Impressions of Damascus

Four days into our stay in Damascus, an enormous city is beginning to feel a bit small. We've wandered the same route through the Old City 3 times now, each time trying to peek down different alleys to get new glimpses of the city's amazing architecture. E is in love with the beautifully crafted doors (photos coming soon). We've been relying on the Lonely Planet map to help us navigate, which is only moderately helpful. We came upon some beautiful buildings and churches but often times could not determine what they were because all of the signs are in Arabic and street signs are few and far between.

We spent yesterday evening in the Christian quarter and wandered off a main road to find a Greek Orthodox church with an exhibit on St. Paul and his role in developing the Christian religion, which is said to have begun in Damascus (Saul became Paul on the "Road to Damascus", now Straight Street). Today we will be visiting the Jewish quarter of the city. Muslims, Christians and Jews live in harmony in Damascus.

The souqs are impressive sights. We've come across some beautifully crafted rugs, tablecloths and lamps, some of which we hope to purchase when we return to Damascus in July. There is also a spice section of the souq with so many wonderful smells.

We have met many friendly shop owners. We hope to meet more local people and get a better sense of the culture by just sitting in a cafe this afternoon reading and snacking, with a nargileh of course.

You can see an overview of the city and some of the sites we have visited on this Google map.