert.
Day 42
Its our last day in Syria (sniff*). Day 42. A few final notes:
Sunset on Mount Qassioun, overlooking Damascus, seems to no longer be a sight and sound experience. The view is amazing but the local popularity of the site means cars, horns, radios, and chatter obscure the sound of the call to worship that goes off when the sun sets.
No Conversion to British Pounds in Syria.
Just learned onions cure all stomach problems. (FOL)
Songs, flags, and Shiite travellers in Ummayad mosque around the shrine of Mohammed's grandson.
Finished the last of the really great boraks (fried pastry with cheese).
M learns how a nargileh works and that all his apple-flavored smokes actually ARE made of tabacco.
It now costs $30 instead of $4 to get OUT of Syria. (Its free to get in.)
Sunset on Mount Qassioun, overlooking Damascus, seems to no longer be a sight and sound experience. The view is amazing but the local popularity of the site means cars, horns, radios, and chatter obscure the sound of the call to worship that goes off when the sun sets.
No Conversion to British Pounds in Syria.
Just learned onions cure all stomach problems. (FOL)
Songs, flags, and Shiite travellers in Ummayad mosque around the shrine of Mohammed's grandson.
Finished the last of the really great boraks (fried pastry with cheese).
M learns how a nargileh works and that all his apple-flavored smokes actually ARE made of tabacco.
It now costs $30 instead of $4 to get OUT of Syria. (Its free to get in.)
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Wrapping up
We arrived in Damascus mid-day Thursday and are trying to squeeze in some more sightseeing, shopping and (over) eating before we head back home on Tuesday.
After an exhausting day wandering around Bosra, we treated ourselves to a nice dinner at the Halabi restaurant in the Four Seasons. M's favorite thing about this plus is all the free stuff you get! The waiter explained that in Syria giving you more and more food is about hospitality, so while we only ordered 4 plates, there were 7 on the table, plus a big fruit platter at the end! The icing on the cake was the famous Aleppan cherry kebab that the chef sent to us. Delicious.
Today, we've been re-visiting the Christian quarter of the Old City. We began with a cab ride to the Bab Kisan - one of the many "bab"s, or gates, to the Old City. This bab, however, is hardly a gate anymore, as the present site is a chapel dedicated to St. Paul. It is, in fact, the Biblical site where Paul fled the city of Damascus by bing lowered from a gate in a basket. From here, we followed the old city wall up to "Straight Street" with the remains of the Roman gate and evidence of what would have been a long collonade like those we have now seen at Palmyra and the Apamea. Just north, along a side street, is the chapel of Ananais, an early Damascene Christian, and purportedly one of the 72 chosen disciples (? I dont have a Bible on hand), as well as one of the players in Saul/Paul's healing and conversion in Damascus. Along the way we passed various Christian shrines to various saints, ranging in size from a room to a niche in the wall of a building. Lots of fun shops as well. But dont expect to find an open restraunt until 1pm...
After an exhausting day wandering around Bosra, we treated ourselves to a nice dinner at the Halabi restaurant in the Four Seasons. M's favorite thing about this plus is all the free stuff you get! The waiter explained that in Syria giving you more and more food is about hospitality, so while we only ordered 4 plates, there were 7 on the table, plus a big fruit platter at the end! The icing on the cake was the famous Aleppan cherry kebab that the chef sent to us. Delicious.
Today, we've been re-visiting the Christian quarter of the Old City. We began with a cab ride to the Bab Kisan - one of the many "bab"s, or gates, to the Old City. This bab, however, is hardly a gate anymore, as the present site is a chapel dedicated to St. Paul. It is, in fact, the Biblical site where Paul fled the city of Damascus by bing lowered from a gate in a basket. From here, we followed the old city wall up to "Straight Street" with the remains of the Roman gate and evidence of what would have been a long collonade like those we have now seen at Palmyra and the Apamea. Just north, along a side street, is the chapel of Ananais, an early Damascene Christian, and purportedly one of the 72 chosen disciples (? I dont have a Bible on hand), as well as one of the players in Saul/Paul's healing and conversion in Damascus. Along the way we passed various Christian shrines to various saints, ranging in size from a room to a niche in the wall of a building. Lots of fun shops as well. But dont expect to find an open restraunt until 1pm...
Bosra
Yesterday we took a bus trip from Damascus to Bosra, the second most impressive Roman site in Syria after Palmyra. Two things were especially interesting. First, there is an incredibly well-preserved theater that could seat 6,000 people and have room for another 2000-3000 people standing. Made in the black rock, basalt, that is prevalent in the area it is quite different than any theater to be found in other Roman territories. Second, the Arabs captured Bosra during the Crusades and so amidst these Roman ruins you have mosques and Arab fortifications, which is quite a contrast. Most interesting of the Arab constructions was the Umar Mosque which dates somewhere between 636 and 720, making it one of the oldest mosques known to the world (and it is still in use!). The Arabs also turned the theater into a citadel so the exterior of the theater is covered by fortifications.
Map Catch-up
An updated map with the added twists and turns of our travels:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=100521782385554656879.00046a32f5d0b8e2e0a91&ll=34.966999,38.62793&spn=4.212966,7.042236&z=7
All marked places include at least a one night stay. It looks like this:
Damascus
Palmyra
Deir es-Zor
Aleppo
Kassab
Lattakia
Tartus
Krak des Chevaliers
Hama
Damascus
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=100521782385554656879.00046a32f5d0b8e2e0a91&ll=34.966999,38.62793&spn=4.212966,7.042236&z=7
All marked places include at least a one night stay. It looks like this:
Damascus
Palmyra
Deir es-Zor
Aleppo
Kassab
Lattakia
Tartus
Krak des Chevaliers
Hama
Damascus
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Hama Massacre
In the 1980s, a radical Muslim sect based out of Hama attempted to assassinate the Syrian president. They failed. To stop the threat, the president retaliated by sending in the army to wipe out the rebels. The city of Hama was pretty much leveled during the fighting and I think we read that 10,000-25,000 people were killed. As you can imagine, it isn't something that is talked about very much.
We saw the main mosque of the Muslim sect that was destroyed and later rebuilt. The rest of the area has been rebuilt as well, and you can tell that many of the buildings look fairly new.
We saw the main mosque of the Muslim sect that was destroyed and later rebuilt. The rest of the area has been rebuilt as well, and you can tell that many of the buildings look fairly new.
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