Afternoon prayers in the Ommayade mosque in Damascus, when the weight of the world is lifted in the pause between proclamations. As the daily Ramadan fast is ended by a cannon blast, an old man distributes dates by the handful to everybody sitting on the huge rugs.

Walking the narrow streets of the Christian quarter of Aleppo with a brilliant man, the tour guide met at Olga's hotel. He later enlightened me as to Syrian backgammon tactics. The ancient streets of Aleppo!
Being sick as a dog while camping south of the Crusaders' Crack and talking with charming dynamic and handsome Ahmed about his vision of the Middle East which scared the shit out of me.


The ruins of Palmyre (Tadmur) where the beautiful Zenobie, "as intelligent as a man", left her mark in a hopeless revolt against the Roman Empire. The city is the largest Roman ruins I have ever seen. Later we took the car into the oasis where the famous dates of Tadmur are grown; the oasis is a series of shady gardens cut off from the road by high mud walls. Any Westerner would have loved to live there, but the locals live in modern block houses and bicycle into the oasis to work. When we have trouble passing a man on his bike, he stops us to give us a bunch of dates. His greatest pleasure is this drop of hospitality..

The Al-Haramain hotel in Damascus (tel. 2319489) is a delight. Go across the street and meet the tailor, who is one of the happiest men I have ever seen in all my life. He makes his living creating little fascist uniforms for children with the effigy of the Assad family pinned on their little breasts. The fish stinks from the head, we say, and this is a perfect example. When an ideology has territorial integrity an entire nation becomes mad.

Madame Olga! The unforgettable Madame Olga of Aleppo.
Visit her and stay at the Tourist Hotel (tel. 216583).
She is an Armenian Christian from Lattakia who was widowed early. Hired to work in this hotel she eventually became the owner and runs a tight ship.
We have rarely been in such a beautiful and clean place.
If you want a warm place in her heart, compliment her on the cleanliness of her hotel. Her French is impeccable.
Across the street is a hostel which gives the best rate in the country for cash advances on your credit card.
If you remember nothing else about Syria, remember this.
If you leave Aleppo short of cash, you'll regret it.
Also, you can buy books there in English including guide books to the forbidden 'Disney Land'.
When I asked the clerk innocently about Disney Land he told me, "It's Palestine", as though the word 'Israel' would probably burn his lips.
You see, when you ask for your visa to Syria, not only do they ask your religion, they also ask if you had ever been to Occupied Palestine. The word Israel is definitively taboo there.
They have a long way to go.

If you visit the Crusaders' Crack, DO NOT STAY in the Table Ronde hotel.
When in Damascus, DO GO for dinner at Beit-Jibril.
When in Aleppo, DO splurge at Chez Sissie, although the entrées are better than the meat. Order a bottle of Syrian wine. They take Visa.