Damascus Cont'd
Trip Start
Oct 20, 2008
1
21
93
Trip End
Jan 31, 2009
Damascus,
Syria
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
My 2 roommates, the Australian and the Irish chaps, left for Aleppo. The Irish chap was planning to backpack through Africa. I wonder if he will make it through.
Went to the Arab Science and Medicine Museum. As Lonely Planet (LP) says, it was a "hodgepodge". Plus, there were very few signs in English. These guys haven't got a clue about how to make and maintain museums.
Passed through the Roman Arch into the Christian quarters. I visited quite a few Greek Orthodox and Catholic churches. However, could not find Maronite or Syrian Orthodox ones. At least the patriarch of the Syrian Orthodox Church is also supposed to be in Damascus
Christian Quarters 2
. Wikipedia estimates that 15% of the city's population consists of Christians, mostly Catholic.Saw only one Jew and no synagogue. When I attempted to go deeper into the Jewish quarters, as the section had been labelled in the LP map, a middle aged lady stopped me and asked me to leave. Couldn't get the logic there. Later, a German doctor told me that they were anly 50 Jews left in Damascus and that the synagogue was in decay. Similar to the situation in Antakya...
Had chicken Shwarma near the eastern wall of the Umayyad Mosque and drank a fresh glass of pommegranate juice. Later, had Turkish coffee at a coffehouse called an-Nafura. I was surprised to learn that they call the coffee "Turkish" here, because I know that they call it "Arabic" coffee in some other Arab countries. It usually is quite difficult to pinpoint who invented a particular food or a drink. Therefore, I'll give the credit to all the people who claim it ;)
There was a big change when I moved from the Muslim quarters into the Christian ones. Streets got cleaner, buildings newer and people better put together. The town's best boutique hotels and the most popular club, Marmar are also here
Inside al-Hamidiyya
. Knowing that Marmar has Friday night parties, it could not have been elsewhere.Got lost as I was trying to find the National Museum. Ended up walking for kilometers. I noticed that this town did not feel diplomatic at all. There are no flags, escorts or dignitaries. Even the house of parliament is not easily recognizable.
The Damascus University is the education hub of the country.
The tourist information office was very helpful in telling me how to get to Bosra and to Amman. They even made reservations for me.
The Takiyya al-Suleymaniya, right next to the info office, is a 16th Century mosque built by Sinan the Architect. Currently, it is being renovated with Turkish funds.
The National Museum was closed, because today is a Tuesday.
My impression is that Syrians really like the al-Assad family and that they hang their posters because they genuinely feel an attachment to them
The Christian Quarters
. I must add that Ahmedinejad is regarded almost as highly as al-Assad Jr.Follow the upward sloping street that runs right next to Ghazal Hotel. When the street makes a sharp turn to the left, you will see a juice bar on your left. I had a Mexican chicken sandwich and a fresh mix of apple, carrot and orange juices, for dinner. 150 pounds. Tasted good.
The LP map is useless. It got me lost many times, even though I was using a compass. The problem is that the LP staff has ommitted many of the side-streets. However, this city has been built on side-streets!
