january 2007
new years eve, the damascus skyline. on the left is the four seasons, the kenwood building is in the middle in the far distance.
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the top of the S.A.N.A. building. the Syrian Arab News Agency. you can make out the president's face under the flag. i like the lightening bolt logo. my friend fayez used to work here before he joined the unesco legal team. i took this pic while i was waiting for amelia so we could head up the top of the mountain.
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midnight, jan 1 2007 from the top of mount qassioun. when muhammad saw damascus from this spot, he described it as a green paradise. in the dark, the camera has trouble getting a clear image. i still think it looks cool. the green lights are damascene minarets.
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at top of the mountain we met a man who had built a fire and made a small campsite for himself. amelia suggested we make friends with him (it was pretty cold, and the warmth was tempting) but close by we could hear an oudh. a little investigation showed us the way to this mountainside cafe.
we could hear the oudh from outside, but the big surprise was the hakawati (the storyteller). he was cairene -- in this shot he is reciting a nizar qabani poem, *qari'at al finjan* (fortune teller). nizar qabani is syria's most famous poet, he served as a diplomat for the un too (that's how he became fayez's friend). he is sometimes referred to as the women's poet, though many of he writings on love are surreptitiously about internal politics. anyway, this hakawati was pretty friendly, and blessed each of us with four swings of that steaming metal bowl he's holding in his left hand. a blessing for a sweet new year.
hakawati and oudh at the top of qassion on new years was the just the right time&place for a lesson in arabic calligraphy. amelia is a quick learner -- we finished the alif-baa' and now she is trying to write دمشق (damascus).
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jan 3 we are at the 2 palms between baramkeh & the four seasons. i need to go there & make a recording of this sometime & post it.
after teaching alice&wonderland to sulafa at spacetoon, i just want some coffee, which is tall order in the 2palm's dinner room. after a hard day's reporting, amelia (way left) is practicing calligraphy w/her new قلم (pen).
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