Our first trip outside of Jordan was quite spectacular. Brett, Mary, and I decided that since Saleh wasn't able to get us visas to Syria we would try for ourselves at the border. We had to wait six hours before they would give us visas (America doesn't exactly have good relations with Syria), while all the Europeans passed by in mere minutes. We got dropped off by our service taxi outside the city and had to find a new one to take us to our hotel, and this driver didn't know where it was so we had to ask around on the streets of Damascus before we found a guy who answered by pinting directly above himself to a sign that read "Al-Rais" which was convienently the name of the place we were staying. We checked in to our hotel and we given a key that resembled the dungeon keys of the middle ages with a single tooth and weighing in at about 2.5 lbs. (picture to come when possible).
The city is very old; it s believied to be founded in 4000 BC and have been continuosly inhabited since. The only older city is Byblos in Lebanon. We visited The Ummayyed Mosque and a shrine that was the most ornate building imaginable. We were the only tourists in the shrine and we had a guide take us through because we were not sure where we were allowed to stand. We felt very uncomfortable as the Shiite pilgrims cried and prayed around us, but soon some started approaching us and asking us to take pictures of them. We then felt comfortable taking pictures of our own. We also saw the tomb of Saladin (the one who repelled the Crusaders) and the tomb of John the Baptist.
Aside from ancient buildings and graves, the city also has the enourmously large souks (markets). There are literally many square miles of wall to wall stores selling Middle Eastern goods. Unlike the souks in Jordan, Syrian souks maintain their Middle Eastern culture very well and do not sell many western goods. I bought a handmade backgammon and chess set for about $40. We also watched people make large plates out of copper, which apparently Syria is famous for.
We also went to the Syrian National Museum, which is very impressive. Brett tried to take a picture of some Babylonian script despite a sign that clearly said no pictures. An alarm went off and we were scared as hell. We were worried about going to Syrian prison. I left the room in hopes of not being associated with the perpetrator. This prooved unneccesary as the guards did not move an inch.
Despite being a country with notoriously bad relations with the U.S., I felt extremely safe in Syria and the people were extremely friendly and helpful. When we hesistantly told people we were American, they were generally interested in us and why we came to Syria. Mary and I even got some free chocolate.
Again I will try to put pictures up when I have an a way to do it. My usb drive is broken so I am looking for another way.
No comments:
Post a Comment