Travel Blog Posts
July 26th 2009
Hi everybody! We're so sorry for the long delay in updating, but we've been getting our travel on and so internet has been few and far between. Last weekend we went to Palmyra and hung out with some Bedouins and their camels. Last week we finished the Arabic course and ran wild through the souq and restaurants and up Mount Qaysioun to watch the sunset. Then we celebrated our new freedom from Arabic lessons by jumping on a bus with some friends and heading for Hama, where a driver in a 1950s Pontiac took us roaring along the sides of the central-eastern mountains at 100 km/h. He only slowed down long enough for us to see an Assassin castle and a Byzantine monastery, and then to cap it off with 3 hours at Krak des Chevaliers ... read more
July 8th 2009
Hello from Abou Roumaneh in Damascus, an officially swankier part of town! So, we finally started class, and a grueling week later are slowly recovering. The classes are 5 hours a day, 8:30-2 (with a 30 min snack break), five different subjects every day. These range from Grammar to Dialect, Conversation to Modern and Classical Literature, Social Studies, History, Media... on and on, and all in Arabic. It's reasonably intense. We're meeting lots of new people, though, and excitingly getting settled in to our very own apartment! Leah and I are in the fourth floor of a building on Khalil al-Karim Street, just two minutes walk from our school. Eric and our new French friend Jeremie live above us on the fifth floor, and have the most incredible view from their huge balcony. They also have ... read more
June 29th 2009
So, continuing the game of catch-up, here's a little bit about our home for the first week: "The Damascus Hostel". First of all, the owners and staff are pretty much the nicest people ever. Even though our flight was 1.5 hours late, Johnny was still standing patiently at the baggage claim door when we finally straggled through. I think we were told "welcome, welcome" almost 20 times on the 20 minute drive in from the airport. Then, we discovered that the hostel is literally perched on top of the ancient city wall, and they pulled our bags straight up the wall by a pulley as Johnny drove us deep into the less-than-one-lane wide streets of Bab Touma, the Christian section of the Old City. There, we were met by Khaled, who walked us down a winding ... read more
June 25th 2009
We're here, we're safe, some photos for you all! Day 1 - Visiting the Umayyad Mosque, about a few yards of the Souq Hamadiye, walking back to the hostel, getting lost, and watching the twilight fall from our balcony.... read more
June 21st 2009
We're packed, we're ready, we're leaving TOMORROW! At 1pm tomorrow (June 22), Leah and I will be racing, split-screen style, toward the Philadelphia and Toronto airports, respectively. We'll see each other about 10 hours later in the PARIS airport, squealing with excitement. Within a few hours, we'll be giggling in the back row of the Air France flight to Damascus. We'll be met by adorable Raymond, owner of the Damascus Hostel , and hopefully be woken up at 5:30am by the call to prayer blasting from the mosques of the Old City. I can NOT wait, and thanks to all our friends and family reading this - wish us luck!! - Jordan... read more
June 11th 2009
Two dorky girls who love to study? Check. Two dummies who know surprisingly little about where they're going (given the fact they've been studying the region for three years)? Check. Nothing left to do but pack next week, resulting in much worrying about prices, jails, destinations, visas, politics, the heat, clothing, Arabic, the heat, classes, transport, apartments, the heat, and did we mention THE HEAT? Check. Results in? A geeky guidebook frenzy. Meet the guidebooks, coming to you from Kingston, ON and Baltimore, MD: JORDAN AND LEAH ARE GOING TO SYRIA! (almost rhymes)... read more
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