Syrian brewskis and wandering the souks
Trip Start
Jun 21, 2008
1
12
23
Trip End
Jul 24, 2008
Damascus,
Syria
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Shockingly, today I awoke at 7am and hit the town before the sun became brutal. I wandered the Old Town souks, watched all the men preparing shop for the day. Very calming experience. But as it always goes- as the heat came out my stomach started getting as angry. I got some fantastic blueberry/blackberry/raspberry drink on the street (it wasn't any of those berries, but some strange combination that tasted magical) along with a "cham" and Fatteh, local Syrian goodness. The country is known for their food and it was apparent the first day I got here. It's wonderful. I grabbed an ice cream also.. this strange, almost "sticky" white concoction sprinkled with pistachios. Good stuff.
The people in Damascus are very friendly, non-confrontational, but curious. I get stared at a lot here, but rarely do people ever say anything more then hello. Yesterday I had an incident with a dude that wouldn't stop talking for around a block or so, he immediately left me alone when I showed him my wedding ring. But I'm convinced that they just want to speak English. They're harmless, just super curious and enjoy speaking with new people.
I saw some random stuff today... today was a day of no regrets and getting the shot!! People are staring at me anyways, at one point I just said f*ck it all and just take the picture. Sometimes it just makes me raise and eyebrow and then I laugh. Some dude was sitting outside with a bowl of goldfish. I assume he was selling them, but why he picked the middle of the street next to men selling carved carrot and cucumber art is anyone's best guess. (photos coming soon..)But seriously, the carrot/cucumber guy attracted quite the crowd. When he revealed his cucumber cut like a slinky the crowd literally backed away, oohing and awwing at his edible art. hmm. And then there are the juice guys who carry a huge piece of steel machinery on their backs, bending over to pour out the liquid when someone flags him down. This thing almost looks like a giant shisha, But these men are what good bartenders are to us.. they're throwing the water up, flipping glasses in the air, catching behind backs, it's quite the show. I have yet to figure out if this juice is tamarind. While I wandered through the souks of Old Damascus I was intrigued by the number of little shops selling scandalous leopard print clothing. This to me is a very strange thing. The whole concept that they actually wear other things in the home is beyond my comprehension. From a foreigners perspective, the Muslim public aesthetic works to convey the existence of a quixotic community. When walking the streets it's easy to forget that we're all just human.
I don't think I've mentioned it, but 5 times every day the Call to Prayer is broadcasted from Mosques all over the Arab world. It lasts around 5 minutes, and sounds like a guy singing over a giant megaphone (which it is...). The first one usually wakes me up at 4am every morning. Today, I caught the 2pm call while visiting the Omayyad Mosque. While I was already fully covered, I was instructed to wear a dark brown cloak with a hood, since I didn't have head cover at the time. I have seen Muslims pray while in Egypt, but it's a completely different experience to watch hundreds and hundreds praying simultaneously in one of the most important religious places in Syria.
I spent a good 4 hours today beating the midday heat by writing in an AC-ed cafe, which took me over an hour to find. It was the first AC I've felt in around 5-6 days. I came to a realization.. being here has shown me that I need to always go with my gut. I wouldn't be having the time of life right now if I hadn't taken that leap of faith and trusted my senses. I would love to really get into photography, write and publish a book, or even join the Peace Corps. I would love to work overseas and help people as directly as I can. I don't know many things right now but I know that much. I gave the grad school as much of a chance as I possibly could but it's just not in my heart. Maybe another time, you never know.
