Shahbandar Palace Damascus

... this: that's just another example of Egypt adopting US attitudes, goes the summarised replies.<br><br>On towards Damascus, a very long road to Damascus from Asia, and it dawns that the road here is a thief. Its collusion with time will not permit the traveller to see all - especially in this history-filled corner of the world.<br><br>For Syria is a country of ruins, pre-Greek, Roman, Umayyad, Ottoman, 20th century. How many can one visit? How many must one visit to get a take on ...

... to<br>the top of the mountain in time for Friday evening prayer being<br>conducted atop a rocky outcrop overlooking the city. After that we<br>head back into the Christian Quarter for one of the best meals I have<br>ever had! Including cherry kebab &#8211; you have to try it to believe it<br>can be so good! Desert consists of about 8 different Syrian<br>specialities on a steel dish accompanied by a big plate of fruit<br>adorned by an open pomegranate which looks suspiciously ...

... and debated the morality of caging birds individually just so they will sing to each other. If possible I will try to post DeVan's video where she does a tour of the garden. It's informative and entertaining, haha. Inside the musuem was a bit boring...let's be honest...if you aren't into things so ancient they may as well be irrelevant, a museum like this isn't really for you without a tour guide. What is interesting is the various population shifts and empires ...

... or Saudi, etc. Good news: I found Kahlua at the duty free so I was happy. <br><br>Wait, wait, wait, visa, visa, visa, stamp, stamp, stamp, cheese it up for the border patrol and BAM off we went: 3:30pm -ish, music pumpin, hair blowing, voices yelling, "Syria, F* Yay!" and so on all the way to Damascus where I had to start paying attention because Adib and Moha can't read signs (not really but I still have my suspicions). My initial impression of the ...

Dino has been in desperate need of a haircut. There is a little old barber man down the end of our street that he has been eying him up since the last time we were in town. For Dino getting a hair cut is a big deal as for the last 10 years only one person has ever been aloud to touch his hair. He doesn't really trust anyone. He finally worked up the courage on the last night in Damascus.<br>While Dino was sitting in the shop waiting for the old man to finish shaving another guy the ...

... is also just as impressive. If you are ever in Damascus, I highly recommend that you visit the site - it deserves its spot on the "100 places to visit in a lifetime" list. We then took a minibus to the top of Mount Qasioun which is also heavily recommended. The view of Damascus is breathtaking and the sunset was quite beautiful. After that we went to the old city to explore at night and have light snacks. Bashar took us ...

... chamber which I just had to go and see, and after a few scrapes on the way down there we were, in this pitch black abyss surrounded the bones of Romans. Good job my torch didn't run out, or we'd been in deep trouble! True Indiana Jones material. What a feeling. On the long drive back from Palmyra to Damascus which was more or less exclusively desert, we had wild dogs run at the car and headbut the doors, saw donkey after donkey carrying what seemed physically impossible ...

March 6, Friday Our breakfast is served to our room! I guess that is why there is a table and 2 chairs in the room. Len has a sore back from his lumpy bed. Mine was o.k. We ask for a different room and are moved down 1 floor and to the other side of the building. We are off first to the old train station to look at the stately building and take a picture of the old engine out front. There is a book fair on inside so we go in and have a look at the ornate stone work ...

... me the non-negotiable price of $250. All the buses had left Damascus already. What I could have done was to go to the bus station and negotiate a price with the sketchy drivers there. This way I would have paid less than $250 and had arrived in Amman 5 hour before the flight. Unfortunately, I hate Syrian cab drivers and would rather wait for 5 extra hours instead of getting ripped off by them. As a result, here I am working at the departures lounge ...

... I wasn't entirely sure how much they could really und**stand. Case in point: - "What is that building?"..."It's the Railway Station built by the Ottomans"..."Oh, I didn't know th**e w**e passeng** trains"..."Oh yes, for sure."..."Wh**e can you take the train"..."Th**e aren't any trains anymore for passeng**s"..."Well, ok then." The key in these countries is to be patient and ask your question againg to be sure the answ ...