A Long weekend away Damascus and Palmyra? Why not we thought! What a blast, great fun and can really recommend it to anyone fancying something a little different... If your going to go, you must stay in the four seasons though. Location not bad, facilities great! [View Full Entry]

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Cuando volví de las vacacione descubrí que una tórtola había puesto su nido en el patio de mi casa. tatilde döndükten sonra gördüm, evde bir kumru yuva koydu. When I came back from my summer holidays I found a Trutle dove nest at home. [View Full Entry]

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Qardaha es el pueblo de la familia del presidente, ahí están enterrados en un mausoleo Hafez el Assad que murió en el año 2000 y su hijo Basil fallecido seis años antes, así como el de la madre de Hafez el Assad en una mezquita aparte. Qardaha Hafez el Assad’in memleketidir, orada Hafez al Assad 200’de öldü ve oğlu, Basil altı sene önce, türbeleri yer alıyor. Hafez al Assad onun annesi için bir cami yaptırdı. Qardaha is the place where Hafez el Assad was born, he died in 2000 and has a mausoleum whith his son Basil who died six year [View Full Entry]

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Yesterday Becka, Emlyn, Everitte, another Edinburgh student from Nashville, and I all went to Bosra for the day to see the old city and the Roman amphitheatre, which is apparently one of the best preserved in the world. The Lonely Planet called it ‘an easy day trip’, but as always it didn’t turn out quite as planned, and we ended up having a bit of an adventure both ways. On the way out, instead of catching the bus for 60 SYP and booking a return bus at the same time we got bundled onto a bus we were told was going [View Full Entry]

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Classes at the University of Damascus started yesterday… and I have certainly learned at least one valuable lesson already. Children, listen closely. Do not make jokes about how funny it would be if you guessed all the right answers on a test and got put in a very advanced class, and certainly do not follow that up by saying you don’t mind what level you are in as long as you’re not the only one. On the bus ride into the university yesterday morning various Edinburgh students were rehashing the test, and of all the question they mentioned I hadn’t got [View Full Entry]

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I have found a flat! After contacting Yalla House on Friday I met with my agent Hani on Saturday and he took me to meet Tony, a local of Bab Touma who seems to know everybody, and is clearly the main man when it comes to finding tenants for local families. He is hilarious in a slightly creepy way, tall and dark with a little beard, he seems to be always dressed in shiny black shoes, black trousers and a black shirt which he unbuttons almost to his waistband, the better to show off his incredibly hairy chest. A gold medallion [View Full Entry]

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After two years of anticipating this trip it's hard to believe I'm really here... and of course it is nothing like I had imagined, and of course now I'm here I am certain it could never have been any other way. I arrived on Wednesday night after a twelve hour journey and was met at the airport by ‘Johnny’ a local Syrian guy who took me back to the Damascus Hostel in Bab Touma, the Christian part of the old city. The hostel is lovely, literally perched on top of the old city wall, with a rope ladder up the old [View Full Entry]

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Retour au Paradis des rencontres Dès l'arrivée de Cécile, nouveau membre de notre équipe (courageuse!), et après un passage festif dans la famille de Louay à Maaloula, nous filons sur les routes syriennes, toujours aussi hospitalières aux auto-stoppeurs, vers notre bien aimé monastère Mar Moussa el Habashi. Nous connaissons bien l'ambiance de cet oasis de paix entre ciel et terre où se retrouvent des hommes et des femmes de bonne volonté issus de toute religions, confessions et spiritualités pour apprendre à se connaître et à s'aimer. Nous y retrouvons des vieilles connaissances (N [View Full Entry]

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When we were preparing for our Middle East adventure, we read, researched and studied the history, politics and basics of each country. We had meetings to develop our itinerary and discussions to finalize our list of things to do while we were in each region. During those heated moments we also discussed what we might shop for or bring home as gifts. One of the most exciting things we discussed was Kyle's plan to get a tailor-made suit in Damascus, Syria. Apparently, the Damascus silk and the Syrian tailors are known world-wide. (News to dad and me!) A fitted suit was [View Full Entry]

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La Syrie chez nos amis Bien sûr on est déja venu en Syrie, mais on n'a pas le fait le tour des richesses de coeur de ses habitants. Nous avons déjà des amis ici: Louay qui nous reçoit à Damas, se relève deux fois dans la nuit pour nous emmener à l'aéroport et nous accueille avec sa famille à Maaloula avec Charaf et Guillaume, d'autres amis lyonnais! Après le passage à Mar moussa nous faisons halte à Homs avant de monter vers Alep pour rejoindre May qui fait de nous les "special guests" de son cours d'Anglais ! Expérience inédite ! [View Full Entry]

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