The sky is on fire over the Holy Land

So I decided to go over to the Other Side. I had a friend that I met in Dunhuang last summer who lives in Tel Aviv, so I took the opportunity to visit him. I also have a cousin – or the cousin of my father – who lives next to Tel Aviv, in Erzliya (a rich upscale neighborhood). It would have been sad to not see both sides of a conflict.

My first impression about Tel Aviv was “where are the old people?” It’s actually amazing: there is almost no one over 35 years old!!! That city is incredibly cool, actually! There are thousands of nice trendy cafes where I had great food, organic stuff, cappuccinos, glass of nice wine and etc… Actually now that I’m writing I remember some guys I met in Ramallah who swore only by Tel Aviv for the party scene. That city has a really great vibe! It’s quite strange to arrive there coming not only from the Middle East, but also just coming from Jerusalem with its cops and guns and security fences everywhere. Once you pass the bus terminal’s last checkpoint, and you actually get in Tel Aviv, it’s just another world!

This led me to another thought: it’s like a bubble! People here enjoy themselves while doing their best to ignore The Other! And actually it’s even worse than that, because when they stop ignoring The Other it’s only to build up their prejudiced preconceptions! It struck me when I visited my extended family. We went to a dinner organized by another uncle, and the discussion kept coming back on the conclusion that “they don’t want peace, over there.” That particular idea struck me because interestingly enough I heard the same in Ramallah in Cafe La Vie when I was discussing for the zillion time the conflict: “they don’t want peace, bla bla bla, bla bla, bla bla bla…” How funny, isn’t it?

Anyways, then I went back to Jerusalem because I learned that I had a friend studying there. After spending a couple of days I realized one thing: how can people can live like that? Everyone live in constant fear, with a constant threat, and are constantly surrounded with machine guns and military people running around. It’s a fucked up country, that’s what it is! And that led me to another [brilliant] thought: how can people be so stuck ed up with their issues! Ok, the good old “stop war, make love” thingee is maybe a bit cliche, but I think that still ought of be applied a little bit more to people’s lifelong deep philosophy! It’s a crazy world, that is. STOP THE WAR!!!!!!

I had one little epiphany one night, though. We went to Lifta (لفتا‎, מי נפתוח),  this abandoned Palestinian village in Jerusalem where people were chased out during the 1948 war and no one came back. There was this party organized, so we stayed up making barbecue and drinking beer around the fire until early morning, mostly with students in masters studies in Middle East, so we had plenty of discussions. But then, at around 03h37 a.m. came those two orthodox Jews who just settled down in the same terrace as where we were and started to play flamenco/orthodox amazing guitar music! They played on for hours this slow yet captivating melody, singing about love and all different things in life. Then I had the very elaborated thought: wowowiwow!

That night my hope for human race went up a little bit.

The “City of Jasmin” (in arabic: مدينة الياسمين).

A boy playing with pigeons in front of the Umayyad Mosque

According to historians, the name Dimashq is mentioned as early as 2000 BEFORE Christ, but there are signs that the place was inhabited as early as 9000 BC. That could well explain why Mark Twain said “No recorded event has occurred in the world but Damascus was in existence to receive news of it … There was always a Damascus.”

These are cliché words but anyone who has been there can only but feel the age of Damascus. It literally feels ancient – much more than most European cities, or Jerusalem for that sake. Of there are other place in the world with old building, but there is definitely something about these houses that makes one feel like he’s living in the middle ages… It is really fantastic. Maybe it also has something to do with the fact that there are no tourist hordes wandering about the tiny beautiful streets (the way they do in Jerusalem, but I’ll come to that in a later post, inch’allah). Or maybe it is also the proper gentlemen/shop-owners in the souq that speak French and address ladies by a formal Mademoiselle… Quite different than the image of angry Arabs we usually get from the western mainstream media!

Just the place we stayed, Hotel Al Rabie (الربيع), is a 600 years old building, with a magnificent courtiard with tiles on the walls and a fountain that makes a nice background sound when reading a Naguib Mahfouz (نجيب محفوظ) book.

And of course there is the magnificent Umayyad Mosque… supposedly one of the most beautiful in the world!

The Umayyad Mosque

But Damascus is also the capital of Syria, one of the most oppressive state in the world, with a Soviet style crumbling administration; and the greyness of the new city did not fail to remind me of this fact. The best example was the huge square building that was built in the 50s – or rather that was never finished. So there is this enormous block of concrete right in the middle of the city center, next to the beautiful old city.

A Soviet style unfinished building...

What to say about Syria? It’s enigmatic, obscure, and fascinating. For a start, the Assad ultra-strict regime – where for a while the President had 30 secret agencies that he was playing against each other – closed the country to mainstream tourism. Then, after 9/11 Mr. Bush got the brilliant idea to add Syria to the list of “Axis of Evil” countries, and this killed the little tourism industry that was developing.

Now, as a result, one can explore the fantastic ruins of Palmyra or Apamea alone – with a bit of luck. There are tourists, but so few that they go unnoticed; unless walking around the old parts of Damascus and Aleppo where shop-owners in the souks try their best to sell you scarf’s, spices, carpets, tea cups and others essential things. In simple words: Syria’s history is rich and so accessible that it is one of the only places in the world where one can walk on 2000 years old ruins.

But Syria is also home to one of the most oppressive regimes in the world – or was until not so long ago. When entering by land, the sight of useless and corrupt customs officials is the first indicator. This means that the waiting time to get the visa on the border can vary from 20min to several hours, with the price following the same fluctuations going from US$ 18 to 100. It all depends on the mood of the fat guy working on that day, and on how much baksheesh he gets. Same thing goes for the central post office in Damascus.

Still, people’s warm welcome offsets completely the grayness of the regime. Several people sincerely asked me if I was having a good time in Syria, and took great pleasure to hear that I enjoyed myself. And the fact that this is the cheapest country to travel to in the region – apart form Egypt – makes it a good destination for backpackers.

It has been almost three weeks since Sabrina and I arrived in the Middle East. We have traveled through Syria and Jordan, and tomorrow we should reach the Holy Land for a Holy Week. As I am sitting in the lobby of Palace Hotel in Amman, listening to Telephone (a French 80s band), I thought I should write an entry in the blog of mine.

The Middle East. Since my first experience with travelling in a Muslim country – Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and later Malaysia – I had been looking forward to finally come in this region, where Islam was born.

However, to tell the truth I was slightly anxious. However culture relativistic, informed and open-minded I try to be, the mainstream media has somehow formatted my perceptions; and deep inside I feared Arabs.

Paradoxically, however, I have never felt that safe (apart maybe from China). In the beginning it seemed kind of strange to being shouted at every five seconds; especially when people are not insulting you but are saying “Welcome to Jordan” with a beaming smile on their faces! People are absolutely amazing! Three weeks in the region have only reinforced this feeling.

In addition, ancient-ruins-like Syria is a gem! There are fantastic sites to explore, with the privilege to be almost alone! Indeed, since the great Bush administration has brilliantly added Syria to the list of the fabled “Axis of Evil”, the tourist industry has plummeted. So while it’s sad for the local tourist industry, it is fantastic for those – like me – who despise the sight of tour buses.