Early morning
Damascus from the early hours of the morning
The traffic horns can be heard from the rooftop balcony and the smell of traffic fumes fill the morning air
The streets are cleaned and the plants are watered
You set off through the labyrinth of small streets
Ramshackle buildings vie for space with modern establishments
Intimate cafe courtyards linger behind ancient wooden doors
Old ladies sit on chairs smoking their morning cigarette and smile as you pass by
The sun peeps through the vines that hang overhead to protect you from the sun
Shops begin to open and the owners say ‘Welcome’
And the city starts to awake
Just as it has done for thousands of years.....
Haman
Fatin, one of the fabulous people who work at the Damascus Hostel recommended that I should try the ladies Hamman. Armed with my map and too much confidence I thought it would be easy to find. The problem is that what looks like a road on the map is often just a little alleyway; sometimes these alleyways don’t have street names; most shop fronts are written in Arabic, and the hustle and bustle of the city and its people around you make it a little difficult. Alas, eventually I asked a young Syrian girl for help. She walked back a few streets with me and led me to a door with a curtain. I had to laugh, no sign that this was the Haman either in English or Arabic, I would never have found it in a million years! Once inside you feel like you have stepped back a few centuries into the tale of One Thousand and One Nights. You can have all kind of treatments here, facial, waxing, peeling, pummelling etc. I get changed and enter a warm, sauna-like room filled with old style washing basins. The domed ceiling has little circular windows from which the light peeps through. The walls and seats are heated and everyone is throwing water over themselves. It is so refreshing and the heat warms my muscles. I go into another room and have to sit next to a large woman who scrubs me down, then I wash and an even larger woman puts me on a warm stone slab to give me a massage (which was amazing!) After I have been pummelled and scrubbed some more I go to the washing room and sauna feeling like a new person. I change and go to sit and relax in the reception area, a stepped area with plush cushions and again that lovely domed ceiling. I strike up a conversation in my broken Arabic with a Yemeni family; the 14 year old girl speaks a little English. I spoke with Norwegian students who were studying Arabic here in Damascus and they were loving it. As I stepped out into the street, I thought about what a great experience it was. If you get chance, I highly recommend it.
p.s. On my way back I didn’t get lost!
Cuisine
Later in the day we ate at an extremely gorgeous courtyard restaurant. The beauty of travel is that you get to try lots of new dishes. The food in Damascus has been amazing and the custom of giving you an assortment of fruits and delicious Arabic sweets after your meal is one that I could get used to!
What is the best thing you have ever eaten on your travels?
Exploring
Further exploration of this cultural city led us to the vibrant spice souk, the crammed Souk Al-Hamidiyya, the building of the Khan As‘ad Pasha, shops with ancient courtyards, ice-cream shops and antique shops. I hope our shopping will all fit in the car!
No comments:
Post a Comment