Syria

Syria is a very interesting country. Some historians claim the first alphabet was found in the region, it played a crucial role under major empires including the Pharaohs, Greeks, and Romans. The crusades and struggles with Israel deeply involved Syria, and to some extent associated with the Axis of Evil....and I went there:)

My friends and I were really lucky to make it into Syria because we didn't obtain a Visa while we were still in America. So the only option we had was to wait at the border, and we waited for 6 hours! But that is considered a short amount of time. My friends who entered Syria through the Turkish border (we went through Jordan) had to wait 24 hours! wow. Luckily the soldiers were all really nice. They didn't hassle us, instead they permitted us to take all the chairs to sleep on and smiled at us when we played UNO on the floor. I didn't expect this kind of treatment from a so called "terrorist" country. Hmmm oh well. But I have to admit, some aspects of the government were a little frightening. There were pictures and statues of the president everywhere! Even on the cars! And when I say everywhere, I mean everywhere...like every 5 feet. And there were military advertisements in every building. Some of my friends even even met some soldiers who were preparing to travel to Iraq and fight the Americans the next day! What an experience! But of course like every country the majority of the citizens are not in tune with the government. The owner of the hotel helped us argue with the taxis over prices, and when we were lost the people were very helpful and even invited us to tea.

The first day in Syria, we stayed in Damascus. Damascus is so beautiful! It has the busy vibe of Cairo but with fewer people, overpasses for pedestrians, less pollution, and mountains! I was in love, but Cairo will always be in my heart:) In Damascus, we visited the Ommayad Mosque. It is a beautiful mosque! I has 3 towers, one of which some Muslims believe that Jesus will return to. It also contains the so thought burial place of John the Baptiste (which is really cool, but I expected it to be in a Christian shrine, then a Muslim shrine). We also visited the mausoleum of Salah al-Din (the main Muslim fighter during the Crusades). I still can't get over how much history there is in Damascus. They also have a large market (similar to the market in Cairo but with less souvenirs) and they are also famous for ice cream with pistachios on top. Yummy:)

The next day we went to Azem Palace:
he Azem Palace was built in 1749 by the governor of Damascus, As'ad Pasha al-Azem. It's fashioned in typical Damascene style of striped stonework, achieved by alternating layers of black basalt and limestone. The rooms of the modest palace are magnificent, decorated with inlaid tile work and the most exquisite painted ceilings.

Azem Palace comprises a complex of splendid buildings, courtyards and gardens that were built between 1749 and 1752 as a private residence for the governor of Damascus, As'ad Pasha al-Azem. It remained the Azem residence until the beginning of the 20th century, when the family moved outside the Old City and the house was sold to the French to become an Institute of Archaeology and Islamic Art. Badly damaged by fire during uprisings against the French in 1925, it has since been beautifully restored.

After buying your tickets turn left, then right, into a small leafy courtyard, before entering the main courtyard, which has a serene central pool and fountain. The courtyard is fringed by low-rise buildings, all boasting the beautiful black basalt, limestone and sandstone banding technique known as ablaq, a characteristic of Mamluk architecture typically found throughout the Levant and Egyptian, and later adopted by Ottoman masons.

Off the courtyard are a number of sumptuously decorated rooms with wooden panelling, lustrous blue tiling, painted ceilings and coloured paste work - a technique in which a pattern is incised into stone and then filled in with pastes made from different coloured stones to give the effect of an immensely complicated stone inlay. This area served as the haramlik (family or women's quarters).

Also known as the Museum of the Arts & Popular Traditions of Syria, the rooms contain rather kitsch mannequin displays, each with a different theme (the wedding, pilgrimage etc), and displays of exquisite ceramics, costumes, textiles and musical instruments.

We also made friends with the guard. We visited him the rest of the days we were in Damascus and drank tea with him. He also recommended to some really good places to eat. Its amazing what you get once you learn Arabic:) We also managed to find a gorgeous Church on Palm Sunday. It made us all homesick, because we wanted to go to Church:) oh well.