The Syria I remember

10 years ago this month I visited Syria.

My friend Jonny had invited me to come stay with his family in Aleppo. For two weeks I was their guest. I would get to visit again two years later. I had just turned 20.

This is the Syria I remember:

1. There is a salty yogurty drink called Ayran
2. Aleppo is called Halab in Arabic. I don’t know why it has two names
3. There are just as many churches as there are mosques
4. You can smoke everywhere and cigarettes cost nearly nothing
5. A taxi is about 25p. 50p if you’re going far
6. Taxi doors are thin and slam far too easily
7. You can marry whoever you like, but it’s negotiated between families
8. Weddings start at midnight
9. The actual religious bit is 3 months earlier
10. There is a place called “Sluumphi”, which is like a Syrian Blackpool
11. Families sit outside together on Friday nights
12. There are public pools where women wear bikinis
13. Men link arms with one another
14. There is a type of soup called “fool” which makes you feel stoned
15. Cats are everywhere, but very few people have pets
16. Syrian teenagers love house music
17. Markets are underground so people and goods stay cool
18. You see women in burkas shopping for lingerie
19. There are no chain stores or western shops
20. Having a good appetite is more important that being able to speak Arabic
21. For £60K Bob Sinclair will fly in especially to do a concert
22. It’s rude not to argue
23. There’s film stores where all the DVDs are openly pirated
24. Alcohol can be bought everywhere
25. Big groups of men aren’t allowed in nightclubs
26. You can fit a small family on a scooter
27. It’s simply too hot during the day for 9–5 jobs like we do in the West
28. The roads between cities are flat and straight
29. You don’t talk politics
30. There is a delicious round food called Kibbeh
31. Syrians believe they have the best Arabic accents
32. Finishing food a host gives you is impolite. They will simply give you more until you “stop challenging their generosity”.
33. Try finding this out before being ill the night before and going to a family gathering
34. People have lived in Aleppo continuously for 8000 years
35. Getting online means going to a internet café
36. You have to use a proxy server to visit Myspace
37. The national museum is fantastic and you can touch everything in it
38. Car horns are used as much as indicators
39. Palmyra, considering how old it is, I’m not sure how it got built
40. The hummus here is very smooth
41. People will try sell you coffee when you stop at traffic lights
42. Apparently drinking this coffee isn’t a good idea
43. A Syrian with blue eyes and red hair might refer to themselves a “crusader baby”
44. Rice wrapped in vine leaves tastes amazing
45. The streets are the safest in the world

Even then I knew I was lucky to go to Syria, let alone twice. Only now, a decade later, do I realise quite how lucky I was. I got to see the country as it may never be seen again. A place very different to the one of conflict, chaos and suffering we see in the news. A country of close families, hospitality and world history.

I won’t forget that.