Damascus and Bosra – Our first stops in Syria
We didn´t know quite what to expect as we took a taxi with our American travel friend from the Lebanon-Syria border into Damascus. On one hand, you expect something dark and sinister and lawless as Syria is part of the “axis of evil, state sponsor of terrorism, etc, etc”; and their government sure makes it a big pain in the rump for Americans to get a visa to enter. On the other hand, we were expecting an oasis of calm, hospitality, friendliness, and surviving traditions as compared to other more modern and hectic parts of the Middle East because we had heard so many wonderful stories from fellow travelers who said Syria was their favorite country in the Middle East.
We were a bit shocked when we entered Damascus as it looked pretty modern and orderly with a nice main highway, some tidy tree-lined boulevards, and several tall buildings that although they wouldn´t win any architectual awards looked fairly new and were in good shape. Everything and everyone seemed to be moving at a decent but relaxed pace without the congestion and air pollution we had gotten used to in other cities throughout the Middle East. Fewer women had their heads or bodies covered than anywhere else we´d been except Lebanon and many people were sporting hip jeans and sunglasses.
(though Shan doesnt agree with this statement as she thought Egypt had fewer women who were covered up)
Our excellent hostel was a former elegant mutli-story home with a fish-stocked fountain as the centerpiece of it´s inner courtyard. Nearby were several cafes for sipping tea and coffee and smoking tobacco in waterpipes, and also stands that sold lemon slushis for about 20 cents, fresh squeezed orange juice for about 50 cents, and delicious hamburgers with an egg and french fries also stuffed inside the toasted bread for about 50 cents. Even though we couldn´t speak a word to each other, we became good friends with the hamburger guys who had huge smiles everytime they saw us coming and we like to think had sad faces the day we left and didn´t show up on schedule like the previous 4 days.
The central old city area of Damascus was one of the highlights of our time in the Middle East. There´s a never-ending labrynth of carved and covered walkways and tunnels surrounded by shops selling everything you can imagine from raw meat to carpets to ice cream to spices, jewlery, auto parts, and more. Our favorite shop was a famous ice cream parlour that just served 2 flavors of ice cream but everyone orders the white flavor and it was possibly the creamiest, tastiest ice cream we have ever had anywhere. Topped with crushed pistachios it´s a real bargain at 50 cents for a huge cone.
As you leave the souq (shops) area the walkways narrow more and wind you past crisp white stone houses with decorative wooden balconies that reminded me of the shape of bay windows in Boston. Sadly, many of these once stately and elegant homes have been left behind to decay as the wealthy people who owned them have moved out of the city center (not unlike the suburban phenomenom in the USA). But a few of the most regal homes have been reclaimed and rejuvinated into posh restaurants.
Our first night Shan and I dined liked members of a royal family as we sat next to a huge gushing fountain in the middle of an inner courtyard in one such restaurant and feasted on salads, meats, vegetables, breads, wine, and more: total bill was only $22! My favorite was the raw lamb ´tartar´ and even though I was sick the next couple days I still don´t think that is what caused it; though Shan will tell you otherwise.
We visited the main mosque next to the old quarter and other well known sights including the old train station and an old traditional haman (turkish bath) where I signed up for the full treatment. First a steam bath, then a shower, then an old fat guy scrubbed me with what felt like steel wool, then a massage, then another shower, and finally some tea. I could do without the scrubbing and massage but the rest were extremely relaxing and refreshing and it was cool to go through this timeless ritual with locals who do this regularly to maintain good health and hang out (pun most definitely intended). We also sat around listening to a famous sword-weilding storyteller tell old traditional stories, much like those from 10,000 Arabian nights, but in arabic. We had a great time as the storyteller was extremely expressive and had both the arabic and non-arabic speaking audiences sitting at the edge of our seats.
One day we decided to venture out and take a day-trip south to Bosra to see well-known Roman ruins there. We realized that our time in the Middle East probably needed to come to an end soon when we looked at a beautiful large amphitheater and thought “gee, yet another roman theater, doesn´t really deserve a picture does it.”
We left Damascus for Palmyra a day later completely satisfied of having spent several days in what turned out to be by far our favorite big city in the Middle East.
For pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shanlovesphotos/sets/72057594139195462/
– Anthony
Tags: Middle East, Syria, Travel
Shan