We arrived in Syria a few days ago. At the border I was the only one on the bus( and the only American)brought into a seperate room for questioning. They kept asking me if I had ever been to Occupied Palastine. It took a while for me to finally realize that they were asking me if I had ever been to Israel. An Israel stamp in your passport equals no entry into Syria. Luckily we won't be visiting Israel until next month. Anyway I was allowed into the country, but just to be safe I decided to go undercover(see photo). We spent are first few days in Aleppo, a sprawling city of 4 million. It was the first place I've been where the few women we see in the streets are wearing the chador: the full body-covering robe. Some even wear sunglasses and gloves.
You meet good people everwhere, but it seems to me that the absolute friendliest are in places that are isolated and see few visitors(Cuba, Albania, and Syria). Everywhere we went we were greeted with "Welcome to Syria", and given all kinds of sweets, snacks, candy, and tea. We were called into shops selling things that tourists could not possibly want: furnature, house paint, auto parts, just so they could talk with us. As hospitible as everyone has been, it can also be a bit overwelming, so after a couple hours walking around we would need to retreat to our room for a break.
On the day we arrived there was a public hanging. Five members of a gang were convicted of robbing and killing 15 local shopowners. We didn't see they hanging ourselves, but met a Czech travel writer who showed us his pictures. The bodies of the men were wrapped in white cloth with the details of their crimes written on the cloth in Arabic. The crowd was chanting "Kill Them" and throwing stones. It sounds pretty crazy. In a way I'm happy I didn't see it, but out of morbid curiousity I kind of wish I did. Yo definitely wishes she did.
Anyway, on a brighter note, the food is excellent and super cheap. Near our hotal there was this felafel stand that was always busy. We got in line and ordered two felafel sandwiches on pita bread. I wasn't sure of the price and they didn't speak any English. So I had to guess the price and hand them an appropriate bill. But if you give them too big a bill, they might try to rip you off. I figured 200 Syrian Pounds($4)should cover the cost of two sandwiches. So I was a bit shocked when they gave me 170 back. These were the best felafels I've ever had and so huge Yo couldn't even finish hers(thats rare)AND they were only 15 cents each. Needless to say, I've eaten there twice a day for the past three days and I'm feeling a bit felafeled out.