Syria’s history is wicked complicated!

We met Osama in the lobby of the hotel early Saturday morning for a day of sight seeing. Our first stop was the National Museum of Damascus. The museum is undergoing renovations as part of a cooperation program with Italy. The renovations started in February 2007, and over the next 24 months will cost 5,898,237 Euros. Also on the list for restoration under the program is the Citadel of Damascus.

 

The museum’s collection was quite impressive, and Osama gave us a rather comprehensive overview of Syrian history.

 

After the museum, we headed to the Umayyad Mosque. The mosque is one of the oldest in the world, and is said to house the head of John the Baptist. His tomb is in a shrine in the middle of the mosque that is lit with an eerie green light. Weird? But then again, J the B-man was a pretty weird guy.

 

Just outside the mosque is the Shrine of Saladin, the sultan that united the Arab world in the twelfth century.

 

 

We arrived at the mosque by walking through an ancient covered market place called the Hamedieh. Over the next few days, Clarice and I made this place our home away from home. From silver merchants to candies and spices, the twisting streets are full of everything you could ever need. We also made friends with several of the merchants, each of which served us tea and chatted for almost an hour.

 

Another perk about Hamedieh is the plethora of cheap and delicious food. A dollar will buy you a massive ice cream covered in pistachios in a waffle cone. For less than a dollar you can get a chicken shawarma complete with pickles and garlic sauce. Good things!

 

After the Mosque, we walked through the maze of streets that makes up Bab Tuma to the house of Ananias. Ananias had a church in his basement where Paul was baptized. The space was amazing, and leafing through the guest book gave me a sense of how many had made the journey.

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