Somewhere Out There

Well, I love Damascus. Seriously. I haven't felt this way about a city since my first few days in New York. The Souqs (markets) with some stalls which are older than the USA. The Jasmatiya St. - the Las Vegas of Sweets - mmmmm, so delicious - honey, phillo, walnut, chocolate, pisctachio, Sugar.... you get the point. The old city has so many great winding streets, and the Street called Straight from the Bible. Beautiful Mosques, the Citadel, the Museum which houses the oldest written alphabet, the first musical score, and so much ancient glass, pottery, weapons, jewelry - I could go on like this for awhile. At the museum I met a wonderful guide, Damascene, and he speaks French, no English, so I was able to brush up a bit as we walked around. After we had a cup of tea and and relaxed in the gardens. The hospitality here is unbelievable - as a woman traveling alone, I never would have expected to find the Middle East the safest and most open of all the places I've gone. Many shopkeepers want to meet me, practice their english, have a conversation, and invariably, offer me tea. I've helped operate an old silk brocade machine, found a great, hidden, open air restaurant in the Old City, and been shown Bosra from the corner shop of a vegetable seller. Honestly, so many great things have happened, small, specific moments in time that I feel blessed to have. Damascus is the oldest inhabited city in the world, and it feels so full of Life. The difference between Ancient and Old are sinking in, and as I head to Europe, my frame of reference is completely different from when I started this trip. I"m still very excited to see Notre Dame and all the other aspects of architecture and life - but after walking in the same street as the Apostle Paul, well, as I said, my frame of reference has shifted. Today I'm off to Palmyra, the Romans ruins at the oasis in the desert, and then the Krak de Chevaliers - a fairytale Crusader castle - maybe that sounds a bit oxymoronic, but I think you get the point.