I really wanted to use the string "Back in the SAR" as a subject, but it didn't work out. Syria is a very cheap and friendly country. Don't let people (or your government) tell you otherwise. It's also one of the safest countries I've been to so far, way safer than Turkey and about the same as Iran. I haven't seen or heard of any crimes (petty or otherwise) during my 1-month stay here. Surprisingly, there isn't much of a police presence either. DO check out Tartus, it's pretty cool. Also the people in Deir Ez-Zur are pretty hospitable and friendly [View Full Entry]

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Ever thrilled to be back in Syria, I spent my first couple days wandering through the old city and the various souqs and talking to the many people who all want to know where I'm from and whether or not I'm a muslim. I'm beginning to get worried that I'll miss the attention once I go somewhere not-quite-so-friendly. One set of people I met in the fruit-and-vegetable souq sat me down and spoke for hours, asking what I thought about George W. Bush, and explaining how superior Islam is to other religions. One of them described Cat Stevens' conversion, but apparently [View Full Entry]

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Apparently Che used to summarize the past month in his diary, so I'll try to do the same about my 2 weeks in Lebanon. This should serve to go some ways towards satisfying those who have requested "a bulleted summary" of where I've been and what I've done. Lebanon is a beautiful country, with mountains seemingly rising right out of the sea, a gorgeous coastline, and great hiking. The people in Beirut are cosmopolitan and indeed one feels like in someplace like America rather than the middle east while in Beirut -- that is, until you notice the bullet holes in [View Full Entry]

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Last tuesday I stumbled across a farmers' market in Beirut, and a girl (Aurelia) at one of the stalls explained what was going on and then gave me her phone number and said she would be happy to show me around Jounieh if I was interested. A couple nights later I called her up; she had just arrived at Beirut and was going to hang out with some of her friends, and invited me to come along. So I went (she picked me up) and had an awesome night: it's been ages since I had full (interesting) conversations with cool people [View Full Entry]

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I head out to Sabra and Shatila in the pouring rain this morning. I figured I need to see the conditions they live in if I'm going to claim to "support the cause", especially since it's so close. I took an excruciaingly slow bus out to the general area named "Shatila" where I assumed the camp would be located. The lady at the tourist information center had given me a cold "I don't know where that is" when I asked about how to get there... I think people are trying to forget about its existence. A guy in the vicinity offered [View Full Entry]

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Christmas in Lattakia was a bit of a letdown, and I wanted to see Beirut at its absolute worst (most decadent), so I figured new years would be the time. I also figured there wouldn't be much happening in Hama, which apparently has a reputation for being one of the most religious places in Syria. Before leaving I visited the Ismaili town of Musyaf, home to the ancient castle of the "Hashashins" who would get high before undertaking an assassination, and from whose name the english word "assassin" is derived. Fascinating. The castle was in its final stages of being restored [View Full Entry]

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The coast was awesome, but all good things must come to an end, and I'm back in the heartland of Syria, seperated from the mediterranean by a range of mountains. I used to think it a bit lame when in geography class they'd talk about how the mountains would prevent the cool weather from the sea from reaching the hinterland... turns out it's true: I was running around the ruins of Crak des Chevaliers yesterday in a T-shirt, and although today the weather was fairly warm, it got pretty cold after sundown (true to desert style). I head a bit south [View Full Entry]

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I finally have pictures. I decided to splurge on the hotel last night, paying $6 rather than $4 for a room with private shower and cable tv. There was a really loud noise emanating from a water pump which threatened to cause hearing problems, but the manager assured me it would be over before 7pm, so I head out to explore. I got back around 1am and the noise was still going on. I asked the guys at the reception to turn it off and they were like "oh, sure, yeah we'll do it right away", so I go back to [View Full Entry]

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Most women in the old city of Aleppo wore some form of veil: the most common being a head scarf covering the hair. Some of the younger girls would cover their hair but wear tight jeans, which was interesting. A more common sight would be long flowy black clothing that sits on top of regular clothing, and commonly referred to as the "chadoor". It is here in Syria where I've first seen women with the entire face covered, essentially with a thin black cloth that gives one the eerie sensation that the person has their head screwed on backwards or are [View Full Entry]

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Aleppo, Syria. This is my 6th day in Syria. Spent the first couple days in the desert town of Deir Ez-Zur, in the eastern side of the country, with the Euphrates river running through the middle of town. I was pleasantly surprised at how friendly people are and how cheap everything is (comparing prices with Turkey, that is). People seeing me walking down the street would make me stop and drink tea with them, communicating with sign language and the few words of english they may know. Actually, the people on the street here seem to speak more english than their [View Full Entry]

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