Al Iwan Damascus

... was cheap. it smelled/tasted like a sour hoegaarden and was the color of dirty river water). and another import from lebanon (marginally better, at least did not stink). then bought a bottle of local vodka (for less than 2 bucks) and brought it home to have a few more drinks on the terrace before going to bed.

am getting slightly sick of eating felafel although it is sooo cheap. looking forward to facebooking in jordan tomorrow, yay.

... thought it interesting that this display was in a muslim country. Right next door were ancient koranic verses handpainted on tablets and tapestries. I didn't think much of these korans until an hour later when I passed a store called Q'uran House devoted solely to selling this book. It was like a Barnes and Noble but for the pious. Naturally I peeked in to see what it was all about.

Of course if it catches my eye there has to be a catch, right? Well, here ...

... in a teaser summary however, let me just say it was an amazing trip. I had no idea what to expect and I really left a bit in love with the country, or at least what we saw and experienced of it. After about 5-7 hours at the border depending on what you are measuring, we stayed in Damascus and also visted Siddnayya and Maalula. The food was amazing, everyone we met was so kind and accomodating, the cost of living was much cheaper ...

... lots of table clothes-they were also on my list. :-)  Tiffany, Anita and I poured through all the table clothes-I found one and then a bunch of scarves.  Liam had a great time there and was loved by all the workers and we ended up with a free gift again because of him. The stroller was now full of our purchases while Liam rode with Tiffany.  On our way to Dadboud's, we stopped at a nut shop that has been in business since the 1820's.  I bought pistachios freshly roasted with salt ...

... visited Saladin's Mausoleum (he was a famous Arab crusader), the museum for the Syrian Alphabet was closed, Syria is suppose to be the birthplace of the first alphabet, then to the Greek Orthodox Church and went into their service. Outside we met a man who told us about the church and then said he was a refugee from Baghdad because he is a Christian. We never thought about anyone being in this position nor that we would meet a refugee in Damascus. We found and ...

... being potentially life-threatening. The only time this guy slowed down was to go through one of the many Lebanese military checkpoints. When we crossed into Syria, we passed a truck full of military recruits. I have never seen so many soldiers crammed into the back of a truck, they were spilling over the sides like bails of hay - a couple could easily fall out and the guy driving would never know. Suddenly the front seat of a speeding taxi cab did not ...

... sunlight into the dark interior handicapped my ability to see what to expect. Oh well, I would soon be in the presence of the icon so all ailments could be cured. After visiting the icon, we visited the church and then the roof. Since this was Sunday, the village was quiet but the convent and church were active. From the roof of the convent, you can sit in quiet contemplation or just enjoy the magnificent views across the ...

... contain the head of St. John the Baptist (him again!!). When we went out of the mosque the call to prayer was just about to start and Bish had told us that the Umayyad Mosque has the most beautiful call to prayer in the world and it is unique as well. He was right. The call is unique as it is performed in a group, one person does the main call and the rest back him up. It was very nice.
After the mosque we were all quite hungry so we went for lunch. On the way ...

... as the food is so good and the atmosphere is incredible! The tables are all in the open central court yard surrounded by trees and greenery and beautiful Islamic art and even better painted mosaics that are still flawless considering how long they've been there. We also ventured into Ummayad mosque, where we were careful to take our shoes with us as we were told they may go missing. The mosque was grand. Absolutely huge with ...

... of this country however, and this may be why many people do not include Syria on the itinerary when visiting such countries as Turkey or even Egypt and Jordan.

Also what I really like about this country, as much as I hate to admit it, is the prices. On average I have been spending about AU$20 a day and living very comfortably. If you want to be really cheap you could probably survive in this country for AU$10 to $15 a day, making it ...