Afamia Damascus

Every corner and crevice I look into is gleaming with fabric, lace or messing cups. The stalls are packed together like the bricks of the ancient Roman ruins just outside. People are brushing past me, some in burka, other is jeans and a T-shirt - women laughing, babies crying, the muezzin calling. The smell of a hundred spices flavours the air and the alley in front of us now is filled with the most exquisite display of ...

... preaching or telling them about the mosque. The one preaching sometimes started singing or reciting some verses and I could see some in the group crying. The prayer hall also had the tomb of John the Baptist, placed within a room with green glass windows where people could only peer in. I'm quite surprised of how highly regarded he is in Islam. I sat down in the hall to rest for a while, and I think I managed to doze off for a few minutes before I set off again. <br><br>The ...

... or another we only found dead ends. From a bar only selling non-alcoholic beer to one that was shut, we were giving up hope. Unfortunately it was hopeless, today was a Holy Day it didn't matter where we went no one was going to sell us beer.With our thirst unquenched we continued on our quest. <br>Late in the afternoon, Clive heard the chatter of a local family and with a simple "Hello" we were invited in. It was an Armenian family who had been living in Damascus ...

... followed by an evening meal that was to set the standard for the rest of the trip. Not a standard of excellence, just a standard menu. Mezze, salad and grilled lamb or chicken seemed to make up every meal to follow. Still, compared to Egypt this was a culinary palace and no one was sick.

... una jornada doblement esgotadora. Fa un temps rúfol a Damasc, les nits son fredes i amb vent, i de dia sovintegen els núvols i de manera intermitent la pluja. En el pati interior de l'hotel on m'allotjo no es estrany escoltar el tossir del sofert turista després d'anar amunt i avall tot el dia sotmès a unes condicions atmosfèriques adverses. Malgrat tot, això no es una excusa per quedar-se reclòs a l'alberg, perquè Damasc es una ciutat ...

... an frýend who plýed me wýth all dýfferent kýnds of alcohol, I ended up behýnd the bar helpýnghangýng outeýng the pretty bar gýrl (a great load of fun!), whých ended up wýth more drýnkýng, and then ý somehow managed to cause a fýght between two guys at the after hours bar - both of whom ý had absolutely no ýnterest ýn AND to make matter worse, ý mýssed the whole thýng ...

We woke in the morning and headed into town for a tour of Damascus which is the oldest inhabited city in the world. Unfortunately Pam was still battling the bug so decided to spend the day sleeping in the truck. The tour was a bit of a let down as the city tends to close many of its main sites on a Tuesday. However we managed to walk through the old city before getting lost in the local souks. We then wandered down "Straight" which is a road ...