Community: Real Life

Trotters for canapés anyone?


Naomi

Naomi Prior, 23, is studying Arabic in Yemen. She tells us what life is like for an English woman in the intriguing Middle Eastern country.
Entry: 8

Naomi is surprised at the attention her African friend receives as she continues her visit to Syria. But it's the more quirky goods being sold locally that make her trip all the more interesting

According to my guide book, 10% of Syria's population is Christian. It's easy to get a rose-tinted view of a place when you only visit it for seven days, but I was impressed by the apparent religious tolerance in the country. Churches stood peacefully alongside mosques, with minarets towering proudly into the sky.

I was impressed by the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, which claims to be one of the oldest mosques in the world. Non-muslims are warmly invited to visit and I eagerly accepted. Not just because I wanted to view this beautiful historic building, but because I strongly believe that the world would be a more tolerant and peaceful place if everyone had a chance to learn more about other people's religions and places of worship.

There was a separate entrance for Muslims and non-muslims, the latter taking you through a small garden that led you into the huge marble courtyard, complete with ornate golden treasury and intricate mosaics. The mosque wasn't what I was expecting and I was surprised to see large gatherings of families, men huddled in corners debating, and worshippers prostrated in prayer. A week before I'd visited Mukawir in Jordan where John the Baptist was allegedly beheaded as a reward by King Herod to Salome. Somehow his head had travelled up to Damascus and was attracting lots of inquisitive visitors inside the mosque. I found both the courtyard and the mosque itself immensely calming and welcoming. It was a place that I could have easily rested in for hours, hidden from the pressures of the modern world outside.

"How I'd love to see the look on friends' faces if I passed round trays of trotters for canapés at a party!"
Arabic sweet shop

One of the shops in Damascus

For centuries Syria was used to receiving many European and Eastern visitors, but interaction with Africa had clearly been limited, at least in recent times, judging by the reaction that my friend Karen received. Karen, was a black Kenyan friend of the people that I was visiting. Everywhere we went in Syria she attracted huge amounts of attention, which she dealt with very patiently. Generally it appeared to be fuelled by curiosity rather than anything more malign. Waiters asked me where she came from and if they could they get a job there? Students asked to take her photo. The immigration officials at the border spent ages trying to work out where Kenya was. It was a powerful reminder that in even in 2007 with the internet, air travel and globalised trade, many countries are still very isolated from each other and their global experiences are small.

Diversity also has its comedy side. The souqs of Damascus and Aleppo were overwhelming in their size and range of goods for sale. Huge cavernous halls of shops were interlinked with narrow alleyways filled with stalls, all under cover and advertising their wares, as they had done for centuries. Carpets competed with spices, jewellery, clothing, pottery, fabric, furniture, Arabic sweets (an art form in themselves in my opinion) and fruit and vegetables.

Soap was a particular feature of Aleppo Souq - some 20,000 tonnes of soap are produced annually. It was a good test for my Arabic as one soap seller tried to explain the various parts of the bodies that would benefit from different 'grades' of laurel oil and olive oil mix.

Yet the joint award for the two most entertaining items on sale went deservedly to a tray of trotters and a stuffed eagle. We were walking down a street of butchers shops for the umpteenth time as we searched for the citadel, when we did a double take through the window of one establishment. There we saw a man using a blow torch on rows and rows of neat trotters. How I'd love to see the look on friends' faces if I passed round trays of trotters for canapés at a party! The other show stopper was the man selling a large stuffed eagle, its wings fully outstretched in noble glory. I'm definitely not a fan of stuffing animals, but it was such a ridiculous sight that I was tempted to buy 'Eddie the Eagle from Aleppo' purely for the shock value. I thought he would look rather fetching on my desk next to my piles of paper and coffee cups!


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