Spring in Damascus

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The long weekend in Damascus started with a fairly unsocial flight. It departed at 9.30pm and landed at 4.40am, the flight time was 5hrs. We were shattered by the time we arrived at the sweet little Boutique Hotel we were staying at called Beit Rumman. Beit was situated just off the main road through old town called ‘The Straight Street’, in the heart of the Christian Quarter. Luckily we were able to go into our room and sleep for another few hours. The hotel was nothing to look at on the outside however inside it was a sanctuary. There was a water fountain in the middle of a small courtyard, old stone work (white & black), mosaics above the doors and a little seated area with an amazing wooden carved roof. Our room was on the next level up and there was a roof terrace overlooking a church and the cities roof tops which all had tonnes of satellite dishes. Everyone loves cable TV.

We headed out just after noon; it was a lovely spring day and the temperature was around 24 degrees. It was a public holiday in Syria being 1st May so once we got to Straight Street it was airily quiet. It reminded me of a movie set, just a few random people walking around, the odd tourist and a few shops starting to open up. Not the usual hassle bustle of a ME country. Interestingly the tourist population in Syria was mainly older; +50 on tour groups, mainly UK, French, Dutch, German and just one or two other couples like Scott and I. We strolled further up the street that was lined with Roman ruins and hit the first Souk full off sweets, spices and coffee. There were also a few turtle shells, skins, and other weird and wonderful items. There were vendors selling all sorts of things down the middle of the Souk - tissues, gum, iced strawberry drinks, etc. After a few more twists and turns we were at the walls of Umayyad Mosque which was the centre piece of the old city. It took us a while to figure out how to get in. We ended up following a tour group around the corner into a small room and procured a couple of tickets. I then needed to get into a brown coat head to toe but once inside the Mosque was beautiful and a very friendly open place. There were kids running around playing and families in the shade eating lunch. The site itself was ancient and back in the day it use to be a shared worship site for Christians and Muslims. We relaxed in the shade people watching and reading about the history before heading back out and winded our way around further little ally’s to a lunch place full of group tours and locals. We got a prime seat at the back and had one of many delightful meals; Arabic bread, meze and for Scott ... grilled meats. We then headed back out and up towards the newly restored Citadel which during the French rule after WW1 it used to be a prison. We then hit the rest of Damascus and an 8 lane main road with taxi’s everywhere. Al-Hamidiyeh Souk was the next destination. It is a covered market with shops on either side with large dramatic lamps hanging from the ceiling which is punchered by bullet holes; apparently by the French during an up-rising. After eating one of the very popular ice creams covered in pistachio nuts we headed back to the hotel for a stint on the roof terrace. That evening we had dinner in the underground cellar of the hotel, a bit lazy, but we were on holiday.

The next morning was an early start after a lovely fresh breakfast in the court yard; coffee, cheese, breads, fruits. We jumped into our car and headed north out of the city on the main road connecting Damascus to Aleppo. The initial part of the road was lined with car dealerships from Volvo, Toyota to Porsche. On the outskirts of Damascus there was a very strange satellite town, all the same style high rise buildings with again multiple reception dishes. As we travelled further out the landscape was mountains on either side of the flat land in the valley we were driving through. Dusty towns and villages appeared and usually blended right into the landscape until we were close by. The buildings were made out of concrete in the most part, more than likely the material from the nearby and numerous quarries. We then zoomed off to the east to visit MarMusa monastery. On the way we noticed multiple plastic bags blowing in the wind. They were everywhere. Strange as Damascus city was spotless with orange bin men sweeping constantly; this also meant less stray cats/dogs running around the centre. It was a hard slog up the 300+ steps to the monastery. Luckily it was still early morning however it was still hot work. We heard a lot of voices at the top and on arrival discovered breakfast was still being served to the 30 odd people that stayed overnight. We weren’t able to visit the monastery itself but had a great view down the valley and peaked into the church. It was closed as there was a sermon going on at the time; it was Sunday. It was then another 90min or so drive to our next stop Krak des Chevalliers, an old crusader castle. The trees lining the road were horizontal because of the wind from the Mediterranean. We drove so close to Lebanon that the driver got a text welcoming him to the country. After passing a few signs for Par King we arrived at the castle. The landscape changed dramatically in this area, it was lush and green and looked like a different place from where we had come from. The castle itself was in excellent condition and was HUGE, in and outer walls, its own church, etc. It had wonderful views to the surrounding area as you would expect. We went to a local restaurant and the early afternoon prayers were starting in the courtyard as we walked down to it. We then headed back down to Damascus and stopped at a very popular sweet store. Tthere were people - mainly ladies - everywhere, elbowing people out of the way. They love their sweets in Syria. Our driver was hilarious. He was racing around and picked up about 5 boxes. He was under strict instructions from his wife. The next stop was a small village nestled in the mountain side called Maalula. The houses, churches and convents were stacked up against the cliff, some painted a silvery blue and white it was very cute and a nice change from the standard concrete. It is very famous Christian town and they still speak the language Jesus spoke. There was a little ravine that we walked through very much resembling Petra’s gorge and then up to the other famous church which provided a great view over the valley. After we returned to the driver he introduced us to a local wine grower, he had a little farm further up the valley and made his own wine selling it in his little shop near one of the convents. Really friendly guy, we ended up buying a little bottle and enjoying it later that evening. Before we got back to the hotel we went up Jebal Qassioun the mountain that looks over the city, it is apparently where Prophet Mohammed looked down on Damascus. It was a wonderful view over the city at dusk, it really showed the sprawling nature of the city home to 8m or so people. On the way back to old town we past the president’s palace. It is newly built and it looks like a James Bond evil character lair. It sits on another hill with line of sight down the main road leading to the old town; it is architecturally dramatic and massive and was the only place our driver would not let us photograph. That evening we went to a fairly average to poor restaurant, which was a shame but hey-ho you win some and you lose some. I think the restaurant scene is still growing in Damascus.

After a lovely lie in we ventured out along the back streets heading for the National Museum and it was a walk to remember. The architecture was really cool. All the houses had massive over-hangs where people had built out their houses over time all held up by wooden beams, some hanging on very precariously angles. Then we walked straight into a wall of women leaving or going to the Mosque. They take no prisoners when they are on the move and we finally made it out of old town and on to the main road. What was interesting about Damascus is the difference in what the women were wearing; from full head to toe burqa right through to tight jeans, low cut tops and heels. The ladies who just wore head-scarves often added little pieces of jewellery. We also past many bars and cafes, mainly in the Christian area, but you feel like it one of the more modern ME capital cities. The traffic was bumper to bumper, mainly taxis, and you could see the houses creeping up the side of Mt Qassioun and the looming presidential palace on the horizon. The museum wasn’t as good as expected, it was going through a renovation and looks like it will be great when finished. We had lunch upon a roof top terrace overlooking Umayyad Mosque the surrounding houses and mountains. It was a brilliant scene and great place for people watching. That afternoon we visited Azem Palace; it was a restored house typical Ottoman style and similar to our hotel. It had the stone layering of black, white and cream stones. It was good to see how the residents use to live in this city back when it was the centre of trade and pilgrimage to Mecca. That evening we had a fantastic meal at a restaurant called Naranj. The food was divine and the wine good providing a fitting end to the long weekend in Damascus.

PHOTOS

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