Damascus

Tea and Nargile at Al-Nofara, a famous Syrian coffee shop

The Umayyad Mosque

Al-Hakawati - a famous Syrian story teller who tells ancient tales in Arabic inside Al-Nofara. The tale this night was the ancient Arabic tale of the muni bond salesmen and the teacher, lost in the middle east.

The Umayyad Mosque

A new friend at the biggest souk in Damascus, Al-Hamidiyeh

So many memorable moments in Damascus, and they started the minute we got there. We walked off the plane from Istanbul, and as we walked in the airport, there were literally 100 men and women in complete Muslim dress, lying and sitting on the floor. It really was an eye opener. Syria is the Middle Eastern main course to Turkey's appetizer.

We stayed at a nice hotel in downtown Damascus, which was about a 15 minute walk to the Old City. The Old City is where we spent all of our time, besides the hotel pool, and we could have wandered their for hours. Very old souks, the Umayyad Mosque (where John the Baptist's head is apparently in one of the sarcophaguses, fruit and juice stands, coffee and narghile (houka), etc. We ate 2 very delishious and incredibly cheap meals. Syria is dirt cheap. No alcohol around at all. You can find it at some places, but most places are Muslim run, and thus don't serve alcohol. I love looking at the "Cocktail Menu" at the restuarants and deciding between Strawberry Juice and Pineapple Juice.