Good afternoon
The call to prayer just came blazing outside the window of my hotel hidden on the 4th floor of a rather suspicious looking building in downtown Damascus. We had a nice flight this morning in from istanbul. Yesterday was a great last day in the city. We toured the bazaar (I bought a necklace that got bargained down to the “special foreign friend price” which means only 100 percent markup instead of 200 but the exchange was really fun) went to the spice market and ate dinner on the trendiest street in Istanbul.
Today though we’ve traded our W suite for a tiny room in the city center. (it does have hot water and air con though!) when we landed at the airport it was a total flashback to china. We have only encountered three people who spoke any english- the lady who booked our taxi, our hotel receptionist who has been a godsend, and a rather dour waiter who may have overcharged us. Nic says that it is just our tourist tax. I like that. It’s so often that we think once we arrive somewhere doors will magically open just because we have a lot of optimism. Instead though you may end up searching for your hotel for a good while as a bunch of dudes who only know hello stand around gawking.
Of course before you go feeling sorry for us, I should tell you that tonight we are getting taken out for a night on the town by friend maisaa and tomorrow Diana is hiring us an English guide and then we are all having a huge dinner.
Our tourist tax has been paid. Now let’s party!!!
