Damascus

Our first morning in Damascus, we rested until noon. We were exhausted from the previous days of constant motion, and it was nice to lie still for a time.

Once we made it out of the room, our first order of business was to get to Old Damascus. What a cool place! We entered through the Bazaar –  arched tunnels buzzing with the international pastime of buying and selling. A huge assortment of goods were available in a confusing maze of alleys, in which we managed to get lost several times. 

Shopping aside,  the area of Old Damascus has some pretty impressive places of worship. One is the historical Umayyad Mosque. Originally a Christian church, it was later converted to a Mosque during Ottoman rule. St. John the Baptist’s well is located here,  the very site where he baptized so many of the early Chirstians. Hussein, grandson of the Islamic Prohpet Muhammed,  was beheaded for cheating the Shiite sect; of Islam his head was put on display in a small silver box here to discourage any future dissidents.

We also visited a lovely palace, full of fascinating exhibits about life in the early years of the millennia,  overflowing vegetation, and gracious courtyards.

 

We wandered around the old parts of the city, the Christian Quarter (Bab-al-Touma), and residential streets. 

I really enjoyed this city!