Damascus and Beyond

Hello all, I have arrived. This is my second full day here and it’s a bit sensory overload. Arrived at my hotel at 4:00 am Saturday and headed for the old city and the souks that afternoon. So many people, so much traffic. The old city is amazing, it goes on an on, twisting turning streets, and inticing little lanes that go off in all directions. So far I haven’t had the nerve to explore beyond the main streets. Had a bit of a scare when I tried the ATM and my card was rejected. I had limited funds and worried that I would run out, or worse, wouldn’t be able to shop. But Oh Happy Day, today I tried again when I saw an ATM that displayed the Cirrus logo. Got the cash, yeah! Good thing too otherwise I might have had to slink out of a nice restaurant this evening when I opening the menu and saw no prices. But empowered with my new wad of thousands I decided not to fret. Had wine, steak and salad and then braced for the bill. It was $12. Had a fun, unexpected evening yesterday when the guy I bought postcards from invited me for tea at his guest house. I thought he said it was $200 a night and thought “wow, it must be really, really swank, the sign on his carpet shop advertised a 7 room house and I thought, well, that explains the price.” It didn’t look like much and when he opened the street door into a courtyard you can imagine my confusion because it was a dump. Turns out it was $200 a month and he had a group of German, Arabic language students staying. There was a little impromtu party on the roof and I got to meet all the students staying there. When it turned midnight I knew I wasn’t walking back to my hotel so Basil got me a taxi for $1.00. That’s double the price it should have been but I didn’t care. The ensuing ride can only be experienced because there are no words to explain. The best I can do is…amusement park thrill ride. I thought the Turks were barking mad behind the wheel but they are rank amatuers compared to the Syrians. Walking across streets can be a challenge but I plunge ahead. I think the combo offense/defense approach is best and the willingness to try to adapt to the hope that they “will” stop if you step out in front of them. Old men with canes, women with baby strollers, no matter. If you don’t just walk you will stay on the sidewalk forever. I rejoice when I see there is a traffic light because then I know that most of the cars should stop. Went to the Natural History museum today and then to the Handicraft market. Had a bit of a misunderstanding in a textile shop and had to walk out. Lesson learned. Hopefully. Tomorrow I have plans with a women I met through the Thorn Tree website. Her name is Mariyam and she is an ethnic Moroccan from Belgium. She speaks Arabic and we’re going to the Bosra archeological ruin tomorrow so it’s early to bed for me. Haven’t been sleeping well. I think my bio clock is still messed up but I have not had any jet lag. So, I am conflicted. Basil invited me back to his hostel tonight for a party and I wanted to go but if I do then I can only stay for a wee bit. I may just stop by and say hi. I have to try and sleep before 3:00 am if I want to get up at 7:00 am. So many impressions, sights, smells, sounds even. This is a different world. There are so many people on the busier streets that it is indeed claustrophobic and it’s not exactly what you would call polite society. It’s not as if people are rude they just press on, walk around, whatever. I think it’s from living in such a crowded place. I thought I was a purposeful and fast walker in Chicago, but this is like playing dodge ’em. Well, that’s all for now. Lot’s more to say though. Keep the comments coming.

Tags: Travel

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 4th, 2005 at 2:40 pm and is filed under Travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.