Background: Following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, Syria was administered by the French until independence in 1946. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost the Golan Heights to Israel. Syrian troops - stationed in Lebanon since 1976 in an ostensible peacekeeping role - were withdrawn in April of 2005. Over the past decade, Syria and Israel have held occasional peace talks over the return of the Golan Heights.
July 17th 2008Middle East » Syria » South » Damascus So, summer school 1 is over and today we begin the second of the three intensive English courses. We had some great students. Russ was invited to go out for the afternoon and smoke some hubbly-bubbly ... 10 photos[full story]
July 7th 2008Middle East » Syria » South » Damascus A la sombra de la pared este de la Mezquita de los Omeyas ' la fuente ' es el café con más solera de de Damasco. Aquí es donde se puede escuchar a Abu Shadi, el último de los hakawati, cuentacuent ... 20 photos[full story]
July 6th 2008Middle East » Syria » South » Damascus Damascus is proving to be a fascinating place to live. For us, it’s our first experience of living in a Muslim country. Mosques are everywhere and at prayer times the sound of the muezzin calls ... 18 photos[full story]
June 21st 2008Middle East » Syria » South » Damascus I left off after an inadequate description of one of the world's finest castles, though I had already started my new adventures in Damascus by then. It's all a bit of a blur. Time for more catching ... 8 photos[full story]
June 30th 2008Middle East » Syria » South » Damascus It’s amazing how quickly you can settle into a place. The language barrier is huge but we are managing. This is a place where “eh” means yes, “la” means no and a written ... 20 photos[full story]
June 20th 2008Middle East » Syria » South » Damascus Damascus, Syria, part of the so-called axis of evil and a place where all the signs are in Arabic which might just as well be ancient Greek or Aramaic! So, why did we choose to come here? Well, 35 deg ... 20 photos[full story]
June 14th 2008Middle East » Syria » South » Damascus A few things about Damascus:
- Images of their fearless leader, Bashar al-Assad, everywhere. When I pick up a pistachio croissant in the morning, he’s looking far off into the distance in a bol ... 16 photos[full story]
May 8th 2008Middle East » Syria » South » Damascus there are 3 pages of photos so click next at the bottom of page to look
" here's a newsflash: contrary to what the US state department may wish the world to think, syria is not populated by terrori ... 50 photos[full story]
May 19th 2008Middle East » Syria » South » Damascus It is hot here! I've decided to escape from the heat for a few minutes and check my mail in an air conditioned internet cafe.
Last night, I was woken up at 4am, by someone knocking at the door. My ... [full story]
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