greetings from Damascus

I am enjoying my time here so much I don't want to leave! This is a must-see place in my book. I spent much of today wandering around the old city -- and am still basking in the relaxing time I had peoplewatching and hanging out in the courtyard of the Umayyad Mosque - one of the holiest in Islam. People from everywhere were sitting in what must be one of the world's great public spaces -- pilgrims from the Muslim world and local kids playing and women chatting in groups as if they were on their front porches.

People continue to amaze me with their warmth and helpfulness. People walking past me on the street say hello and everyone is very welcoming. I don't feel at all out of place -- I am wandering around everywhere feeling totally comfortable and at home. So glad I came and I wish I had more time. Of course, more details later, but I don't want to waste valuable street time sitting in here.

More from Syria

hi -- this great budget place in Hama has internet here so I can easily send a quick message. Things continue to go really well. People are so incredibly warm and friendly and so eager to prove that Syrians are not terrorists. (Their desperation on that count depresses me on one level because we all have such an impression of this place as dangerous etc but people are just open and warm without being as aggressive as in TUrkey.) You can actually walk around without people wanting things from you -- people are more likely to want to give yousomething. For intance the woman next to me on the bus today gave me a banana and even thou8gh we didn't really communicate we had an interaction. The knowing no arabic is a bit tough esp in a place like this (aleppo had a reasonable number of english speakers). People stop you and say "welcome welcome" -- just so friendly.
I ended up spending most of my time in Aleppo (besides a great stint in the best Souk covered market ever) with the family. I liked them all but I must say 6 year old Amir captured my heart. It was really hard to leave them. Besides getting to know a family and a particularly wonderful mother whom I really respect, I got to do some things that you never normally would as a tourist. Saturday night Soswan (the mother) took me to a gathering of women --mostly doctors wives -- they meet weekly for socializing and discussions. They read sections of the koran about the relationship between men and women and then had a raging debate about their opinions on it. It was extraordinariy. More details later. Then everyone put on their coverings over their glamrous night out clothes and all headed home. I didn't understand but it was fascinating nonetheless. We assume that women in the muslim world are covering and not questioning, and to see these women actvely engaging in a debate abuot womens issues in the Koran was something I feel privileged to have seen.
The next night, after a relaxing afternoon at home playing with Amir and Aya, she took me to a neighbor's -- she invited us the night before. It was even more interesting because her 22 year old daughter spoke English pretty well and we had an intense conversation about politics and cultural differences and our countries' impressons of each other. Definitely one of my most memorable travel experiences -- so much work needs to be done to help with understanding and if we could just have more conversations like that then a lot of problems would be helped I think. That is trite but I believe it. We need to sit Condi Rice down with a bunch of women in Aleppo and see what we can work out. Interesting too -- in most of the travel books I've read and also from hearing people like the american woman from downstairs, they all say that as a tourist it is really hard to get to know local women. I have had the opposite experience. I think my conservative clothing and general demeanor makes me seem more approachable. At the end of the night last night the women were clutching my hand and saying, "We love you Kris!" it was great.
Today I took a small tour outside of aleppo into the coutnry -- I am really tired of ruins but I enjoyed the day because they were fairly interesting or at least beautifully sited and the chance to drive through small villages, one Kurdish, one where everyone practices the religion of Zoroastrianism, was a treat. Also the guy who drove me around was the best guide I have had for being low key and enjoyable company. Even though it was only me it was very comfortable and no need to mention the fake husband. That is the thing about here -- oddly, the men I have encountered seem much less aggressive than the average ones in Turkey. For instance, I just bought a drink at a stand a few blocks from the hotel and the guy insisted that I come and sit inside the stall and talk with him on his English. In Turkey I would be hesitant, but after some urging I felt I had to do it and never once did I feel at all taht he would be at all aggressive or make assumptions about my intentions. Totally respectful. Some Turkish men are like that but you can't always count on it. We had a nice chat and I helped him with his English and it was an all around great 20 minutes or so.
Anyway, this town is great too, although most people seem to be on siesta. They hgave a bunch of huge old waterwheels groaning in the river. Planning to explore the old city for a while int he early evening then get some dinner and hopefully get an early night's rest. Tomorrow I will join a group from the hotel that is going to Krak de Chevalier the creme de la creme of crusader castles. As I said I am tired of ruins but that and Palmyra (where I will head tomorrow afternoon) are supposed to be must sees so I feel rather obliged. Then on wed I will head to Damascus. Not sure when I will head back to Turkey exactly. I have people expecting me there but I am enjoying my time here and feel that I am learning a lot so I might extend by a few days for more exploring.

greetings from Syria

I am at an internet cafe at a nice hotel -- so it is pretty expensive so I wont write much. Took me more than an hour of walking around trying to find one so I might not be writing that frequently.
What a great first day....people are so friendly and warm and everything is just great. I love it. The hotel is wonderful -- I have a great view of the citadel from my window. Got across the border with no problem and got here around noon yesterday. Interesting, I crossed over with a 20 year old iraqi guy who has been living in the UK for 6 years. He had far more trouble than I. Took him three weeks to get the visa and then he got questioned at the border about whether he was going to try to go to Iraq from there. Gives a lot of credence to syrias recent claims that they are trying to keep people from doing that but getting no appreciation for their efforts from US. They really gave this guy a talking to.
After a short nap in the hotel I went to the citadel to get a view to help orientmyself (the narrow winding streets are a bit confusing-- it feels medieval and actually this is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places on earth) and while I was there I met a really nice family -- two 6-7 year old kids a boy and a girl, Aya and Amir, and a really nice mom and dad, who is the chief of surgery at the university here and trained in the US. They invited me to spend the day with them and I ended up not getting back to the hotel til well after midnight. It was amazing. The kids were a riot =- bickering and joking around and doing fake burps! The mother wants me to come back over later today so I might do that. They took me to their country house for dinner and we met a poor widow who helps them with chores == she had such a warm spirit bout her. The family were so kind -- and it was fascinating to see inside family life. I got to witness their religious life too, as I sat there while the did prayers and then the mother read some of the koran aloud -- it was really fascinating. Faithful without being aggressive or uncomfortable. Lots lots lots to report so hopefully I will be able to take notes and then get it all down on paper later. Probably one of the best/most memorable travel experiences I have ever had.
Actually I thought I was going to get more than one invitiation -- several women at the citadel approached me and said hello and welcome. I am really impressed. I heard people were friendly but it is pretty extraordinary -- i was feeling a bit lost in an area where there were blacksmiths and people hammering decorations into copper trays and four people came up and tried to help me, and then shook my hand and then thanked me! The whole atmosphere of the city is rather exhilarating -- all the twisting narrow streets n the old city and then newer 1800s architecture with an Islamic flair here in the newer section. It is a bit difficult having no idea of the language but I am getting by. It feels even safer than in Turkey so I feel very comfortable walking around and the people are more relaxed and not as assertive about addressing people like in Egypt and parts of Turkey.
I am not sure what my plans are for the next few days. Willl try to write again when I can.

Ankara Update/Heading out of the Country

I’m preparing to leave on a southbound overnight bus, the first leg of my trip to Syria. Today was my last day of work; despite all the annoyances all along, we managed to have a very pleasant last day lunch at the faculty club, which made me feel like we left things on a positive note. It has the end of the year feel around here; apparently it is a tradition for the students to put on their graduation gowns the day they receive them and drive around campus honking and shouting out the windows of their cars. Then, then get out at the shopping center and run around in their gowns signing and cheering. It’s like graduation every day.

There isn’t much time to catch up on my Ankara experiences since my return from Trabzon, but I’ll try to sum up as much as possible.

Yesim and family:
The night after I returned from Trabzon, I met the family as usual. Actually, Ziba was stressed out and busy, so I just made my way there myself. Yesim and I had a good lesson – I was impressed by the story she’d begun to write the week before over dinner – now it had swelled to about 15 pages. The basic plot line involves a heartbroken archeologist finding love and a renewed enthusiasm for his career at Troy. It’s mostly dialogue, and she did a good job of using idioms. We finished the lesson by watching a little bit of a DVD about the Hittites. Yesim was cracking me up by rooting against the Anatolians when they battled Egypt!

After dinner, while Ziba worked, I sat over dinner with Isik and Yesim, telling them about my trip at first, and subsequently getting into a long and fascinating conversation about their views on religious fundamentalism and headscarves. Isik said she wouldn’t raise her child in a faith but would let them choose; Yesim said that she wanted to introduce her children to all faiths. They were asking me what I feel about the headscarf ban at Turkish universities and government entities, and I explained that coming from my background it seems to me that they should be allowed to practice their faith, but I know it is a more complex issue than that. And, I said, I feel that the ban causes people to become more militant as they attempt to push against the rules. Isik said that she can’t believe that people would reject the freedoms that Ataturk gave them by covering themselves up.

Later, Ziba came in and we continued the conversation. She also has mixed feelings about the headscarf ban; at times she thinks that part of freedom and democracy would be letting people choose to wear it or not to wear it. But she worries that with the other camp increasing in their power, they might not offer people the same leeway; stated simply, she – and others – are concerned that if you allow the headscarf then, eventually, the Islamists will then require the headscarf of all women. “I will not let my daughters be forced into covering.” She said. I looked over at Yesim and said that I couldn’t imagine her covered. Not at all. She’s not one to fit into rules. That one issue seems to encapsulate a lot of what’s going on in Turkey right now with this divide between the Ataturk Kemalists and the Islamists. But for me, part of freedom is choosing whether or not to cover; banning it seems to undercut any aims towards democracy (same goes for France.)

On Friday night, I went to see a play that Isik’s department was doing. I sat with Yesim, who seemed to love it and understand it pretty well. Called Beyond Therapy, the play was about a bisexual neurotic New Yorker, his girlfriend and his live in male lover. Their crazy and lecherous therapists also had parts. I was surprised: the students did a great job – it wasn’t an easy play I don’t think, and they nailed it pretty well. But also I was surprised that the program had chosen such adult content for a first year student production. There was lots of talk about sex that was pretty graphic, and the premise, about bisexuality, also seemed incongruent with what I hear people discussing openly here. Nonetheless, they did a good job. I also got to meet Yesim’s dad, visiting from Poland, which was interesting too.

Moving plans
Well, I need to give only three days notice, which is good. The building manager let me put up a sign advertising my belongings; within three or four days I had agreements of sale on almost all that I wanted to sell. On average I’m getting about 45% of what I paid for the appliances, which I think is great. That means that I spent only a little more than 200 USD for all my appliances (fridge, tv, stove, radio) etc., a good deal especially considering my impossibly low rent. It’s also been interesting to meet the others from the building who have bought things. It’s felt surprisingly social to have people coming over to make offers.

I also have seen somewhat of a détente in the strangely strained relations with my friend Sahika from early on. We were really out of touch for a host of reasons; now though, on the cusp of my departure, we seem to be on much better terms, so I feel good about that.

It was a fairly social stretch in Ankara, which was good. I saw a lot of the friends that I’ve made but haven’t done a good job of keeping in close contact with. Somehow, I felt I needed to choose between traveling and seeing the country, or being chained to a city I didn’t particularly like, nurturing relationships that are by their nature short term. I landed on the side of travel, with no regrets. I can see though, that my time in Ankara might have been better had I done a better job of reaching out socially. But somehow, I just didn’t feel like investing a lot of energy and attention into short term friendships. I hope when I get home I can take this lesson and be more open socially since I will feel more settled there and will see it as building long term human capital, for lack of a better phrase.

Trip to Syria
So, I’m going to Syria. I spent the better part of Friday getting the visa, a process which included a half an hour long interview about whether I’ve ever been to occupied Palestine or whether I intend to go. It cost a bit more than I expected, but I got it nonetheless. The process was a bit of an experience; huge lines of Turks applying for work visas I think, and lots of security and some chaos. Once I did the interview inside (I was the only person I saw buzzed in the main gate, and I had to leave my backpack outside at the security kiosk), I had to come back several hours later. I used that time to get my reimbursement from the travel agent for the mistake ticket on the morning Trabzon flight. When I got back, after waiting for almost forty five minutes, the staff emerged with tall stacks of Turkish passports, with my little American one perched on top. The guy slid it to me through the bars of the gate.

I’m looking forward to the trip – don’t really know what to expect, but I am sure it will be an adventure. I’ve been wanting to do this for a while, and now seems to be the best time.

I’ll try to make posts if I can from Internet café’s although I don’t think I’ll be able to post photos. More later…first a night bus to Antakya, in Turkey, and then a night there to rest, then on to Aleppo Syria.