As If...

It has been two years, Mother,
And the night of Damascus,
The jasmine of Damascus,
The houses of Damascus
Still inhabit our minds.
As if the Omayyad minarets
Are planted in our hearts.
As if the apple orchards
Are perfuming our conscience.
As if the lights and the stones
Have all traveled with us.

Nizar Qabbani 1923-1998
("Unofficial" translation)

Blessings Spread

After silently reciting Al-Fatiha (the first surah of the Quran), a Muslim wipes face with both palms, as a gesture of spreading blessings received by reading Allah's words.

May Allah's blessings spread all over earth this Eid. Happy Eid for you all.

* Pictures: Sitt Raqiyyeh Mosque, Damascus.

Standing Day

The day just before Eid is called al-Waqfeh (standing day) because on this day, in Mecca, pilgrims will be standing on Mount Arafat till sunset. Arab TV stations bring live coverage of the event, and people sit behind their TV screens to watch hundreds of thousands of men and women, dressed in white terrycloth that represents equality among pilgrims, while they invade those hilltops near Mecca and gradually turn their color from sandy brown to pure white.

* Picture: The Omayyad Mosque, Damascus.

Winter Recipe

The greatest warm-up in the bone-chilling cold: Fool Nabet - Hot black-eyed beans garnished with a lemon squeeze and a sprinkle of sour cumin. Tip: Before you start eating, grab the bowl with both hands while the warm vapors bring the fool/foul smell to your nostrils. Nothing can make you feel warmer.

The Challenge

Saladin, the legendary Muslim hero who defeated the Crusaders and liberated Jerusalem in the mid-12th century, is buried in Damascus, few meters away from the Great Omayyad Mosque.

It is said that when the French army under General Henri Gouraud occupied Damascus in July 1920, Gouraud walked up to Saladin's tomb and exclaimed, "Awake, Saladin! We have returned!"

To this day, Arabs are still waiting for Saladin to live up to the challenge.

Rooftop Mess

Typical rooftops of Damascus residential buildings: A mess of hanging wires and cables, water-storage tanks, air-conditioners, solar power panels, TV antennas and herds of satellite dishes, most of them looking towards Arabsat.

History Mosaic

A mosaic of history:

1. Archs of the Temple of Jupiter - Roman, 3rd century BC
2. Walls of the Mosque - Omayyad, 8th century AD
3. Western Minaret - Memluk, 15th century AD
4. Souk al-Hamidieh - Ottoman, 18th century AD
5. People - Syrian, 21st century AD

Ceta-Mall

City Mall is the only western-style shopping mall in Damascus (two others were opened outside the city in Sabboura and on Daraa Highway). For reasons that are not well understood, it is known among taxi drivers as "Cetamol" (pronounced seetah-mol) which is the Syrian brand name for the pain killer Panadol/Tylenol.

Green Booster

On sale on a downtown Damascus pavement: "Zallouh Root: Sexual booster, general booster, for diabetes, nerve problems and back pain"

Zallouh is made from the root of the herb Ferula Hermonis, which grows at the height of 2000 meters above sea level on Mount Hermon between Syria and Lebanon. It has been used as an aphrodisiac since ancient times, and it is a well known folk remedy in some parts of Syria and Lebanon. It's chemical powers and benefits were studied and confirmed by doctors and scientists a few years ago, and the word spread worldwide. It was described by CNN in 1998 as the "Lebanese Viagra."

Those Alleyways

In those alleyways... How many treasures did I hide?
And how many childhood memories did I leave?

On their walls... How many pictures did I draw?
And on their stair-steps... How many toys did I break?

Oh Damascus, my wounds have no banks,
So wipe my sorrow off my brow.

-- Nizar Qabbani 1923-1998
("unofficial" translation)

The Pencils

When the Ottoman Turks occupied Syria in 1516, Sultan Selim I ordered the construction of al-Tekiyyeh Mosque on the banks of Barada River in Damascus. The people of Damascus did not like the typical Turkish style of the Mosque. Its pencil-shaped minarets looked weird, and people saw them as a symbol of Turkish domination, which they didn't expect to last for long. However, many other pencils were later constructed in Damascus, and the Ottomans stayed for 400 years.

Nofara Sounds

Al-Nofara. This small cafe, just outside the walls of the Omayyad Mosque, is the most famous in Old Damascus. Al-Nofara is always bustling with customers, usually men, who create a lively mixture of sounds: Loud laughter, rolling of dice on wooden backgammon boards and occasional periods of silence interrupted by a long sip from a tea cup or the bubbling of an argileh (waterpipe), then ended with a shout: "Narah ya walad!" (bring me some coal, boy!)

New Hope

New year. New hope.

No poverty. No unemployment. No corruption. No prisons. No injustice. No intervention from outside. No micro-buses. No pollution. No immigration. No loss of national pride.

No occupied land. No besieged people. No killings. No refugees. No uprooting of olive trees. No burning of palm trees. No lies. No brainwashing. No threats from superpowers. No superpowers.

No Arab disputes. No visas. No long lines on borders. No borders. No blind nationalism. No cultural invasion. No English replacing Arabic. No cheap culture. No Haifaa. No Ruby. No immorality. No religious intolerance. No religious fanaticism. No bashing of Islam.

No Tsunamis.

No 2004 again. Have a Happy New Year.

Snowing Peace

Missing this Christmas:

1. Arabic Christmas carols by the wonderful Fairouz, especially Laylet Eid (Christmas Night- the Arabic version of "Jingle Bells") and Najmet al Eid (Star of Christmas- the Arabic version of "Angels We Have Heard on High"):

Ya sama tetloj ash'aar oo salaam
"Oh the sky is snowing poems and peace!"

2. Walking/driving around the beautifully decorated Al-Qassaa' neighbourhood while people walk to the churches for the midnight mass.

* Picture: Al-Zaitoun (Olive) Church, one of the oldest in Damascus.

Not Home

Away from Damascus. Already feeling homesick. No blogging for a while.