... of passengers up to the top. Three of them were speaking Arabic with a Levantine accent, although not probably an urban one. I asked them if they were Syrian, but they answered Israelis. "From where exactly?" ...
... revealing answer to a routinely enquiry I had made just to pass the time of day, but I was wrong. The man said he was from Syria.
My surprise was such that I instantly and naturally asked him in Arabic ...
... London, I felt a bit nostalgic of my summer past roaming across Syria and Turkey.
My visit was unconventional: I did my sightseeing at the time, and now I just let my eyes roam appreciatively on lovely ...
... the impression that I was upsetting their schedule, as they are eaten mostly during the afternoon. Their breakfast is also often a salty one.
On my first visit to Syria, I was first enthralled by the ...
As I was having breakfast today I watched the news with a different eye. I had grown weary of the early morning al Jazeera newscast reviewing a series of demonstrations in Syrian cities just introduced ...
My Syrian friend Alaa, who likes writing stories, sent me an interesting tale. It's the story of Little red hood as told by the wolf's grandson. According to this version, the wolf is the good character, ...
أخضر...أخضركاللون الذي ينير مآذن مساجد دمشق في الليل. اللون الأخضر الذي يرى منأعلى جبل قاسيون متشتتًا في المدينة الكبيرة. وعندما تتجول في الشوارع فإنه يُبهِرالبصر أحيانًا لأنه يضرب في العيون مباشرة بحدّته.قدتجده ...
20 August - When I get up everybody are still sleeping. I decide to wake Husseyn up and leave to attend to my errands in different parts of the city. I pass at the Ommayad Mosque stunningly beautiful ...
... documents. I get away from him and cross the two frontiers on foot.
In Syria they tell me I should wait for the microbus to Lattakia at the street corner. A youth selling fruit at a stall invites me ...
16 August - I get up at 8, ready to take care of my passport. I drink coffee with my hosts, then the boys give me a lift to the otogar. I meet yesterday's drivers and Semih accompanies me to the shipping ...
... me tea, then collect my luggage and walk to the dolmus station to go to the Syrian border.
A guy approaches me in the street, says he's a Christian, and wants to take me to the stop. This is unnecessary, ...
... I regret not visiting Urfa, but the distance doesn't allow for a detour from my descent to Syria. Well, I will find some way to keep myself busy. After eating some sweets with a cup of tea in the square ...
... a library guidebook to Syria, spare underwear, a camera battery charger… I consider the possibility of carrying on my journey with the very little possessions that I'm left with. Possible, but hard.
I ...
7 August - I am not quite recovered from my stomach ache yet. I've decided not to take part in the trip to Noah's Ark and take it easy to visit Ishaqpasha Seray. I start out on foot to cover the 7 uphill ...
6 August - Last night Dominic self-complacently told me about the feats he has carried out: overnighting in his sleeping-bag on the pyramid of pebbles on top of Nemrut Dagi (which is obviously forbidden ...
3 August - I'm unwell. I call by the chemist's and get myself a syrup that is as yellow as a text marker, to be taken three times a day. At 10.30 comes the bus and they call me while I'm having breakfast ...
... green, stretching towards the nearby border with Syria and beyond into its interior. It's a view and an atmosphere that fill me with euphoria. The hot sun tinges with handsome golden full light this spectacle ...
... gruppo di giovani della Assyrian Youth of Sweden, siriaci della diaspora che ha ormai prosciugato la popolazione cristiana di queste parti. Anche questa chiesa è degna di tutta l'attenzione che le ho riservato. ...
... notice a change in landscape, much greener than Syria, but still grilled by a sun that stops the grass growing. More than that, I noticed a change in the outlook of towns and in the living standard. Be ...