I'll leave Damascus with one last image, that of the interior of one of the great souks (markets). If the mosque is the heart of the old city, these are the veins along which flows the lifeblood of the city. Perhaps a little dramatic, but it's hard not to wax poetic about a place like this.
The holes in the roof, through which shafts of light stream down onto cloth sellers and spice stalls, are bullet holes, marks of the troubled history of the place. The souks themselves are divided into different areas according to the goods being sold, in the kind of ordered chaos which seems bewildering at first - until you commit yourself to getting totally lost amongst it, when simply becomes wondrous.
My memories of Damascus are extraordinarily vivid, even though half the time I spent there was in the throes of food poisoning ("Bedu Belly"). Of all the places visited during this trip, it's Damascus that has the greatest pull to return and see again - it's not a case of whether I'll be back, it's one of when.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Au revoir Damas
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2 comments:
Remember that your food poisoning was because of strange mixtures of food you had in the the middle of the desert - which my instinct told me not to touch of course - not from food in Damascus!
Tip of advice for travellers in the region... Always follow advice of the locals on what NOT to eat and what combinations to avoid. The classic disaster is falafel sandwich followed by local ice-cream - the most instant recipe for diarrhea...
I'll keep that in mind when peoople next drop by unexpectedly and I need to whip up some diarrhoea in a hurry ;-)
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