Shopping and Chocolate!!
Trip Start
Sep 18, 2008
1
16
50
Trip End
Dec 07, 2008
Damascus,
Syria
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Before we could enter though all the women had to get this horrible grey cloak with a hood to wear, I didn't use the hood though because I had my scarf. We all looked like monks and the outfits were boiling. Once we were appropriately dressed we visited the resting place of Salah al-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyud - or Saladin. The other tomb in the room was a replica donated by a German Emperor. This was not the highlight though, even though it was pretty cool to see the tomb of Saladin. We joined the cue walking into the Mosque's court and struggled to take off our shoes amongst the crowds. As soon as we walked into the court though I think once again there was a collective "wow". The courtyard of the mosque is massive and beautifully decorated. It was interesting to see individuals, couples, groups and families all gathering at the mosque for lunch or to just sit and reflect. We were even more awestruck upon entering the prayer hall though. It was great to have Bish show us the ritual that a Muslim performs during their prayers. Inside, a huge LED board tells you when all the call to prayers will be for that day and another board tells you what the time and temperature is. We sat down and Bish explained to us the difference between Sunni and Shī‘ah Muslims and the only main difference is the ritual performed while praying. It was also interesting because you always hear the conflicts between sunni and Shī‘ah but in the mosque they were all praying together. This is also the image that Syria want portrayed to the world, that everyone lives in harmony - Sunni and Shi'ite, Muslims and Christians and Muslims, Christians and Jews. Also inside the mosque is a shrine which is said to contain the head of St. John the Baptist (him again!!). When we went out of the mosque the call to prayer was just about to start and Bish had told us that the Umayyad Mosque has the most beautiful call to prayer in the world and it is unique as well. He was right. The call is unique as it is performed in a group, one person does the main call and the rest back him up. It was very nice.
After the mosque we were all quite hungry so we went for lunch. On the way Bish wanted to show us his favourite place in Damascus - it was called Maktab Anbar or Anbar's Office now it is called the Palace of Culture. The house was beautiful and the gardens were stunning. We had only walked a small way into the garden when Bish asked us to hold hands and close our eyes. We were all a bit curious as to why we had to do this but after a minute he told us to open our eyes and it was worth it. The view when we opened our eyes was of a stunning garden! It was a great way to see it. After that we went for lunch and as Terry and I still weren't feeling great we stopped and got some anti-biotics as well. More of the group are dropping off with only 3 people now who haven't been sick and that includes Bish. We were then given free time so Terry and I went SHOPPING!!!
We were both looking for a nice cotton top to wear in Egypt and we soon found a shop that had really nice ones. At this shop I bought a scarf and a top for really good prices. I then wanted to find a turban scarf and a bag for all my shopping. I didn't find the bag but I did get a nice blue turban scarf. The place we bought our scarves from had a really nice old man working there - he would have been late 60s, he asked what we both did for a living and when Terry said she worked for the police he said he could tell because she was very stern and would be saying do this do that all the time. When I said that I worked in a shop like him he said again he could tell because I was happier and nicer. He also said that if he wasn't married he would marry the both of us. He then went into a story about how all Syrians get along. I told him that I wanted an I Heart Syria t-shirt and he said that I didn't need one as long as I felt that in my heart. The man was very pleased when we said that we loved Syria and Damascus and he kept wanting to talk to us but we were in a hurry so we had to move. After the souq we went to our chocolate shop and we bought a present for Bashar as well as a 1kg mixed box for us to share. It is great chocolate!!!! After chocolate we quickly raced back to the hotel because I had spent the whole day without sunnies (i know ahhhh). After that we walked to the museum and waited for Bish to arrive cos he is always late. The museum was really good, pity we couldn't take photos though. The entrance to the museum is a reconstruction (part old and part original) of a fortress called Qasr al-Heir al Gharbi and was beauitfully done. The most impressive part was a reconstructed but fully original Synagogue which dates from 2nd C AD. We had to bribe a museum staff member to let us in but it was beautiful. Lots of completed scenes showing everything from Moses parting the Red Sea to frescoes of Abraham and Esther. After the museum we went back to the hotel and got ready for our final dinner.
For dinner we were supposed to go to a place where we would also see a whirling dervish but the place had been booked for a while so we ended up going to a French restaurant in the old city called Elissar. On the way to the restaurant I stopped at a shop and bought some more things and once again the guy really wanted to tell us about Syria. He was telling us how nice the people of Syria are and then told us a story of how the American media blame everything on Syria. Here is the story:
2 American journalists had been in Lebanon and decided they wanted to cross the border into Syria (illegally and journalists aren't allowed to enter Syria). People knew that they had gone to Syria but that was it. After a few days no one had heard from them and one of their parents called a newspaper and said that they child was missing in Syria. Every 5 minutes the news in America was saying how 2 journalists were missing in Syria and how it was Syria's fault. The Syrians eventually found the journalists, found out they had entered the country illegally and so detained them. After 2 days of questioning the reporters were set free with no harm done.
The man in the shop then said how this wouldn't happen in America. A Syrian man would be sent to Guantanamo and not be heard from for 6 years. He agreed that there were some bad people in Syria but you get that everywhere. It is amazing how passionate Syrians are when you get to have a chat to them.
We finally arrived for dinner and it was a nice setting and nice food but it was very slow service. Conner only got his meal after most of us were almost done. I was supposed to go to a club with some of the group that night but I still wasn't feeling well so I didn't bother in the end. I did end up buying an I heart Syria magnet though. Tomorrow we cross into Jordan so I think it will be a long day. Bye
