Back from Damascus

I'm a man who lives on the edge....who dices with unstable counties and visiting toppling regimes like most people go to the local shops. I am back from my little visit to Damascus and lived to tell the tale. Well actually it was not bad at all. In fact it was quite pleseant, being the calm before the storm the airport was surprisingly quiet. What was disconcerting was the normally surly immigration officials were actually trying to be nice and chatty, "first time in Syria? did you enjoy it last time?" etc. spooky, when your used to the american style stern faced inefficiency. The trip into town was pretty normal, the only difference being a large numbwer of flags around and even more photos of El Presidente then normal plaster over cars and taxis. Some microbuses has some many posters on their windows it looked like Assad was driving a bus load of clones around, how the driver could see out was impressive - perhaps he cut a couple of Scooby Doo like eyeholes in the poster at the front. Security said I should stay around the hotel, so popped out to haggle with my little chap in the watch shop and finally after 3 visits got an agreeable price on a IWC watch I have been keen to purchase....but at my price....a small but worthwhile victory and the watch does still work. From about 10-2am traffic jams of horn-blarring pro-government traffic jams made their way up and down the main street creating a large noise, it was hard to see how many there were or whether it was the same 50 cars and trucks going around and around. saw nothing anti-government. At around 2.30am i heard some celebratory gunshoots being fired in the air - or whats my interpretation anyhow. Next day nothing much different and all quite unlike the south and north of the country, there were a lot of not so secret plain cloths (read 1970s leather jackets) police standing around in groups at the main roundabout where there was suppose to be a demo. Quite a celebratory feeling on the way home as El Presidente said he was going to repeal emergency rule and sack the government (where have we seen this script before). All the drivers I had, who normal talk of nothing but the weather and traffic were happy to dicuss the current situation, I get the feeling like Qaboos in Oman, people quite like Assad, and beleive the problem is all the advisors and hangers on. In Egypt everyone inclided Mubarak in this! Not sure what the ture picture is but there you go. So filled up on arabic sweets, DVDs, wine and made it home without any evacuation......