Midnight escapade in Damascus

I wrote last from a beautiful sea-side rooftop in Turkey. Since then the scenery has changed somewhat – Josh and I have arrived in Damascus. My first impression is that most everything is either gray or tan-colored. It is an old, run down city with an ancient charm you have to look to find. I will be writing more about some of our observations as we explore the city, but first, the story of our arrival.

Our flight from Turkey was delayed (we are getting used to this kind of thing now!) and we actually landed in Damascus at 3:30am on Saturday September 3rd. The book, Culture Shock – Syria, which has been a useful guide on Syrian etiquette and customs, mentions that Damascus is one of the few cities over which NO airplanes fly; in fact, the airport itself is far away from the city, and surrounded by military barricades. We had little trouble leaving the airport, and were waved quickly through customs. Ten dollars later we were stuffed into a taxi and heading down a barren, palm tree-lined road towards the city. Jebel Qassioun, the mountain overlooking Damascus to the north, sparkled beautifully in the chilly night air.

In Damascus, we became a bit nervous after our taxi driver stopped to ask for directions and attempted to drop us off at the wrong hostel. The streets were absolutely deserted and we were disoriented. After a few more turns, the driver stopped again and motioned towards a dark alley, repeating the name of our hostel. It was apparent he has decided this was it. Uncertain, we nevertheless grabbed our bags and headed up the alley.

A few minutes of walking down the alley brought us to a sign marking our hostel – a miracle we thought! The only problem was, it was dark and locked. We knocked and then stepped back, turned and started to walk away, uncertain of what we would do next. Just then a bleary-eyed young man opened the door behind us and mumbled a greeting. Eagerly, we asked if they had any rooms for us. He said there were no rooms left, only roof-top mattresses. We had read about this type of lodging in the Lonely Planet, and wouldn’t necessarily have chosen it for our first night, but at this point we were desperate! We agreed and were led up some windy stairs past a small dirty kitchen to our roof-top accommodations, which consisted of nothing more than 4-inch foam mattress laid on the roof floor. We pulled 2 mattresses together and pushed them into a corner to be a bit more protected from the elements, and after washing our faces and hands and pulling out the sheets we had brought, we fell into bed at 4:30am. (The alley was much darker than in the picture)

5am – the cold desert wind from the east of Damascus kept me awake for awhile; Josh slept on. 9am – I was awakened by the heat of the sun (probably 85 degrees already) on my sheet; Josh slept on until 9:30 or so, when we went down to the courtyard for breakfast and a shower. The courtyard in the hostel is lovely, with a fountain, trailing vines, and ostentatious French colonial décor. Fortunately, we got a room by 11am, and since then have been able to settle in a bit more.

More pictures and stories to come.