Yes, I know: The Casbah has been uncharacteristically devoted to following counterinsurgency in Afghanistan of late. So, I thought I would mix it up and revert to the gonzo travel nature of this blog. You can write for a lifetime; but unless you walk the earth yourself will never know what is out there. The following pictures are from my trip through Syria last month:
(Click on the pictures to enlarge)
Ahh, the Syrian so-called “Booty of the October War.” The war museum is located just outside downtown Damascus and is a total show-piece of the regimes propaganda. Most of it is ruined Israeli military equipment and Syrian (Soviet) tanks with a shine. Worth a visit if you make it to Syria.
The Syrian government almost plowed the old city of Damascus. But they didn’t. This is just one of the many newly restored Syrian houses of the old city. Smoke waterpipe? These courts make for epic lounging.
Well at least someone in this world still drives American cars. Another reason for better American-Syrian relations. Right? This picture was taken in downtown Damascus.
The beautiful Persian tiles of the Sayyeda Zainab mosque, located just outside Damascus. Click here for The Casbah's offical post.
A man asked me while standing right next to this photo if I knew where the office of the martyred leader was... He was talking about the late Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr of Iraq. His son of course is Muqtada al-Sadr, the firebrand cleric who became famous for his violent opposition to the Coalition Provincial Authority in Iraq. Anyway, the nice fellow who asked me on the street must have assumed I was Iraqi. Look at the next picture. Think so? The shirt I am wearing says it all: "...Lost"
Inside the Sayyeda Zainab mosque.
Just a great shot of Palmera, Syria. Who knows how many empires conquered through this desert oasis... This place is arguable for best Roman ruins in the Middle East.
Palmera!!! Again!!!
Great picture of a Bedouin driving his motorcycle through the Syrian desert near Palmera. Looks like a clip out of Indiana Jones.
The Syrian wilderness. When people think about the Middle East this is probably the first thing that comes to mind: an Operation Desert Storm kind of landscape that's real value is not the sand but that dark liquid underneath.
And so is the first installment from Syria.
