Even though a lot of women from Syria and other Arab countries, when in public, cover themselves using traditional attire (hijabs, burqas or chadors), it’s certainly not a rule in all situations of their daily life. And here’s the proof for that, we found one day, out in the open, while walking through the Souk [...]

When we planned our trip to Syria in March 2011, we were far from aware that we would soon witness what was the beginning of a landmark event in the history of the country. In fact for a good part of our 2 week stay there, Syria had seemed like a fairly calm and stable [...]

When you’re travelling on a budget there comes this rather tiring and testing time when you’ve looked around at all the hotels and none of them match your budget or the basic acceptable standard you’ve set for yourself. We rarely tend to book the hostels or hotels in advance and have almost never faced a [...]

Until the end of our time in Syria, we weren’t entirely sure whether or not we wanted to visit Mar Musa monastery. Reading about it sure encouraged us to consider at least a short visit for a few hours, however given the weather conditions and the seemingly tough climb up a mountain to get there [...]

Our trip to Syria this March was completed right on the brink of the start of the protests in the country. During our last few days in Damascus, we witnessed what looked like peaceful rallies both pro and anti government around the old city and around the Souk al Hamadeiya. It was only a day [...]

There’s more to Middle Eastern cuisine (of which I’m a big fan) than just shawarmas and hummus. Though there are overlaps, each country in the region often has its own version or twist to a dish and sometimes even completely unique signature ones make their way to the menu. Syrian cuisine has a lot in [...]