The Minaret of Qaitbay as seen from the outside of the Umayyad Mosque… Considered the first monumental work of architecture in Islamic history, the Umayyad Mosque (also called the Great Mosque of Damascus) is a melting pot of different faiths. It houses the mausoleum of John the Baptist — which is said to contain his … Continue reading
Hezbollah fighters launching rockets toward Israel… I’ve already shown you the Mleeta Resistance Landmark… And if you are a reader of this web site, you are almost certainly already familiar with Hezbollah anyway. Therefore, I shall not go into a detailed history here. I’ll sprinkle in some interesting facts and observations I made on our … Continue reading
As we were entering Damascus, our taxi driver pointed out the palace where Bashar al-Assad lives on a hill overlooking the city. It’s quite a structure: You can get a pretty good view of the impressive layout of the palace and the surrounding gardens from Google Earth. Just type in “Damascus, Syria” and zoom in … Continue reading
Most of the attention on Syria is focused on the cities (such as Damascus) and the towns (where much of the activity associated with the current uprising is taking place). But, I wanted to give you a better feel for what all of the space in between (which represents the majority of Syrian territory) is … Continue reading
I was rather taken by this motorcycle we came across outside a monastery in rural Syria. It has far more character than any of the motorcycles I have ever owned: Continue reading
If readers have been following recent events within Syria, they will know that Friday has become the day when things kick off between the government forces and those seeking to extend the “Arab Spring” as it is now being called. So, I was rather curious as to what the mood would be in Damascus last … Continue reading
The Velvet Rocket 