Syria

Melanie and I just returned from an awesome week in Syria. We were showered with generous hospitality from Derar’s friends Luay and Lubna in Damascus and from his family in Aleppo. They made us feel very welcome and showed us a bunch of cool sights. We had heard that it could take up to eight hours to get a visa at the Syrian border, but it only took us three, alhamdulilah (thank God).

We paired up with two American girls who we met at the border and began searching for a ride to Damascus. I flagged down a taxi and he said he could take me to Damascus for $60 and I politely told him to take a hike. We saw a bus that was stopped at the border, but were told that it was not going to leave for another hour – ugh. Then a taxi pulled over and the passenger got out and to our surprise, spoke great English. He negotiated with the driver and persuaded him to give us a ride to Damascus for only $4 each. So the four of us crammed into the back seat of the taxi and headed for Damascus.

We arrived at our hotel, just steps away from the Old City and called Luay. He and his wife picked us up about twenty minutes later and gave us a great tour of Damascus. First we walked into Souk Al-Hamidiyah, which is a covered market that stretches for 600 meters. It contains all sorts of cool shops, selling everything from clothes to antiques to spices. After you exit the souk you immediately see the stunning Umayyad Mosque. It was originally a Roman temple, which was then turned into a church dedicated to John the Baptist. Eventually it was expanded upon and turned into a mosque between 706 and 715AD. Inside the mosque is a large shrine said to contain the head of John the Baptist. As a student of history, I thoroughly enjoyed walking through it, looking around, and taking it all in. After that we walked around the rest of the Old City and then ate a delicious dinner. I discovered another great dish consisting of cooked, green wheat and lamb chunks. It’s called frekeh – yummy. After that we walked around some more and then drove to the top of one of the mountains just outside of the city. We pulled over just in front of a vendor selling hot drinks on the side of the road and enjoyed a beautiful view of Damascus at night while we enjoyed coffee and tea.

The next morning Luay and Lubna picked us up and drove us through the Syrian countryside on our way to see some Christian sights outside of Damascus. We saw a couple of churches high in the mountains of Saydnayya and a couple of other religious sights in Maalula, including the places where Cain killed Able and then buried him. Seeing the sights was very cool, but I enjoyed driving through the lush, rural, mountain terrain even more. We even had to stop and ask a shepherd for directions at one point to give you an idea of how rural it was. After that we enjoyed a delicious dinner at the top of a mountain overlooking Damascus and then dessert and great conversation with our hosts at a French café.

On our third day in Damascus, Melanie and I walked around the Old City and bought her a scarf and an inlaid jewelry box. That evening we enjoyed a delicious meal inside the court yard of an Ottoman era home that had been converted into the dining room of a restaurant. We had a great time in Damascus and enjoyed spending time with our new friends, but now it was off to Aleppo.

We woke up early the next morning and took a cab to the station to catch our 7AM train to Aleppo. We paid a mere $5 each for first class tickets and enjoyed the scenic, five hour trip. We were both surprised at how green Syria was as Jordan is quite arid and we expected neighboring Syria to have similar terrain. We were met at the Aleppo train station by Yaman, Derar’s brother and taken to the family home where we were greeted with warm hospitality by his parents, sister, and fiancée. We were showered with sweets, tea, and coffee and spoke in a mix of English and Arabic as we got to know the family of our great friend. They made us feel very welcome and comfortable and after chatting for a couple of hours we sat down to a delicious, home cooked meal. It was easily the best meal we had eaten during our time in Syria. I tried not to eat too much, but after finishing my first plate was urged to eat more so I happily obliged. During the meal Zaid and Layla, the adorable children of Hala arrived. It took a little time for them to warm up to us, but it wasn’t long before we were holding and hugging them. Yes, we have baby fever, but we’ll have to wait a little while before we start our own family, insha allah (God willing). Sorry, but you can’t talk about the future here without saying that or you’ll be corrected so it has become habit.

That night we went to enjoy tea and coffee in front of the gigantic citadel. The next morning we returned and toured the huge fortress which was built by Salah al-Deen to defend the territory from the Crusaders during the 12th century. It was huge, easily 8 times the size of the Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine and built atop a man made hill, which was surrounded by a moat that was 60 feet deep and 90 feet wide. Pretty darn, awe inspiring! After that we walked through Souk Al Madina where we bought Melanie another scarf. During our stay in Aleppo, Yaman and Nour showed us around the city and took us to Azizea, one of the modern shopping districts that was decorated with Christmas lights and huge, 30 foot Christmas trees in some of the city squares. Seeing the Christmas decorations was a welcome sight for Mel and I, as it has been difficult being away from home this time of year. Thanks Nour and Yaman and thank goodness for Skype!

There were some cool sights to see in Aleppo to be sure, but what I enjoyed most was spending time with Yaman and his family and Nour. I can’t say enough about their hospitality and the cooking and kindness of his mother. I can’t wait to make a return trip to Syria in the summer, insha allah.