Through various means of transit-plane, train, new model suburbans, taxi cabs, chartered 50 passenger buses-my family of 5 and I dragged eight full-size pieces of luggage and sleep deprived eyelids along with us as we visited five cities (Amman, Damascus, Latakia, Aleppo, in the region known as “the Levant” or in Arabic, “bilad as-sham” in an abbreviated two weeks time. If you do the math, that’s about 2-3 days in each city. Now, for my mother, who hadn’t returned to the region since her hurried exit at the onset of war in Lebanon, some 35 years ago, and siblings who had never visited the region and can barely string together a sentence in Arabic that doesn’t have to do with food consumption, the trip was especially meaningful.
This series will feature posts on food in the region, pigment fetishism, especially humorous consumer knock-offs, tips on navigating the Syrian government’s laughably porous attempts at cyber censorship (I’m not married to the idea of this post considering that it might jeopardize my ability to re-enter the country), and local highlights-including music festivals, batizados, hole-in-the wall joints, etc.
*peep the satellite dishes in both photos
Related posts:
- May’s Shameless Attempts to Keep “Culture” Alive in the Gulf: The Series
- Disturbing Image Series: And the Minstrel Show Lives on in Lebanese Markets
- “Closeted Arabs” Series: Kicking Arabs Out of the Closet
- Day 6: On Assignment From Damascus
- Egyptian Comic Series Blowing Up
Looking forward to reading your installments
Posted by Aisha | August 8, 2010, 11:58 amI hope we get more out of this series than we did May's re-Incantations, or whatever it was called. JK. I look forward too.
Posted by KABOBfestWill | August 8, 2010, 2:00 pmhahah pwnt.
speaking of which, my pakistan adventure series is coming, eventually. kfest travel log ftw.
Posted by SanaKF | August 8, 2010, 2:15 pmThank you Mytha for sharing the pictures and your experience.
Just returned back from two weeks trip to Lebanon. I have had it after one week. Just wanted to come back home. Except, I would have had to pay a fine of several hundred dollars to the airline.
Things that I hate the most were:
Why don't your kids speak Arabic?
Why is your 26 yrs. old daughter not married yet?
Of course everyone is an expert or at least they think they are.
Unsolicited advice is very common and the most annoying.
Finally my daughter fired back at people by saying, " how many camel do I owe you for your unsolicited advice.
Well, you all the know the old Arabic say, " an advice used to worth a camel in the old time.
Perhaps I will share later with the readers the high lite of trip.
More later
Posted by Mahmoud El-Yousseph | August 8, 2010, 7:15 pm