After our road trip north, we reached Damascus last night after dark. Marie walked us back to the hotel, but let us go out for dinner on our own. We have been cautioned not to leave the old city without Marie, but Marie has assured us that we can wander the old city as much as we want and that it is very safe-and we've had no reason to feel otherwise. Marie asked if we would want to go to a restaurant she recommended, and we agreed, and she called to order ahead for us. I must not have taken a photograph of the food, but I did take a photo of my Syrian beer!
Our hotel owns a men's hammam several blocks away, and guests can go for free. It was too bad to leave Diana behind, but I could not pass up the opportunity, so I headed over after dinner. I did not take my phone into the bathing area, of course, but here are some photos of the lounge where you lock up your things and sit and drink cay afterward.
As to the bath itself, it was an interesting experience to be bathed by someone else! I enjoyed myself immensely and it was pretty cool to have it just be part of the hotel stay! By the way, this is the hammam, with a normal-sized poster of President Assad outside, of course.
This morning, our last day in Syria, we began with another impressive breakfast spread!
Then, before Marie arrived, I headed out for a quick walk to see the old city streets before things got going.
Actually, I got myself a little bit lost, but managed to make it back to the dar for 10:00, the time we were to meet Marie. We were scheduled to leave Damascus back to Beirut for 16:00, and Marie had a full old city itinerary planned!
Our first stop was the Hanania Church, which is supposed to be on the site of Ananais's first century home, where the Apostle Paul stayed after being struck blind on the road to Damascus.
Nearby, we visited a brocade seller, who we had a nice time visiting with.
He also deals in inlaid wood.
From the shop we walked to "Straight Street" (the name it's known as in the Bible, although in Roman cities this street was always also called the "Decumanus Maximus"--the main east-west road) and through the Bab Sharqi, or East Gate.
We walked southeast along the old city wall to the Church of St Paul, which is built at the wall where tradition holds St. Paul escaped Damascus by being lowered in a basket.
Back on Straight Street, we took our time walking west, further into the old city. Even now at 11:00 things were just starting to move, with many of the shops and cafes still closed.
We stopped at the Zaitoun Catholic church, but it was closed up and we could not go inside.
I think the next stop on our itinerary was to be Cafe Al Qishla, but it did not open until noon, so Marie took us on a bit of a further walk off of Straight Street. Here, the buildings for the most part are much less cared for and restored as on the more "main" streets.
One thing you see in many places are photos of the "martyrs"--young soldiers who died in the war. At this spot there are photos of several, presumably all from this neighbourhood.
More frequently, you see just one above or beside a door, where the household has lost someone.
Obviously this is a very heavy reminder of the violent reality of life in Syria over the last twelve years. At least 300,000 Syrian soldiers have been killed on all sides, and the United Nations counts a similar number of dead civilians. Presumably in a country of ~22 million there are very few families who have not lost a relative.
I am guessing that the Mustafa Ali Gallery was not a planned stop, but rather Marie looking for things to do until noon. You can see the building on the right in the picture below--you would not guess much is behind that wall . . .
. . . but look inside! This beautifully resorted home is the studio and gallery for the sculptor Mustafa Ali.
After the gallery we also got a tour of the Talisman Hotel, where people like Brad Pitt have stayed when they visited Syria. It is a restored dar like our hotel is, but to be honest felt a little "too much," and as amazing as it was to tour, it did not make me regret staying in Dar Al Mamlouka.
Once our tour of the hotel was complete, it was almost noon, and we could stop for coffee at the Cafe Al Qishla. I do not know why I did not take a picture of the cafe (or the Talisman Hotel, for that matter), but it too is in a beautifully restored old dar, with a lovely covered courtyard. We sat by the fountain and Marie and I played backgammon (I lost).
After coffee, we were back on Straight Street continuing west. We visited a metal worker in his tiny shop (probably only three feet wide between the shelves!).
Here he is showing us how he works on a piece.
I asked him if he was worried about his eyes with the little specks of bronze flying, and he showed me eyewear he wears--only he did not put them on as he worked here!
It is beautiful work, and we bought one of these beaded lamps to take home.
We moved into the Al Buzuriyah souk, past displays of dried fruits . . .
. . . and spices . . .
. . . and candy . . .
. . . . and dried animal paraphernalia(!) . . .
. . . to the Khan Asad Basha.
This building was the largest caravansary in the old city. It was very quiet, especially compared to the bustling Buyak Han caravansary we visited last week in Cyprus.
Now it was time for lunch! First, some boiled beans with lemon and spices at this beautifully presented stand.
You are served a basket of the beans and dip them in the spiced salt.
Then we ate this pizza-esque street food, the name of which I forget already.
We also ate a chickpea dish, and maybe some other street food, too--we really were going all out! We had run out of Syrian pounds, so Marie was paying for everything, and we gave her a $50 USD bill to cover our expenses today and a tip... which among other things tells you how cheap everything is!
After our lunching, we headed to the most significant building in the old city of Damascus, the Umayyad Mosque.
This mosque is considered the fourth most holy site in Islam, after only Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem. A few years ago we visited the mosque in Kairouan, Tunisia, which also claims to be the fourth most holy site, but either way, whichever is true, now I feel confident in saying we have visited the fourth most holy Islamic city! Anyway, the Umayyad mosque is home to several shrines, including this one to Saladin . . .
Husayn was beheaded and apparently his head was displayed in this niche, where pilgrims can now also stick their head and kiss the spot.
Although the shrines and prayer halls are interesting and beautiful, I was particularly taken with the mosque's courtyard.
It was 16:00 when we left the mosque, and our time in the old city was drawing to a close. There was one more thing, however, we needed to try, the Bakdash ice cream shop in the (very crowded) Al-Hamidiyah Souq.
Bakdash has been around since 1895, and is clearly still doing quite well for itself!
They serve the ice cream with pistachios folded in--these are the ingredients before they combine them:
And here are two bowls with the ice cream and pistachios combined.
With pistachio ice creams in hand, we weaved our way out of the souk and out of the old city into the madness of Saturday afternoon traffic. Marie found a taxi and we clambered in. We had one more spot to go, Nairabein Park on the outskirts of the city. On the way, we passed the famous Damscene sword monument, which I was able to photograph as we drove by.
Nairabein Park is terraced and as you climb you can look back over the city, including a very large Syrian flag.
The park is beautiful, and we were able to take photos here, and then say good bye to Marie, because from here our driver was meeting us to take us back to the border, and, ultimately, back to Beirut.
Prior to getting into the car for the drive, I stopped in the park's bathroom--and I had to photograph it. As beautiful as the park is, and as lovely as much of Damascus is, the bathroom is a stark reminder that Syria faces many challenges!
Anyway, unhygienic, poorly maintained bathrooms aside, our short time in Syria was absolutely unforgettable, and well worth the effort to get here.
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