Amy’s Journal

Russell left for the airport at 6:30 this morning with Mohammed, our favorite taxi driver. I have arranged for Mohammed to head to the airport 7 times in the last 3.5 weeks, so I have given him quite a bit of business.

After Bridget headed home late Sunday night, Russell and I made a quick trip to Damascus. We experimented with transport– instead of shared taxi, we took a minibus there and a big bus back for $5 each way. The minibus was great, but the ride back on the bus was pretty unpleasant. It kept stopping so it took twice as long to get back to Beirut, there was little a/c and the windows didn’t open, the brakes were questionable and squealed and burned all the way down the mountain. There were some funny backpackers on the bus, including a Dutch guy who was incredulous that not only did I not have problems getting into Syria as an American, but that Americans pay less for visas.

At any rate, we had a good time in Damascus- saw the mosque, the souqs, the old city. We tried to go to my favorite restaurant from last time, Zeitouna, but it is now undergoing a major renovation and looks like it will be closed for awhile. We ended up going to Elissar, which is a little bit more upscale, and somehow ended up ordering (beef) fondue (!) which was delicious, but seemed a strange thing to be eating in Syria.

We had spent a fair bit of time over the course of 2 days trying to find the “puppies and snakes” that Ray and Geoff had seen when we were there a few weeks ago. As we were walking back to our hotel to collect my bag before going to the bus station, we finally found them. It’s sort of a live animal souq, with creatures intended as both pets and food mixed together. There were jars full of water snakes writhing around, all sorts of birds (from canaries and songbirds to geese and turkeys), puppies and rabbits. One seller for some reason sold nothing but cats and chickens. The bottom cages housed chickens (some rather fancy) and the top cages held many white cats of various ages. It was feeding time, and each cat, down to the littlest kitten, was chowing down on a chicken leg. Their neighbors below could not have been comfortable with this.

My favorites, though, were the baby tortoises. There were several cages full of them, piled atop each other. I resisted the urge to bring a couple home. They were really cute. But baby tortoises grow up, you know. And I’m not sure if you can bring turtles from Syria to the US without permission. Maybe I will look into that.

Bridget, RJ, and I had a really fantastic trip to Bcharre, a Christian village high above the stunnning Qadisha Valley. We rented a car, which turned out to be fun. I was much more comfortable driving than when I drove here in 2002.

We stayed in the same hotel in which Ethan and I had spent Christmas back in 2002. Mr. Chbat is an excellent host. He looks a bit like Sean Connery and is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to hiking in the area. At the end of our stay, he presented us with a huge jar of homemade apricot jam to take home. The hotel itself is sort of a 50s lodge, rather cozy and funky.

We dropped off our belongings and drove to a hermitage down in the valley (narrow road with plenty of blind curves and hairpin turns). The monastery is embedded in a cliff and is utterly peaceful inside.

Afterward, we checked out a grotto with octopus-like stalactites and then wandered among the ancient cedar trees for which Lebanon is famous. Driving back to Bcharre from the Cedars, we stopped to gaze at/photograph the layer of clouds that had rolled in far below us.

I will post again soon, but for the moment I will be out of touch for a few days. Bridget, Russell, and I are making a road trip to Bcharre and The Cedars for some mountain air. I haven’t driven here all summer, which should be interesting. I am drinking a lot of caffeine and punching at the air in anticipation. Putting my bravado on.

I don’t want to not mention it at all, in case anyone is concerned, but we are all fine.. there were a few minor injuries from the bomb that went off north of Beirut last night, but we were nowhere near it.

Bridget, Russell, and I are off to the beach!

It was sad to say goodbye to Ray and Geoff last night. We had so much fun with them, many nice adventures.

The past few days have been great, spending time with Ray, Geoff, Bridget, and Russell. We took a minibus to Baalbek and checked out the ruins there. We went to a place called Yabbani for sushi where the little lobby is actually an elevator that takes you to the underground restaurant. We have had so much delicious food.

Today in English class, only one student (Nabilah) showed up initially. The other volunteer instructor is helping to edit a documentary directed by a professor of hers called “Arabs and Terrorism”, so the 3 of us watched the trailer for the film. The film is mostly interviews with Westerners and Arabs. The trailer showed people like Jeanne Kirkpatrick saying absurd and slightly racist things and people like Hamas leaders saying very reasonable things. So it seems to have some sort of an agenda, though I will have to see the actual film to be sure.

The interesting thing was to see Nabilah’s reaction to what some of the Americans were saying. One of those interviewed was the sheriff of LA county and he said something like “maybe there is a genetic reason that there are so many terrorists in Arab countries”. The other volunteer and I laughed, but the look on Nabilah’s face was one of disbelief. She looked utterly crushed. I thought she was going to cry. I thought I was going to cry.

I had a really wonderful weekend in Damascus. Getting visas at the border was a breeze and there were no major delays, though there are still a ton of trucks stuck at the border. The media seems to have accepted Syria’s position that they are no longer being held up, but it just isn’t the case.

We spent most of our time wandering the old city, through the souqs and narrow streets. Damascus is very different from Beirut, far less westernized, you sort of feel that you have traveled further than 2 hours away. We ran into a friend of mine who volunteers with Najdeh and was also spending the weekend in Damascus. We ate in the courtyards of lovely cafes. I bought a tile with fish painted on it and a half kilo of Brazilian coffee beans. We had ice cream with fresh pistachios. We visited the fantastic Umayyad Mosque, one of the most important Islamic sites in the Middle East. There is something about the city that seems both bustling and relaxed and I can’t wait to go back. I would also really like to go to Aleppo soon.

On Saturday night, Ray and Geoff, our first guests, made it here without a hitch. I went with the taxi driver to pick them up and we were home about 40 minutes after they landed. We headed out to Gemmayze Cafe for some music and food, then on to Brooke’s where there was a cheesy 80s DJ. Otherwise it was as sedate as usual and we chatted with our bartender friend. Ray and Geoff’s jet lag tricked them into staying up until 4 AM, and we sat talking on the terrace.

Yesterday, there was some late sleeping before we went to brunch at Casablanca. For Ethan and I, this was pretty exciting. We were big lovers of brunch when we lived in NY, and this was our first omelettes and eggs benedict brunch in almost 3 months. Casablanca is in an old ottoman house near the sea and is very relaxing and pretty. Afterward, we walked downtown and talked about the controversy surrounding the reconstruction of Downtown. Critics say the restored version is too Disneyland, that pre-war owners were stripped of their property, that the stylish cafes are more than most Lebanese can afford, yet some tax money is used to support the project. On the other hand, all of the gutted and bombed buldings have been restored to their original elegance, many jobs have been provided, and the project certainly has helped bring in tourists.

We wandered among the cafes, then stopped by the grave of Rafik Hariri, then sat in Place de l’Etoile and had gelato. Carrie joined us, and we walked to Sky Bar to have a rooftop drink. Sky Bar is on the rooftop of a hotel on the sea. It is really lovely, but naturally, very pricey. At night, it is absolutely packed, which is why Ethan and I prefer to go around sunset when it is not as crowded.

On the way home, we walked the corniche, crowded with families who come to enjoy the sea air on Sundays. Children run around playing, adults sit and smoke argileh, sellers of coffee, bread, and corn push their carts around. I ran into a teenaged girl who participates in Najdeh’s vocational program.

We headed home and ended the evening with a BBQ on the terrace. It is so wonderful to have good friends here.