32 - North Shore News — Sunday, June 18, 2000

Syria’s
deserts full
of smiles

Andrew Renton
Contributing Writer

There was no mistaking
who was in charge.

The benign faee of
dent) Assad was all
Mpassing. A vast por-

trait) curtained an entire
building. A larger than life
bust centred a square. Rows
of photographs hung like
washing on a line. Thar smil-
ing reassuring face, mous-
tache neatly trimmed, looked
benevolently down on_ his
people wherever they went
about their daily tasks.

When I returned from
Syria, my friends regarded
me as a cat in its tenth life.
This desert nation of some
17 million souls, long under
the hand of Assad and the
watchful eye of Moscow,
conjures up all thoughts of
evil and oppression. I had left
Amman, Jordan aboard the
historic little train that runs
weckly to Damascus. The
grandiose size and ornate
detailing of the Hejaz railway
station underscored its his-
torical past as a gathering
place. for Muslims leaving on
a pilgrimage to Mecca.

- Damascus: vies with
Aleppo, its fascinating neigh-
bour to the North as the
longest occupied city in the
‘world, some 5,000 years,
Little in the old quarter, with
its labyrinth of covered sougs
and narrow winding alley-
ways, has changed. The smell
of camel is almost perceptible
in the small caravanseries
squeezed behind razor thin
stalls piled high with exotic
spices, herbs and teas.
Bedouins plying The Silk
Route would rest their
camels here, trade myrrh,
frankincense, carpets, silks
and exotic jewelry and share
a nargileh, water pipe, grate-
ful for company away from
the desert sun. -

I descended into the
‘Hammam Nureddin, a 750-
year-old Turkish bath oddly
sandwiched between two
shops. The one peddling
Christmas decorations and
the other risqué underwear.
A gruff man sat behind the
ancient cash register and
pointed to a badly translated
menu of services. For a
miserly $8 I bought the full
offering and empticd my
valuables into the proffered
deposit box in return for the
key and a bunch of coloured
wristbands as proof of pay-
ment. Shoes immediately

shelved, disrobed and
donned the long towel dis-
{high by the bal-

rian of

lurched oon newly
acquired clogs towards the
archway trom. which steam
ominously poured. Jolly
Damascene men helped me
laughingly through the re
tine which saw me sauna'd,
steamed, soaked and seraped
until my suntan paled. °
while Iving prostrate betore a
loofah-wielding, — evil-eved
ample chap, cross-legged tn a
Buddah pose — one hetty
thump in mid spine was a
sign to turn over. [ was final-
ly pounded by a masseur who
worked part time as a se
ty guard at the Canadian
Embassy.

An hour later I emerged,
numb and disorientated, to
be swathed in towels and
rewarded with a glass of tea.
Several of my fellow bathers
delivered fervent hugs and
kisses as they exited, perhaps
out of respect for my sur-
vival.

Damascus is a w alking city
filled with lite. Vast ancient
mosques. Coptic Christian
churches. Enticing crum-
bling alleys. Tiny staircases
leading to mysterious doors.
Overhead stories tilting
inwards precariously.
Sidewalk cafes fussed over by
efficient whi irted,
bleck-panted waiters.
Pungent aromas emanate
from teashops where a

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photo andrew Renton
THE creaking and groaning of norias, ancient waterwheels, greet visitors to the riverside town of Noria.

fresh fruit
blender.

awaiting the
nes are
city and
their friendly smiling ways
enticed me back for a second
visit.

nargilch filled with honey or
apple shag, perfectly soothes
away a hot afternoon.
Palatial bakeries display deli-
cious syruppy offerings piled
high in enticing pyramids to
compete for the sweet Arab
tooth. Juice bars canopied by

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