Greetings from Damascus!
Finally i'm here! After 21 years I return to my roots (my grandmother was Syrian) - what a fantastic feeling.
These past few days have pretty much been straight forward (thankfully)... Passport control managed to coax a bribe out of me but that was to be expected. Syrian Arab Airlines are hilarious - sooo relaxed and all of their staff seem like they've just been smoking pot in the back. Luckily I met to wonderful kids on my flight called Hani and Ahmed (14 & 13 I think).. they were helping me with my Arabic and we spent most of the flight joking around.. I was really impressed at how sharp Arab children are compared to those in Britain.. They were even giving me very good advice about how to handle and talk around the security services. Impressive.
I'm staying in pretty much bang in central Damascus... For one reason or another my big arse is occupying a 3 bedroom apartment. This is only a temporary arrangement of course because pretty soon my money belt will start slapping me if I keep this up.. I should be moving to the Christian quarter on the last day of this month... there is quite a contrast between the dress, behaviour etc of the Muslim and Christian areas. Since i've yet to reside their i'll restrain from making premature assumptions.
Now, the food and drink here in Damascus is so special that it deserves a special paragraph of its own. Guys, the cuisine here is UNBELIEVABLE. Fresh juices, fresh morning pastries to rival the French, tender meats, impeccable cleanliness and sheesha that almost caresses your upper respiratory walls.... ahhhhhhhhh- how sweet it is to be here!... ahhhh man, i've never tasted mint like the fresh mint here...
Now something stands out here (and no doubt in the rest of the Middle East) that makes me feel sad for oldies in Britian. Over here you'll find oldies out at all hours- smoking sheesha, playing backgammon, socialising. What strikes you most is that these people are still enjoying life - something that is definitely missing in Britain. By contrast the British pretty much abandon their elders and too many end up in old peoples homes. How sad. The respect for elders and continued care is something the West desperately needs to learn from the East.
At this point a special mention goes to my friend here, Mohammed, who I know from studies in London. This guy has been so helpful, with accomodation, advice and meeting his Syrian friends (all have been such nice people). I'd probably be in more difficulty without him.
You're all probably want me to stop ranting now and move on to places i've been to. Well i've been lucky enough to visit El-Souk El-Hamdiyyah... There are few words to describe this place, other than a very long arched passage with hundreds of stalls packed into the walls with further corridors branching off, again packed out with stalls selling everything from beautifully crafted clothing to Sheeshas to handmade Syrian icecream. Before that I was lucky enough to meet a lovely couple who'd spent the most part of a year travelling across the middle east and north africa. Their names were Mahmoud and Jodie and their advice was invaluable. Unfortunately Jodie was having pretty nasty upper respiratory problems and I wish her well in getting rid of those soon! Following the visit to the Souk Mohammed, his friends and I walked around the jaw dropping Ummayid Mosque (around 1200 years old?)... Then I took photos of the oldest cafe in the world (just outside the Ummayid Mosque) and we ate the tastiest food at the Beit Jabri. Unfortunately i've been pretty slack in sorting out the procedures (much owed to an unbelievable beaurocratic procedure here) that'll allow me to study at the university here. After that Mohammed and I might visit Latakia; a beautiful beach resort sitting on the edge of the eastern Meditteranean.
All of you are welcome to my new home, so start booking those tickets!
These past few days have pretty much been straight forward (thankfully)... Passport control managed to coax a bribe out of me but that was to be expected. Syrian Arab Airlines are hilarious - sooo relaxed and all of their staff seem like they've just been smoking pot in the back. Luckily I met to wonderful kids on my flight called Hani and Ahmed (14 & 13 I think).. they were helping me with my Arabic and we spent most of the flight joking around.. I was really impressed at how sharp Arab children are compared to those in Britain.. They were even giving me very good advice about how to handle and talk around the security services. Impressive.
I'm staying in pretty much bang in central Damascus... For one reason or another my big arse is occupying a 3 bedroom apartment. This is only a temporary arrangement of course because pretty soon my money belt will start slapping me if I keep this up.. I should be moving to the Christian quarter on the last day of this month... there is quite a contrast between the dress, behaviour etc of the Muslim and Christian areas. Since i've yet to reside their i'll restrain from making premature assumptions.
Now, the food and drink here in Damascus is so special that it deserves a special paragraph of its own. Guys, the cuisine here is UNBELIEVABLE. Fresh juices, fresh morning pastries to rival the French, tender meats, impeccable cleanliness and sheesha that almost caresses your upper respiratory walls.... ahhhhhhhhh- how sweet it is to be here!... ahhhh man, i've never tasted mint like the fresh mint here...
Now something stands out here (and no doubt in the rest of the Middle East) that makes me feel sad for oldies in Britian. Over here you'll find oldies out at all hours- smoking sheesha, playing backgammon, socialising. What strikes you most is that these people are still enjoying life - something that is definitely missing in Britain. By contrast the British pretty much abandon their elders and too many end up in old peoples homes. How sad. The respect for elders and continued care is something the West desperately needs to learn from the East.
At this point a special mention goes to my friend here, Mohammed, who I know from studies in London. This guy has been so helpful, with accomodation, advice and meeting his Syrian friends (all have been such nice people). I'd probably be in more difficulty without him.
You're all probably want me to stop ranting now and move on to places i've been to. Well i've been lucky enough to visit El-Souk El-Hamdiyyah... There are few words to describe this place, other than a very long arched passage with hundreds of stalls packed into the walls with further corridors branching off, again packed out with stalls selling everything from beautifully crafted clothing to Sheeshas to handmade Syrian icecream. Before that I was lucky enough to meet a lovely couple who'd spent the most part of a year travelling across the middle east and north africa. Their names were Mahmoud and Jodie and their advice was invaluable. Unfortunately Jodie was having pretty nasty upper respiratory problems and I wish her well in getting rid of those soon! Following the visit to the Souk Mohammed, his friends and I walked around the jaw dropping Ummayid Mosque (around 1200 years old?)... Then I took photos of the oldest cafe in the world (just outside the Ummayid Mosque) and we ate the tastiest food at the Beit Jabri. Unfortunately i've been pretty slack in sorting out the procedures (much owed to an unbelievable beaurocratic procedure here) that'll allow me to study at the university here. After that Mohammed and I might visit Latakia; a beautiful beach resort sitting on the edge of the eastern Meditteranean.
All of you are welcome to my new home, so start booking those tickets!
posted by NS at 12:20 pm
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