Yesterday I flew to Syria – my fourth time in the last 14 months. It’s back to work again. However it wasn’t really a good start. My team got stuck at the airport as the people who are supposed to pick us up didn’t turn up. Strange thing is that mobile phone doesn’t work at the airport. We could not just hopped onto any normal taxi, as there are certain protocols that we have to follow for safety reason.Damascus is a sprawling city, one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world. It is famous for its Ummayad Mosque. You can see this vast mosque in the centre of the photo.
The hotel we stayed in is a world of a difference to what is Damascus. The Four Season is the most luxurious place one could find here, owned by the Saudi prince Al-Waleed bin Talal. We had dinner at the hotel and watched football together with a large crowd at the hotel’s balcony. It was an excellent outcome for Holland as they hammered Italy 3-0. No body could imagine the Italian known for their solid defence could conceed 3 goals.I will be here for a week. Friday I will be leaving Damascus and heading East close to the Iraqi border. In my previous trip here, I went on a fieldtrip to North Syria together with Dr Rock! Some of the photos from that trip can be viewed in the postings linked below.
http://paulaland-paulaland.blogspot.com/2007_11_01_archive.html
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