August 12, 2005
Just get me to Europe.
Well the outward bound flight didn't take off, so it looks like I'm going to have to find another way home.
There's an Air France flight to Paris at 07.30, but there's no online booking for it. There might be another flight to Paris later in the morning with Syrian Air, but their website is woeful so I can't be sure of that either. Otherwise I'll take anything that gets me to anywhere in Europe with a direct-ish connection to Dublin.
God knows when I'll get home, but I'm off to the airport now to try my luck. If I have any luck left the place won't yet be swarming with the 200+ people who were due to be on the BA flight.
Posted by Richard at 02:14 AM | Comments (1)
August 11, 2005
Oh Shit...
Food fight grounds BA - The Guardian
Typical. It looks like all BA flights from Heathrow terminals 1 and 4 have been grounded by a wildcat strike. Guess which terminals I'm using tomorrow?
BA are saying that BMED flights aren't yet affected (they operate the Heathrow-Damascus route on behalf of BA) but if tonight's outward flight doesn't take off I'm snookered. I'll be keeping a close eye on that one.
My flight from Heathrow to Dublin is a codeshare with Aer Lingus, so I have no idea what the story might be with that one.
The prospect of a day spent hanging around in departure lounges might delight Michael O'Leary but the last time I was a 'captive customer' I was locked (in more ways than one) in here. Much more enjoyable.
Posted by Richard at 06:22 PM | Comments (1)
Finished!
Right, that'll have to do.
My draft report has been handed in. I have a few bits and pieces to finish when I get home, but I'm done.
The last week has been hard work, late nights hammering away, plenty of meetings and no socialising. It was a great experience and I'd do it again in a shot, but perhaps not for as long next time.
Now it's time to pack the bags and have a celebratory beer or two. Not too many though, it's an early start for the trip home tomorrow.
Posted by Richard at 05:44 PM | Comments (0)
August 08, 2005
Almost done, sort-of.
T minus Three days and cooounting Meester Bond...
Almost there. Only about 50 pages of reports to write and I'll be free to go. But they want me back. Maybe they should wait until they've read what I've written so far!
Yes, it looks like escape is impossible, I'll be back in Damascus for a week at the end of the month. The pressure is really on to get everything done by then, and the more hands they have the better.
I finally have someone working with me, he only speaks French though, which isn't making things easy. My schoolbook French isn't up to scratch for much more than asking if he's ok (he's 'bien' apparently) Zut Alors!
Posted by Richard at 09:42 PM | Comments (3)
August 07, 2005
Still alive, just...
Last Thursday we decided that a trip up to the mountain overlooking the city for a beer or two and a quick bite would be the perfect way to round off the week.
After turning down a couple of taxi's on the basis of expense (we could have gone to Beirut for what one guy was trying to charge) we ended up in the car of a madman.
You know the type, bug-eyed, chain smoking, cackling and rattling off a list of his favourite whiskeys over the arabic warbling screaming from the stereo. He revelled in the extra power of his car (a massive 1.4 rather than the 1.1 engines in most taxis) He threw it, and us, all over the road, screaming up the inside lane of the wrong side of the four lane highway that leads up to the hills.
As he dropped us off he insisted we take his number, we were too speechless to refuse.
Still, the view was worth it. Unlike the food, which the kids serving us tried to charge 40 euro for. We must have had our gullible tourist t-shirts on.
The USB port on my laptop has finally gone west, so the photo's will have to wait until I get home
Posted by Richard at 07:46 PM | Comments (0)
August 02, 2005
A rooftop beer.
A good day's work, a cold beer and a view out over the city.
Nice, eh?
That's the Jesus Minaret of the Umayyad mosque in the left of the picture. Legend has it that this is where Jesus will appear on the Day of Reckoning. No sign of him there last night, so I reckon we're all fine for the next few days at least. I'll keep an eye out though..
Posted by Richard at 09:43 PM | Comments (1)
A walk around the Old City.
Finally, internet access has been restored in the hotel.
I haven't been able to access the net from my room for nearly a week, there was something wrong with the government-owned server through which traffic from the hotel passes.
I managed to get a few good pictures during a walk around the old city last Friday. The city was very quiet, as most things shut for the day.
This lane is normally jammed with people, the Friday effect in action.
A view to the mountain which forms the northern edge of the city. The citadel is the building to the left. The Mosque in the centre of the picture is across the street from my hotel
Another typical street. There must be thousands of cars parked up at the side of the lanes throughout the Old City.
This is Straight Street, as referred to in the Bible. Paul had his eyesight restored here. Speaking of which, I might get myself a new pair of glasses here, they're about a fifth of the price I'd pay at home.
This street is near the Citadel. The streets in this area are arranged a grid pattern and are quite a bit wider than the lanes that cover most of the Old City.
A covered Souk, or market. Again this lane is normally packed full of people and the occasional minibus, complete with driver sitting on the horn and yelling at people to get out of the way.
The famous Souk al-Hamidiyya. It's a bit like a glitzy department store when the shops are open. It's not possible to buy anything which hasn't had gold inlay or trim added. Apparently those are bulletholes in the roof, shot by French planes during a rebellion in 1925.
Posted by Richard at 08:20 PM | Comments (2)
July 26, 2005
Tuesday in Tartus.
My first city visit. Plenty of meetings with local officials tomorrow - we've even brought our own team of (much needed)interpreters.
I haven't seen much of the town itself yet, it has a whiff of Bray or Bundoran about it - coastal resort and all that.
There's supposed to be an amazing crusader castle nearby: Krak Des Chevaliers, it looks like it's right out of the Disney guide to Castles.
Our compressed schedule means we won't have time to visit, unfortunately.
Still, I have to leave something undone for next time...
Posted by Richard at 09:31 PM | Comments (0)
July 24, 2005
Traffic
It wouldn't matter how long I spent here, I don't think I'd ever get used to the traffic.
Two lane roads jammed with three or four lanes of cars, beeping furiously at the poor fool who won't break the red light. Decrepit minibuses, cabins lit with green and blue flourecent striplights rushing along streets packed with people. Thirty thousand yellow cars, brands and models long forgotten in Europe, serving as the taxi service. Lada's barreling along the dusty lanes of the old city with inches of clearance on either side. The frightening way that cars turning onto a road seems to have precendence to anyone already on it, even if they're doing 50.
I don't think I'll be hiring a car.
Not that I'd need to, the project has a team of drivers to pick us up and drop us off as needed, and taxi's are pretty cheap. A typical cross town trip will cost about 50 or 60 Syrian pounds, less than a Euro.
It seems that all you need to set up in business as a taxi driver is a battered Fiat Mirafiori, a roof sign and a bucket of yellow paint. The better class of car might have a BMW M5 plaque stuck in place of the Lada Riva badge that has fell off 10 or 15 years ago.
The work is progressing well, it's quite challenging, with each day throwing up new obstacles and problems. But in general things are more advanced here than I thought they would be.
Posted by Richard at 07:48 PM | Comments (2)
July 17, 2005
Another day, another dollar
A full day's work today. No meetings, but plenty of research going on.
Sunday is a normal working day here, everywhere is open. The market below my window is in full swing, the plums bloke is flogging 4 kilo bags to beat the band.
We passed the city's main Mosque, the Omayyad, last night. It's surrounded by Roman ruins, you can even see where some of the Roman stone has been reused in the building of the Mosque.
As for eating, I've been following the Lonely Planet's recommendations for restaurants, and they've been on the money so far. There are only about 10 recommendations, and I've been in 3 to date, so I'll have to eat without guidance soon. Of course I've been picking the places which serve alcohol, many restaurants don't.
Friday Night's choice was the best so far, it's in a well preserved 400 year old house in the middle of the Christian quarter.
There are plenty of grilled meats on the menus, no pork of course, but steaks, chicken and veal aplenty. The starters, or mezze, are where you see most of the arabic influence, with hummous, aubergine, chickpeas and pomegranate popping up everywhere. A meal with one or two mezzes to start, a main and 3-4 beers costs about 12 euro. Toto, I ain't in Dublin anymore..
Actually the local brew isn't half bad. I'll have to bring a bottle or two home. I wonder if the Porterhouse are still doing that deal whereby if you bring in a bottle they don't have, you get a free beer?
Posted by Richard at 05:08 PM | Comments (2)
July 16, 2005
Settling in
I've been here for a few days now and I'm beginning to find my feet.
The city itself is very charming, but not without problems. The first impression is that it's pretty grubby by European standards, but once you get past that there are some pretty fantastic buildings here, from the Roman era up to the 19th century. Of course dotted amongst them are some pretty awful soviet style creations from the 70's. We had a short walking tour of the old city yesterday, most places were shut as it was Friday, but there was a real sense of history.
The people I've met have all been very nice and very helpful, but the language barrier is a problem. English is not widely spoken, and the Arabic script makes it impossible to read anything. This is a place where it is very easy to get lost, even with a map.
There is quite a mix of dress to be seen on the streets, most women wear headscarves, some with the full head to toe black garb, or heavy overcoats, which can't be fun in the 35C heat. Walking behind them might be a gang of women who wouldn't look out of place in Milan.
Buying anything from a shop or stall has involved pointing and handing over the cash. I managed to get that a bit wrong last night when I went to this stall outside the hotel to get a few bits of fruit:
I pointed at the plums and indicated that I wanted 4. I came back to him a few seconds later and he handed me a 4 kilo bag. That'll keep me busy for a few days. The cost? 100 Syrian pounds, or Eur 1.60.
My hotel room is your standard business room, with a small kitchenette.
The view is looking west into the Old city.
Apologies for the poor quality of the pictures, these were taken with my phone. I'm still working on getting my camera connected to the laptop.
I'm off now to the Old City in search of a restaurant for tonight's meal. Not too much beer tonight, I have an early start in the morning.
Posted by Richard at 05:15 PM | Comments (2)
July 14, 2005
Tech meltdown
I spent the hour delay in Aleppo angling my mobile any which way in search of a signal, and then doing the same in the hour long queue for visas at Damascus.
Not a sausage.
(well, obviously, 'tis a Muslim country)
So there was I, cursing the Syrian mobile industry when I noticed just about everybody else yammering away on their phones. Nobody texting of course - it can't be too easy with their alphabet.
It turns out that Vodafone Ireland don't have a roaming arrangement in Syria. I'm in a personal GSMless black hole. Maybe that's why Paul turned back on his way to Damascus, he realised he had to pick up an O2 sim card.
It's quite wierd how disconnected I feel. I spent the day at the project office meeting the permanent staff and first wave of short term people like me. There's 3 short-termers here today, with another 3 or 4 arriving over the weekend. All the while I knew that I couldn't be contacted at all, which was strangely disconcerting.
At least there's internet access in the hotel room. Mind you if I want to get sent home in a hurry all I have to do is type something smutty into Google.
I should have some time off tomorrow, so I'll try and stick a few photos up here.
Posted by Richard at 08:52 PM | Comments (0)
July 12, 2005
Confirmed.
The man who stamps things has stamped that which needed to be stamped. I'm jetting out at 15.30 tomorrow.
Straight into the thick of it too, there's a presentation which I've been asked to attend on Thursday. I have a feeling I'll learn more from it than the attendees it's aimed at.
Today's temperature in Damascus? 39! I'm gonna melt...
Posted by Richard at 12:49 PM | Comments (0)
July 11, 2005
Syria here I come...
The EU's rubber-stamp is inked and poised over the paper. Nothing moves until the bureaucrat puts the stamped form into his out tray. Still, it's looking like I'm leaving for Damascus on Wednesday afternoon, I'll know for sure tomorrow.
The afternoon flight means arriving at 3.30am on Thursday. With a 2-3 hour wait for a visa once I arrive, I hope I'm not expected to be too productive on my first day. Friday is the local day off, and I'm not expected to work on Saturday, so once I get the introductory meetings out of the way I should have a day or two to acclimatise.
Ahead of me lies 30 days of, well, I'm not quite sure what. Sweat for sure, either from the heat (38C today) or the job itself. Culture shock too. The place is about 10% Christian, so there should be such basics as beer available. All the literature I've read has been positive about the people and of course the place is steeped in history, so it's going to be quite a trip.
Posted by Richard at 10:15 PM | Comments (0)