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Read my Travel Diary and other articles from a six week trip to Syria, Jordan & Egypt during October and November 1998

The Middle East

Si_lad
2004-03-26 20:27:02

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Square for breakfast. On the way Nick had to return to get his wallet (which he’d accidentally left under his pillow!). As he sped off and I sat watched the world go by in the Square, I realised he had the guide book, so I shouted "Nick Nick" to stop him. Everyone stared at me and a few men shouted at me. I thought nothing of it, but it all became clear later when a young Sudanese guy at the hotel laughed when Nick told him his name. He told us "Nick" was very similar to an Arabic swear word!! From then on, Nick was known as either Nicholas or Reg.

We decided to do a walking tour of Old Damascus. We started of at the Souq al-Hamadiyyeh a huge covered market. It was full of people selling all kinds of stuff. I was quite amazed at the lack of hassle we got. Unlike many countries where a foreign tourist is just seen as a pile of money. We got very little attention, just the odd "Welcome" or "Where are you from". Only a couple of blokes approached us trying to entice us into their carpet shops. At the other end of the Souq we passed through a stunning Roman archway which was part of the remains of the Temple of Jupiter. Behind this is the huge Omayyad Mosque. Built in 705 on the site of ancient temples and a Christian cathedral, it’s a beautiful building, huge in size with three original minarets. The heat was quite intense so the shady peace of the mosque was welcomed. We were lucky to be present at prayer time, and we saw hundreds of the faithful gathering inside. We continued walking around the narrow streets of the old city, observing many smaller mosques and interesting buildings. Damascus is reputed to be the oldest, continually populated, city in the world. After walking around the old city I could believe it. Apart from the cars, honking horns and the odd stereo playing modern music, it really did appear that time had stood still.

After some more walking we got talking to a man who spoke fairly good English. He ...