Winter Rain.

P had to go over to Damascus once again this week for what turned out to be a few stressful meetings. Cairo was cold (14 oC) with a stiff wind when leaving. Syria is always a few degrees colder but boy, when we landed it was 4 oC and raining, it looked and felt like London on a cold wet miserable Janurary evening. Still Damascus is still plesant in the damp and (again forgetting camera and having to use poor camera-phone) I took a few arty shots of the gleaming, puddle-strewn streets of the Hamadeiya Souk as we walked to Khawili, my favourite resturant (not only for the food but for the sir-ly head waiter who looks like "Reg" from On the Buses - only the 40yrs + UK readers will know who that is).

We also managed to come across a shop I have only caught a fleeting glance of before - its contains a macabre collection of stuffed animals, like a bad road accident, both fascinating and horrible at the same time. The art of taxidermy in Syria obviously seems a bit more rudimentary, they seem to go for the "snarling, starteld" look on every animal, and there seems to be only one set of standard teeth available (probably for Halloween supplies) making them look like some kind of rabid dracularian carnivore. Even the antelopes etc have these teeth, I would be tempted to take a rabbit home with the dental fixtures of a Great White just ofr the novelty value. Apparently the sign on the door says "Only for foreigners" so in support for my Syrian borthers and sisters I decided not to go in, until equality is met and they have the right to buy a Sad looking monkey too (see photo) smiling coyly with what looks like a set of old peoples dentures.

The journey back was enjoyable only for the entertainment afforded by EgyptAir (or Egyptscare as the are locally know). I love the way the common set of air line rules that are pretty much enforced around the global are seen as loose guidelines in this part of the middle east. Each safety announcement starts of with a Koranic prayer on the video, in the ususal deep, mystical voice. Because we missed our slot everyone was bundled on the plane hurriedly and we taxi out onto the runway with people attempting to stuff thier one piece (read 4 pieces) of hand luggage (read major family size suitcases) into already full over head bins. As the captiano put the boost on for take off and we started accerating there were still people arranging bags and bodies and also typcially both my seat neighbours merrily chatting away on phones. They were still fighting to get bags in as the plane rose at a 60 degree angle. When I came back during Iftar once (the meal that they break thier ramadan fast with) we were coming into land as the sun went down. No "put your seat table upright" here, as the crew were handing out the meals and had the trollies in the aisle as I could see the numbers plates on the cars below, and we landed like this. Hilarous and entertaining in its own middle eastern way, and they have not killed me (yet).

Actually the grainy nature of the camera-phone does give some atmospheric, art-house like quality to the images..... This is the closed-up souk and "Straight Street"

The entrance to Khawili resturant, hidden down a side alley, an a row on Shishas in the resturant.

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Lastly there are these small bakeries that sell, what I would call Crumpets, cannot remember if there is a similar thing in the States, but they looked good and they are open apparently 24/7 for those late night Crumpet-cravings (there a joke there about Nigella Lawson).....next time