Dining in Damascus

Mom got a photo of Amal!!

Last night, friends of my parents, Amal and Yousef, took us out for dinner. They are from Syria, and so they took us to a Syrian restaurant named after the city of Damascus. They are also very nice people and I enjoyed their company very much.

My mother took a couple of pictures for me but I am swiping most of the photos off the internet because although I have discovered that my phone will still take pictures and upload with a wifi, I also have no purse....hahaha.....I am never letting my family talk me into any baggage changes again. "Take this for carry on, don't take your purse, this is bigger..." It's also ugly and there is no way I am going out in public with something that looks like a boy's school bag on steroids. Of course, being from Winnipeg, there is no bloody way you could pay me to walk around with a cell phone and wallet openly in my hands. *Sigh*....still discombobulated....no purse....no phone.....fried UV lamp.....Air Canada beat the stuffing out of my suitcase so there was a big hole in the bottom, so half my makeup is gone....I know, I sound like a princess, right? BUT it is the little things that make a person feel comfortable and my little things are gone. End rant.

Front entrance of The Damascus Star

Back to The Damascus Star. This restaurant is amazing. I love Arabic food anyway, but the way they do it there is just heavenly and it never ended. I would have kissed the chef if it was possible. As soon as one tray was empty, another one magically reappeared. The waiters were all wearing traditional Syrian outfits and they were very handsome :D We ate upstairs, on the roof, which was nice. I like being outside here in Doha, as opposed to being inside. Outside is nice and warm, but inside everywhere is freezing cold. They blast the air conditioning like crazy in public places. I understand why, but I'm like a little lizard and I enjoy the heat.

We walked down this street to get to the restaurant

Spices in the souq

One thing that I have noticed is that everything here is heavily decorated. Canadian cities are pretty bland by comparison; not a lot of colour and the buildings all look the same. It is distracting for me, because there is soooo much to look at and take in that sometimes it becomes overwhelming. I can't help but look around at everything, and I wonder if people believe I am bored, but it is the furthest thing from the truth. I have yet to see two buildings that look the same here. Everything is different, everywhere you look. There is no generic monoculture look here, like in North America, where every town has the same style buildings and the same stores, etc. I like the variety, it reminds me of how Canada used to be before the communities became cookie cutter and lost their soul.

Antique store

We walked through the Old Souq last night to get to the restaurant. The Old Souq Waqif is actually very new. There was an old souq and the government tore it down and replaced it with modern strip mall and big box type arrangements. The people hated it, so the souq was rebuilt, made to look old, and apparently redesigned in such a way that it is a little easier to navigate but still retains its old feel. I liked it, and if no one had told me it was actually quite new, I would not have known. It looks like it has been there for centuries (I don't know how long the original one was actually there for). Kudos to those in charge for listening and giving the people back their old place. It is a sad thing when everything is made modern.

I could go broke without proper supervision

I want to go back to the souq and actually walk around and look at things more. Yousef was saying that 90% of the items for sale were actually made in Syria. Of course that will not be so in the future because the Syrian border is now closed due to the unrest in that country.

So, first order of business tomorrow when my touristing officially begins is:

1. PURSE!!!!! I need a purse. I have no idea what to do with my hands out in public now that I have no purse. I also feel exposed. I haven't been without a purse since I was 13. Let's all rock back and forth!!! *I need a purse I need a purse I need a purse* hahahaha
2. I need some ugly shoes. Bless my father for the nice shoes he brought me home, but they have that little thingy that goes between your big toe and the one beside it and now that space between my toes is swollen up and rather nasty to look at because the skin got rubbed right off. Ouch. Not fun. Everyone knows the pretty shoes are never comfortable, so I guess I need to bite down and get some really, really ugly shoes.
3. Long skirts. You know, I never wear dresses. Never. Not ever. I wear dress pants all the time because I'm at work and esthetics requires too much bending and lifting for skirts. I brought dresses with me thinking "I will look all ladylike on vacation for a change" and of course they all go down to my knee which is to say that they are about two feet too short for a Muslim country and they are brightly coloured. No one in Canada would recognize me because all I ever wear is gray or black. Sometimes purple. NEVER red. What did I do last night? I wore a red/orange/black/yellow dress that went down to my knee, with a V neck. Being tall, platinum blonde, and tattooed didn't help and I'm sure half the people in the souq probably thought I was a hooker. Besides, these legs haven't seen sunlight since 1994, so they probably shouldn't be seen by anyone who wishes not to be blinded by the white light. 

Overall, I am having a great time. I am not a new traveler so I know there are things that will go wrong here and there, but I really enjoy it here. This is a beautiful place and everyone is very friendly and polite. Although I still don't know what people are saying, I watch the local television shows and I can tell when individual words are being spoken instead of one long blur that sounds lightning fast. By the time I leave here I will have figured out some Arabic on my own. I tried to learn online before I left, but it's not the same as hearing it.

PS: I almost forgot!!! Chocolate is part of every meal here. It is not only appreciated, it is expected!!!! Dear Qatar, you had me at chocolate :)