damascus

Sorry for the hiatus- I meant to update before I left, but that did not happen. As some of you know, I've spent the last four days in Damascus, the capital of Syria. Damascus is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world, through the ages occupied by various groups, including the Babylonians, Greeks, Romans, Mamluks, and Ottomans (to name a few). Anyway, getting to Syria went fairly smoothly. As most people do, the group headed down to Abduli station, found a driver, negotiated the price, and set out. We spent a mere three hours at the border getting visas; I say "mere" because it is not uncommon for Americans to spend, say, eight hours there- more if it's busy. Normally, the border officials have to send American visa requests back to the consulate in the U.S. However, residency cards are wonderful things and so our requests had to go only to Damascus. We made it to our hotel in the early evening and went out for the first of many wandering adventures.

It seems that everywhere you look in Damascus, you can see a mosque minaret. This is one of the minarets of the Umayyad Mosque, the most famous mosque in the city.


The inside of the courtyard of the Umayyad Mosque. This is one of the largest mosques in the world, as well as one of the oldest continuous (official) places of Muslim worship. The shrine inside is said to contain the head of John the Baptist. Moreover, the tomb of Salah al-Din (Saladin) adjoins the main mosque; he was the leader of the Muslim resistance against the Crusaders and was most famous for re-taking Jerusalem in 1187. I have many, many pictures of the Umayyad Mosque- it is absolutely spectacular. The inside of the mosque, adorned with calligraphy and arabesque (tessellating, geometric patterns) is lit by a warm, golden light that, together with the deep red carpeting, makes the whole place very inviting and calming. Given the opportunity, I would go again and again.

Another minaret.

On one of our evenings out wandering (we wandered extensively), my friends and I decided to take "lonely pictures." There were very few people out since everyone was home celebrating Eid al-Adha with their families, allowing camera shots with no one else in the frame. This was just one of many (minaret of the Umayyad Mosque in the background).

The courtyard of our hotel, which is a restored 800 yr. old house. Almost all houses in Damascus, especially in and around the Old City, have decorated stone courtyards like this one, perfect for eating and lounging in.

The Souk al-Hamidiyeh. The first part of it was built in 1780; the western section was added in 1883. You can buy almost everything here, from antiques and textiles, to knock-off antiques and cheap "made in China" textiles, to soccer balls, to pajamas. It is also home to the Bakdash ice cream shop offering the best of the famous Syrian ice cream, which I would go so far as to say rivals Italian gelato. Although they have chocolate and strawberry, the original panna flavor rolled in slivered pistachios is definitely the best, enough so to convince me to have one last bowl at about 10am this morning.

Syria believes in you. The handsome figure on the left is President Assad.

Have I mentioned that Old City Damascus is, well, really really old? This Greco-Roman arch and its accompanying columns are just sitting in the middle of the square of this (I think) Christian quarter neighborhood. The chair is there because there is a furniture-making shop next to it, so part of an ancient column makes for the perfect pedestal for one's product.

A street in the Old City. We went out at about 6:30am one morning with the intention of getting hot chocolate croissants (vestiges of French colonial rule) and taking pictures. The croissants were, unfortunately, from the night before and had to be microwaved, but were delicious nonetheless. As for pictures, it was kind of neat to be almost the only ones out, allowing for photos like this one.

So there are a few snippets of Damascus. It really is an absolutely amazing place with a fascinating past and a vibrant present. Everyone we met was warm and welcoming; they were delighted that we were learning Arabic and had come to visit their city (although we did get asked on many occasions why we were studying Arabic in Amman and not in Damascus, since fewer people speak English in the latter). I know that there is a lot of stigma surrounding Syria. However, if any of you get the chance to go to Damascus (or any Syrian city, really), I would not pass it up. Yes, there is a travel warning; at this point, that seems more politics than reality (although this is just my opinion). Regardless of your view on global politics, it is important to remember that people are not the same as their government. Most of the people I've met in Jordan and Syria understand that although we are Americans, our government does not represent who we are as individuals; it is important to afford non-Americans that same respect.

I am back in Amman now, home sweet home. However, tomorrow I flight off to Europe for a couple weeks. I will try to update at least once while I'm away, but until then, ma9salaame :)

growth

Sometimes I am not sure how much my Arabic has improved this semester. Sure, I can navigate daily situations (especially taxis) fairly easily, and sure, my accent has been decent enough that I've been asked which of my grandparents are Arab, but have I really made progress?

I got an answer to that a couple days ago. At the beginning of this semester, I took the Arabic placement test and found myself in Level Six, the highest level that the Language Center offers. I was surrounded by very advanced students, including a couple native colloquial speakers, the Italian who had a private tutor every day for a year, the woman who came to Jordan to get more material and vocabulary to write her Islamic Studies masters thesis in Arabic, etc. Amid such characters, it soon became clear that I would not survive Level Six. In terms of grammar, I was golden- Al-Kitaab throws the stuff at you at every turn. Vocabulary, however, was severely lacking. Anyway, the very first text that we read in Level Six was about the differences between Classical Arabic and Colloquial Arabic. I spent several hours working through a page and a half of text. "Demoralizing" would be a pretty apt descriptor.

Last week, the same text and I met again, this time at the very end of the Level Five workbook. Sure, there were still a number of words that I didn't know, but I could read through the text for general comprehension without much of a problem. Academically speaking, reading the text again has been perhaps the most satisfying moment of the semester thus far. The text was hard, and now it's highly manageable.

This is also reassuring in regards to next semester, when I will enroll in the intensive Arabic Language Program. In ALP, we have to take a language pledge, live in an Arabic speaking-only homestay, and take all of our classes in Arabic (for example, I really want to take the Business Communication course; lectures and readings would be in Arabic). The whole thing is daunting, but I think will ultimately be a very fruitful experience, especially if I am pleasantly surprised like I was this semester.

My growth as an Arabic student reminds me of those times when you're young and you go to visit relatives and they say, "oh, you've grown so much!" You yourself of course cannot tell, but according to the little tick marks on the kitchen doorway, you are in fact two inches taller than before.