The Road to Damascus

Our road to Damascus from Amman was relatively smooth. The view of dry, arrid land is mostly what we saw on the 4 hour bus ride. Oh, and the sheep, of course. I have a greater understanding of why sheep and shepherds are mentioned so much in the Bible.

Crossing the border included a Jordanian exit tax, barbed wire and a check of our Syrian visas. We had been told some horror stories about getting stuck at the border, but thankfully no such story for us.

Syria is a more conservative country than Jordan that has not allowed foreign influence or investment to taint its culture. The Syrian people are warm and welcoming. Almost everyone we had contact with said "Welcome!" This is one of the few English words spoken, however. There were not many taxi drivers or merchants that spoke English.

We were also welcomed by the third world driving and traffic patterns. There truly is method in their mania. Somehow, it just works not following any visible rules we hold so tightly onto in the West.

Here is a view of Damascus from "the mountain" as it is called by locals. I found it to be more of a hill, such as Signal Hill, Anaheim Hills, etc. The view sure was beautiful and it gives a larger picture of the oldest inhabited city in the world.