Good Arabic Teacher in Damascus
by Lars_Damas
Hello Everyone!
I have read your postings and just wanted to give you a tip for a really good Arabic teacher!
Her name is Reham Mohamad and she has given me private lessons for the last months. She's really good and professional in how she teaches and she only charges 500 SYP per lesson of 45 min (I normally take 2 lessons per time). She can teach you both Standard Arabic and the Syrian Dialect.
You can contact her on the following email: arabic_syria@yahoo.com or call her on +963 988 621 353
Best regards
Steps in the Omayyad Mosque
by themagiclake
My steps, following yours, my shoes in my hands
for the first time in my life i walked in such a place
never i felt so light never i felt so happy
belonging you it was like suddendly
all the answers were clear
Coffee
by uglyscot
Coffee is an art. Different places have different ways of making and serving it.
In a restaurant we were served by a 'awi' [magician], who made a great todo over serving the cofee. he was dressed in traditional clothes and was quite a character.
Packing List
by maykal
Women should bring a headscarf to enter mosques.
If you go in winter, take some very warm clothes as it get's surprisingly cold. My friends in England all laughed when I said it was freezing, but although it probably isn't as cold as England is, in Syria you feel it more because most buildings (hotels and especially houses) are inadequately heated, so it is impossible to get warm! You can get all kinds of toiletries and medical supplies (except good cough tablets) in Damascus. Films bought in good shops usually work fine, but outside Damascus and Aleppo, films should be treated dubiously! I got most of my films developed in Syria, and had no complaints. Any Kodak shop is good, as is the Photo Misr not far from the Cham Palace Hotel in the New City. You can normally get same-day service.
Passport photos can be taken in most of these shops (sometimes called studios, although that's a wee bit optimistic), although don't expect wonders - mine were taken using an antique camera (the photographer had to cover his head with a dark cloth!), but at least they were cheap. You will need countless passport photos for obtaining and extending visas (they always ask for one more than you've got, so be prepared!)
Daytrip to Seidnayya
by MalenaN
Seidnayya is situated only 26 km north of Damascus and can easily be visited on a daytrip using public transport, also including Ma'alula. Buses to Seidnayya leave from Ma'alula Garage in Damascus.
High on a hill above Seidnayya, almost looking like a fortress, is the Convent of Our Lady of Seidnayya. From the roof of the convent you will have a great view over the small town and the surrounding hills.
At the time of the crusaders Seidnayya was considered to be second only to Jerusalem as an important place of pilgrimage. The reason is a portrait of Virgin Mary said to have been painted by St Luke. The portrait can be seen in a small dark room beside the chapel, together with many more recent icons and silver crosses. Many miracles are attributed to the icon. An Iraqi man visiting the convent asked if I had seen the image of Jesus by the stairs, halfway up to the convent. I hadn’t, so he took me down to show me the image. The image is protected behind bars, and is said to have appeared after a man rested his oil jar on that spot.
The convent is believed to date back to the 6th century and to be founded by the Byzantine emperor Justinian. Not much remains that is very old. Of what can be seen of the building today much dates to the 19th century.
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main restaurant & terrace
see the sign on the wall? Hand Crafts Route
fountain in damascus
Damascus
