The Road to Damascus

What a whirlwind trip! Because Geoff was here such a short time, we decided to see if we could do a quick 2-day trip to Damascus, Syria. The border is only about an hour up the road from Amman and then another hour past to Damascus. Little did we know what an adventure we were getting ourselves into. My friend Jon also came with two friends of his from the States that are visiting. The five of us got along very well so I knew the trip would be no problem. To start the trip, we first had to find a taxi in Abdali (a neighborhood of Amman) that would take us from Amman to Damascus for a good price. Geoff and I found one and then, while we were waiting for Jon, he called us and said they were already on their way. oops!! Miscommunication, so anyway, Geoff and I hop in a taxi with two other guys we don't know and head to the border. The first stop at the border is a check point where an army man walks out in full uniform and takes your passports from the driver of the taxi. He attempted to say everyone's name and got most right except mine. For some reason, my name really messes with people here. Anyway, we then drive on a make a stop where we get out of the car and have to wait in line to pay a departure fee for leaving Jordan, 5 JD. Then get back in the car where we drive to yet another stop and this is the big one. We go inside, fill out a small blue form, and hand it to the guy sitting behind the "foreign arrivals" desk. He takes a look and says that it might take awhile so sit down. Because the US and Syria do not have good relations, it took us 5 hours, yes that's right, 5 hours to get our visas cleared to go into the country for less than 2 days. Luckily, all of us were cleared, along with two other Americans we met that were traveling there.

Once outside the arrivals building, taxi drivers began huddling around us, making different offers in Arabic of prices to Damascus. In Syria, there is not much English spoken but luckily, both of the Americans we met were studying Arabic and held their own in conversation. I was proud because I could understand all the numbers being thrown around. Anyway, we finally decided on a price and split into two groups of three. This is where the story gets interesting. We are on the way out of the border crossing and stop for the car inspection. At least point, more army guys are searching the guys like crazy and then, BAM! They yank out cigarettes from a secret compartment under the dash or in the trunk. Lots of yelling occurs and then our driver had to back out and go back to "get rid of" the stash. When we pulled up out back, all of the taxi drivers were stuffing cigarettes anywhere you could imagine, taping them to the side of their legs under their pants, etc. There is a heavy tax on cigarettes so to buy them at the duty free store and then to smuggle them in is a huge business. Our taxi driver was not too smart as you will see. We pulled up to the car inspection a second time, and MORE cigarettes found. The army guy smashed them on the head of the taxi driver. Once again, back up, fix, and come back. Finally, we made it through the border in one piece and were on the way to Damascus.

As we drove, we could see a beautiful, snow-topped mountain in the distance. We later found out that that is the point where Syria/Lebanon/and Palestine meet. It was quick unexpected but very pretty to see. The rest of the land seemed more fertile then in Jordan, less brown and much more green. The weather about the same, with the nights getting fairly chilly, as it is December 22nd.

Driving into the city, you could feel the different atmosphere. Damascus is such an old city, full of history, and the people just seem to feel that too. I loved the difference between Amman and Damascus, Damascus had that old town character - that stories were there, told and untold. We found a hostel to stay in thanks to our new friends we were traveling with and let me tell you, the hostel was wonderful! It was about $15 a night and we girls had a private bathroom in our room. The layout of the hostel and even parts of the city really reminded me of Italy, maybe Venice with the tiny winding streets.

Because we were in the city literally less than 24 hours, we decided to focus on seeing as much of the Old City as we could. We walked to the "souq" or the market and were just overwhelmed with the amount of shops. It is built in the old train station from the 1920's and it almost gives you the feel of somewhere in Europe. While browsing the shops, we came across the best shawarma that I have had yet. It is this bundle of lamb meat, tomatoes, pickles, fries, and labneh sauce which is to die for. When I leave the Middle East, I will most definitely miss their food!!

From then on, I pushed part of the group to find St. Paul's church, supposedly the site where he was lowered over the Old City wall in a basket to flee his persecutors. Amazing to be there, inside, and take pictures - take in all the beauty around it. Even though the city is amazing, I do have to say it was dirty, not as dirty as Cairo was but pretty dirty. Amman really looks much better than the other two cities I mentioned; however, it makes me laugh that I am used to the pollution here. When I first arrived in August, I thought Amman was such a dirty city, and now, I am calling it the cleanest. Unbelievable how perceptions change over time!

The end to our trip was also a bit exciting. We attempted to find the one bus that leaves for Amman at 3 pm on Monday afternoon. Took a taxi to the bus station, where any normal individual would think you catch a bus, and then found out that it was the wrong place. Then, in limited Arabic, we found that we should catch a local bus, #15, that would take us to the place where we could catch the bus. Unfortunately, we were running late and missed the Jett Bus to take us to Amman. When we got to the new station, a few people helped us right away and we ran into another American who we recognized had been staying at the hostel. Orlando from Sacramento. Anyway, he tagged along with us so we split again into three and three. By the time we got through the border AGAIN, we were exhausted, however, we decided for Geoff's last night, we should go to dinner and enjoy. My conductor called and told me about a great place to go for Iraqi food and we agreed! The food was to die for, I can't even describe. All I can say is that the six of us just stopped talking for about 10 minutes while we inhaled the delicious food.

Whew! Quite a trip. I will be off to Bethlehem in just another day so I have to get stuff done! I do have work that I do :o) woohoo. Alright, talk to you soon. Hope that everyone is ready for Christmas, wish I could be there. Love you and miss you, xoxo