Life as we know it... in Syria
Things to watch out for while living in Syria:
-Your toes. Sidewalks are narrow or non-existent here, and passing taxis and cars will come within a hair’s width of those vulnerable appendages if you don’t jump out of the way. So we are literally, “kept on our toes.”
-Enterprising (read: over-charging) taxi drivers. We are now familiar with the
cost of certain taxi routes, and were recently asked to pay double the correct fare by a driver who refused to use his meter. We handed him the usual price and got out of the car. He followed us, honking his horn and shouting, for two blocks. We finally resolved this dispute by involving a by-standing fruit-seller, who settled in our favor. A small victory – of course, we proceeded to be completely “hosed” by a restaurant later that same day!
-Cats. Even feline lovers would agree there are too many here! I am including a picture of some trash receptacles, which were covered by 18 cats when I counted one night. And believe me, these are not your average American housecats.
Things to savor while living in Syria:
-Freshly-baked bread. There are bakeries on every block, with delicious pastries, breads and desserts. Not good for the waistline, but ooh so good-tasting! Today we purchased two loaves of French bread and two baguettes for the equivalent of 20 cents (US). We were thrilled to find that although we had given the baker 30 cents, he gave us back 10 of it because we had “overpaid.” We will be going back to this bakery.
-The dry climate. My skin is clear, and every thing dries in a matter of minutes. It’s hot here in the midday, but the instant you step into the shade it’s cool. The breeze blowing through the city is lovely, although it does bring quite a bit of dust with it.
-History at your fingertips. We live on the street where Ananias (from the book of Acts) lived; around the corner from us is an arch dating back to the Roman Empire, and we recently visited a coffeehouse in the old city which has been in existence for 200 years.
-Your toes. Sidewalks are narrow or non-existent here, and passing taxis and cars will come within a hair’s width of those vulnerable appendages if you don’t jump out of the way. So we are literally, “kept on our toes.”
-Enterprising (read: over-charging) taxi drivers. We are now familiar with the
cost of certain taxi routes, and were recently asked to pay double the correct fare by a driver who refused to use his meter. We handed him the usual price and got out of the car. He followed us, honking his horn and shouting, for two blocks. We finally resolved this dispute by involving a by-standing fruit-seller, who settled in our favor. A small victory – of course, we proceeded to be completely “hosed” by a restaurant later that same day!-Cats. Even feline lovers would agree there are too many here! I am including a picture of some trash receptacles, which were covered by 18 cats when I counted one night. And believe me, these are not your average American housecats.
Things to savor while living in Syria:
-Freshly-baked bread. There are bakeries on every block, with delicious pastries, breads and desserts. Not good for the waistline, but ooh so good-tasting! Today we purchased two loaves of French bread and two baguettes for the equivalent of 20 cents (US). We were thrilled to find that although we had given the baker 30 cents, he gave us back 10 of it because we had “overpaid.” We will be going back to this bakery.
-The dry climate. My skin is clear, and every thing dries in a matter of minutes. It’s hot here in the midday, but the instant you step into the shade it’s cool. The breeze blowing through the city is lovely, although it does bring quite a bit of dust with it.
-History at your fingertips. We live on the street where Ananias (from the book of Acts) lived; around the corner from us is an arch dating back to the Roman Empire, and we recently visited a coffeehouse in the old city which has been in existence for 200 years.
posted by Elisabeth | 11:45 AM
2 Comments:
Elisabeth, you are such a wonderful and descriptive writer! I feel like I'm experiencing Damascus along with you and learning along the way. Thanks for keeping us up to date. I miss having you both around the building!
I was studying those trash/garbage containers. I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore. G'Pa
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