Editor’s Note: Long before I had this blog, I used to be a prolific postcard writer, cranking out 30+ postcards to friends and family during trips. This is the 2nd installment of my nostalgia series for the blog, called Analog Postcards from the Aughts. This is a postcard I sent to my my dogs from my trip to Syria in December, 2009. It was not unusual for me to send a postcard to my dogs, since I wrote so many to other people, I thought it was nice to have a record of my own impressions of the trip. We stayed most of the time at the charming and incredibly hard to find Old Vine Hotel, but rang in 2010 at the Four Seasons Hotel Damascus– Jen
Dear Lola & Scarlet-
We took the road to Damascus from Beirut, Lebanon to Syria. We were expecting a scenic drive with scenery out of Lawrence of Arabia. Instead we got the “Highway to Hell” complete with two near crashes, car sickness, crazy drivers and baksheesh. Next time we’re flying.
XO,
Jen & Jeff
Note: I wasn’t kidding about the Highway to Hell. We had a professional driver who screamed when an oncoming truck narrowly missed us. Admittedly, I screamed too. But you’d think the professional driver would have held it together more.
No Visa in my passport has raised more red flags or caused me more grief than the one from Syria. Damascus was absolutely fascinating and I feel very lucky to have gotten to visit this fascinating and ancient city before things got heated during the Arab Spring and Syrian Uprising of 2011. But I’m often asked why I traveled to Syria.
Below are some pictures I took during my trip to Damascus.
Damascus Spice Market. While I didn’t buy any spices, I did purchase rose oil, which is thought to be the finest in the world.
Left: Full Moon over Damascus Right: Street Art in Damascus
Street Shopping for Ladies wear in Damascus
Mosque directions in Damascus