Bait Rumman Hotel Damascus

... can see her face, and yet can pass a morsel of food up into the mouth. <br><br>A sidebar to this custom rears an uncomfortable little head.<br><br>"The niqab (full face veil) is a tradition, it has no connection with religion," says Sheikh Mohammed Tantawi, an Egyptian Sunni Muslim spiritual authority, on seeing a young girl wearing the drape at a Cairo school. After his comments recently, Egypt moved to ban the veil from public universities.<br><br>I inquire with a few Syrians ...

... Israel in return for proof of life of the Israeli soldier captured<br>3 years ago. Ah the value of a Palestinian life! To recover from our<br>fright we each tuck into the best icecream to be found in<br>Damascus....it is made from sheeps milk and fresh fruits then topped<br>with a heavy helping of pistachios.....good enough to make you forget<br>your name! For our last evening we hop on the back of a Suzuki mini<br>pick up van up to a place that sounds like rock in Eden then ...

... come back and buy an nargileh the next day, <br><br>Friday:<br>Mango left Friday morning, Moha slept in as usual, and just to switch it up Adib, DeVan, and I headed to Automatic for breakfast sandwiches and smoothies. Then the three of us walked to the National Museum to take in some history/art. It was actually really nice. [Wow, my neck just cracked like crazy.] Outside was a gorgeous garden with various ancient art pieces and a small cafe where we enjoyed "local ...

... us to get done. I think we waited about 4 or 5 hours for the visas (13JDs each) putting the total border experience somewhere around 7 hours. But I can't really complain because technically they don't even have to let us in to the country and there were other Americans and Westerners who had been waiting like an hour and half before we even got there. In total there were only 8 westerners waiting to get into Syria while we were at the border. Everyone else was ...

... me to dinner with her and her friend (a Chicagoan from Hyde Park!). After dinner we went to a party being held by an Italian Arabic student, and the roof/house party was filled with hip, young Europeans and Arabs either traveling through or studying in Damascus. I was slightly American-starved at that point (I hadn&#8217;t met a single American for about a month by then), so I was happy to meet a really great guy, Phil, originally from Cleveland and studying in Amman.

... these small fissures, climb around this boulder and get into this tomb!' What an adventure!! In a second of inspiration I became my idol and a fully-fledged tomb explorer! It was an awesome feeling! Surely not more than hundreds of people if not tens had been in here before. Out came my torch. The inside was in parts elaborately decorated, and we stepped on quite a number of human bones (accidentally) and saw many many others. There were some terribly damaged steps down to an ...

... us, so I turned around and went back to speak with them. We soon have about 15 people around us. I talk about who we are and where we have been and answer their questions as we go along. I knew when we parted they were so happy to have had a chance to use and hear English. I am sure they didn't mind being late for their class. Back to the hotel, oh, we forgot when you pull the key from the holder the electricity goes off. Lost my free wi-fi. So it goes.

... wife and his two other children and his cousin and I end up having this huge feast of a lunch prepared for me. I sat there with them all (on the floor with pillows) eating a wonderful meal and drinking tea. The olive oil was even from his own olive trees on his land. Now this was an authentic experience! If my family and friends could see me now. And after about three hours this kind man hailed down a bus and paid my bus fair back to Damascus.

... can only fly to Beirut from Amman with Royal Jordanian. It took me a long time to understand this, since very few people spoke English. When I arrived at the Royal Jordanian office, it was closed. I was told that it would not open until 9pm. My watch was showing 3pm. Learned that there was a flight from Damascus to Amman, after midnight, for about $100. My other option for getting to Amman was hiring a taxi. I tried, but quickly changed my mind when they ...

... and Am**ican people. I'm afraid Am**icans can't reciprocate that view. They wanted me to appreciate that they see a lot of Am**ican TV and like the Am**ican people. Their favorite TV shows? Get ready for this: Oprah, Rachel Ray and Dr. Phil. Ok, I didn't believe it, eith**, but it's true. The next day on the int**net th**e was an article about Oprah and h** Arab fan base. The Syrians w**e v**y friendly; although at times ...