Four Seasons (Deluxe) Damascus

... some of the same excitement I felt this summer on my trip throughout Europe which brought me to 13 cities in 28 days (I spent the extra day on an “extended,” three-day visit to Paris). I made my way to the famous Souq (Market) al-Hamidiyya to browse some of the shops there and sample ice cream from Bakdash, a well-known tourist hot spot located in the center of the market. They make their ice cream fresh a few times a day and roll ...

... than 50 feet from the toilet.<br><br>I stayed on May 29th Street, which has a busier, more modern feel to it; I'd intended to stay at the nearby Martyr's Square aka Merjeh - ironically enough, Reuben and Cath moved there the second day to save money - but misread the map. Although a bit sketchy by night, being the red light district, by day it has incredible 10 cent baklava shops. The 2 locations are linked in history - again, recounted by Aghyad ...

... trip is all about. <br><br>Some of these experiences are just totally unexpected and random. Around sundown last night I was passing through my leafy and nice neighborhood which is lined with late model Mercedes and Toyotas and happened upon a row of trees. Now normally a row of trees isn't anything special but the thousands of birds chirping were. I have only seen and heard this one other time in Kuala Lumpur and the noise is incredible ...

... life in Damascus. <br><br>Damascus<br>(which means Beauty) became a settlement because it was an oasis &#8211;<br>created by the Barada river. The river is now dried up and sad to<br>see, and although the city is still beautiful, it is an ominous<br>reminder of climate change and as one Syrian puts it - &#8220; in Syria<br>ours is not a problem of oil, it is a problem of water!&#8221;<br>Our<br>first stop is to visit the National Museum, set back from the hustle<br>and bustle ...

... We hooked up with another traveller, Henry (a fellow Liverpool fan from Somerset) and even found a bar that served alcohol. It wasn't on the menu or on display but if you asked for it you could have it. Middle Eastern wine so far has not been great but the beer is good and we even got to watch Spain thrash NZ in the footy. Littleman wasn&#8217;t concerned as it was Torres who lead the destruction.<br> <br>We spent a day at the beach, chilling out but it was also an ...

... they have for centuries. Barring the swarm of yellow taxi's which plague the streets, you could easily believe that you have stepped into a time warp and had been teleported into the 14th century! Aleppo is famous for its ancient souq (like a market, but absolutely integral to the lives of the people - supermarkets do not exist over here yet, so the market is the hub of the city), which many believe to be the most vibrant and authentic souq in the whole Middle East. Its smells and ...

... and every so often he would pick it up and bang it down on the metal tray next to him which made people laugh, it was a pretty funny evening and he interacted well with the crowd and there was a mixture of westerners and locals in there. After we walked around the old town again and grabbed a massive ice cream for around 90 pence covered in nuts it was pretty good. So far I have really been impressed with Syria and Damascus is a lovely city lots to see and easy to ...

Hey People I am ever glad I let my friend Izzat talk me into spending a couple days in Damascus. When I met him in the taxi from Beirut, I was planning on stopping in Damascus just long enough to switch cabs and head to Jordan but he convinced me to let him show me around the old city. I was expecting Damascus to be a crazy overpopulated and loud city like Aleppo but it was nothing like Aleppo. Damascus is the capital ...

... Kamal's disappointment, I didn't want to waste time eating lunch. I think he was hungry...but to me he hadn't earned the right to my "free" lunch. Besides, we had a bit of a drive ahead of us. Since the sun sets at 4.30pm at this time of year, I didn't want to find ourselves in the dark at our next stops. After we finished walking through the Old City, we finally found our driver and set out for Seidnayya and the Christian ...