I've got so much to say about Syria...but precious few moments here at the ol' internet cafe (so far, I think, the only one I've found in Aleppo...). I'll be uploading pics, but it may take a few days before I'm not paying by the minute and trying to make travel plans at the same time. It appears *leaving* Syria is a bit more complicated than entering. Syria is inexplicably chaotic and friendly. You seemingly take your life into your hands every time you step on (or, more usually, off) a sidewalk or, God forbid, try to cross a street. And [View Full Entry]

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You look like you speak English! What does 'skurmesches' mean?! This was roughly the first thing that came my way when I set foot on the streets of Damascus. The shopkeeper was reading a lonely planet about his own country. For a second, I wondered whether he would be offended when he would find out that the beloved travel guide describes the skirmishes at the Israeli - Syrian border. Upon explaining the word, he did not seem to care much and instead helped me on my quest for a Syrian SIM card. This proved especially hard since many shops are closed [View Full Entry]

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Once upon a time, in a land far, far, away, a young Jewish fundamentalist was heading up to Damascus to kill other Jews for not believing in their God in the right way. Everybody needs a hobby. While on the way there, he was suddenly struck blind by a bright light from God himself and heard a voice telling him that he had it all wrong. He was so impressed by this that when he got his sight back he immediately changed his name by one letter, to “Paul” (as in “St Paul”) and began to travel the known world preaching [View Full Entry]

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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 stra [View Full Entry]

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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. [View Full Entry]

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I must have some kind of illness, a very odd illness, one that drags me back to Iraq like some kind of migratory bird each year. Each year for my birthday I gravitate this way. My first waking memory as a 23 year old was soundtracked by the end of the world crashes of a massive mortar attack. 'Whooomph, bang!' The first salvo woke me up as it barreled in, splitting the air and popping like a TNT balloon. I curled foetal and tried to pretend that the explosions were only an extension of my brain sapping hangover. I opened my [View Full Entry]

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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, [View Full Entry]

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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) [View Full Entry]

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Leaving our hotel in Amman bound for the Syrian border, we were prepared for, at the very least, a protracted crossing. We were aware that there was every chance we would face the inconvenience and ignominy of having to return a few hours later. Our fears were exacerbated when we found that British and American citizens without visas, were not allowed to board buses to Syria. Fortunately, we met an American couple in our hotel who were in the same boat as us and shared a taxi with them, bound tentatively for Damascus. Much to our surprise, Syrian immigration was a [View Full Entry]

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En Siria el fin de semana es viernes y sábado, el viernes todo está cerrado menos este mercado donde venden frutas y verduras. Suriede hafatasonu cuma-cumartesi, cuma günü her sey kapali, burasi gerçekten müslüman bir ülke, sebse-meybe satin almak için tek bu pazari var. [View Full Entry]

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