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All credit for this blog to my dear mother:

Syria, again and Beyond

My sweet daughter is falling back on her blogging because of studies and the pursuit of further adventures ~ so mom will write a quick entry ~ the audience cannot be kept waiting!

We flew out of Turkey on a Sunday, oblivious to the no-fly zone in Europe from the volcano, and arrived in Damascus late afternoon (we learned the next day that all airports in Turkey had closed). Back home, we were greeted by Am Anas and several sisters and a sumptuous dinner around the table. Afterwards, everyone left for a cousin’s engagement party so Haley and I departed for the souq. A warren of colorful covered streets and alleyways, the souq is the main shopping area (as in other parts of the middle east) and is usually thronged with men, women and children, with shopowners calling out to entice you to their shops. Smelling the spices and the hints of incense and perfume completely whisked away all place and time ~ I had smelled this before in both Bahrain and Morocco.

The next few days were spent with Haley showing me her temporary home city. She went to university in the morning, and I tagged along, happily reading and journaling on a comfy hallway sofa while she was in class. On the first day I was invited into the classroom during the second hour to observe ~ I felt like a deer caught in the headlights! I understood that the class was conjugating verbs ~ but that’s all obviously. Eventually I started copying some of the Arabic script in my journal and quite enjoyed the artistic feel of both writing right to left, and also the curvy flowing script. Once the break came, I showed the teacher, through Haley’s interpretation, that I wrote some words down but that it probably looked like a child’s writing ~ she actually told me that it looked quite nice and she could read it ~ although I’m sure she wasn’t completely truthful.

After school one day, Haley and her friend Astrid took me to a hammam or bath. We entered off a non-descript ancient street, going first behind a heavy curtain and then pushing past a carved thick wooden door. Suffice it to say that we have never felt cleaner or more refreshed after the hammam.

We ate from street vendors a lot ~ it’s inexpensive and convenient to carry the food as one walks. One day we bought flat bread that had been grilled with a bit of oil and zatar ~ an oregano mixture with sesame seeds ~ yum. We ate a vanilla ice cream cone that had been rolled in a pistachio/almond mix ~ we consumed baklava type pastries, dripping with sweet syrup and we drank freshly squeezed orange juice and loads of sweet tea, always hot. Haley’s family fed us at every opportunity too. We tried to pace ourselves so that we once home we could happily accept their hospitality in food. We ate hummus and olives and fatoush and some kind of warm dish with chick peas and pine nuts and eaten as if a thick soup.

On the afternoon of the third day in Syria with another friend of Haley’s in tow, we headed to Lebanon ~ via the bus station, and a passenger van, with much price negotiation. Three and a half hours later, we were in Beirut. Signs throughout the city are in both French and Arabic, thus this city was called Beyrouth, Liban. Our friend Melanie was ecstatic when she saw all the dual language signs – she is a Parisian and felt like she was home! Beirut itself is like paradise and one can understand why many from the middle east choose to vacation here. Of course despite the resiliency of its people to rebuilt, there are still evidences of the country’s 15 years of civil war (1975-1991), with bombed out skeleton buildings still standing tall as if in memoriam. Two full days here wandering around the city which certainly feels very European and enjoying the food, weather and company. It was a perfect end to a trip.

I put Haley and Melanie in a taxi to begin their journey back to Damascus on a Friday evening. It was difficult to say goodbye ~ my tears betrayed me ~ I didn’t want the girls to leave but I knew they had to ~ at this point they were at the mercy of strangers to insure their safe passage home. I worried until I received the news next morning that they had arrived around midnight. My journey home would be easy and enjoyable, and I met many extraordinary people along the way. Sometimes one of the highlights of any trip is going home, and that’s very comforting.