Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Damascus, Syria: Middle East luxury special

Damascus is the centre of the world. Just look at a map! It's exactly at the crossroads of Asia and Europe. That is why, in the days of the Arab empire, it was the richest city in the world. All the Silk Road traders stopped here. Everyone!
Modern Damascus looks very dull – all 1970s apartment blocks and scruffy electrical shops. The Old City, however, the ancient walled enclave around which it has grown, is something else. Dating back more than 4,500 years, it is the oldest continually inhabited city in the world. It has the only street mentioned by name in the Bible – Straight Street, where Saul of Tarsus went after his famous conversion on the road to Damascus.

It exerts such an irresistible allure, you find yourself stopping every few steps just to drink in your surroundings: its cheerfully mingling Muslims and Christians, its Roman ruins and magnificent Great Umayyad Mosque, its winding alleys and anonymous wooden doors opening on to courtyards of lemon trees, its black-and-white tiled caravanserai inns, its steamy hammams, and its vast souk where men selling rosebuds, spices, silver and brocade stand behind the same wooden counters as their great-grandfathers did. It is mesmerising – and utterly safe, too, at any time of day. There is no irritating hassling from shopkeepers. It's another world – if no longer the crossroads of the world. And in  a few years it will, inevitably, have changed for ever.

A decade or so ago, there was nowhere for visitors to stay in the Old City – nowhere with any degree of luxury, anyway. Then, in 2005, five years after President Bashar al-Assad  came to power, extending a newly welcoming hand to tourists, the first boutique hotel opened. Exquisitely converted from a 19th-century house by the same Madame Fixit, May Mamarbachi, the eight-room Bait Al-Mamlouka, with its courtyard, fountain and enchantingly tiled bedrooms, attracted a stream of eager visitors from the start. Today you have to book months ahead. Of the dozen similar little hotels that have opened, the latest, where I am staying, is the delectable Al Pasha, a palace of birdsong, rosewood furniture with mother-of-pearl inlay, and the constant, cooling sound of trickling water.

Restaurants and cafés now dot Straight Street. Souvenir shops and art galleries have opened. Syrians who for years worked abroad have begun returning to capitalise on the city's blossoming as a tourist destination, among them an interior designer who has restored the sprawling Farhi palace to exactly how it looked when the artist Frederic Leighton painted it in 1874. That will open as a seriously luxurious hotel at the end of next year. And the most useful thing I can tell you is simply – go now, while you can walk streets that still look as they did when Agatha Christie, another eager visitor, stayed in the 1930s.

The National Museum alone could occupy a day. It is revelatory. There, I discovered whole civilisations I'd never heard of before. In a section about the Eblan, for instance, its entrance marked by an ancient life-size alabaster figure of an indignant-looking pop-eyed man in a woven skirt, are cuneiform tablets dating from 2,250BC.

I tear myself away to see the ancient Umayyad Mosque. Shrouded in the obligatory rented abaya (a garment which confers an interestingly self-righteous feeling), I enter a massive marble courtyard where, unexpectedly, people lounge around on the ground and children play. A group of Iraqi refugees, faces etched with trauma, pass. Inside, Muslim worshippers push prayers on slips of paper into the tomb that purportedly holds the head of John the Baptist. Also located here is the Treasury from Damascus's glory days a windowless room on stilts that could be accessed only by ladder.
Opposite the mosque, a ruined Roman Temple of Jupiter marks the entrance to a warren of shop-lined streets. Every step offers a vignette. Passing a barber's shop straight out of the 1950s, I see a man turn to his barber with the same pop-eyed gaze I saw on the alabaster figure at the museum. Bad haircut? In the Mustafa Ali art gallery, a cat lolls against an open-air sculpture to wash itself. On Straight Street, I descend to the Chapel of Ananias where Saul/Paul miraculously had his sight restored – underground now, but at street level in Roman times.
En route back to the hotel, I push at a wooden door and find myself in the latest outpost of the Dubai-based high-fashion Villa Moda group. On one floor, the brocade-makers who in 1952 made the fabric for our Queen's wedding dress have an outlet. "We still make designs we made 200 years ago," whispers an elderly weaver. Nearby, opposite the Hammam Ammouneh (women from 8am to 8pm, men from 8pm to 8am) is a stall piled with rather more affordable olive-oil soaps. Definitely go now.

Friday, October 4, 2013

Women's Travel in the Middle East

The Middle East can seem like an off-limits destination to some female travelers, but there’s no reason why women should miss out on visiting this fascinating country, rich with history, a unique culture and beautiful scenery.

Yes, there are vast cultural differences in attitudes to women, and these are countries where women are not usually seen travelling alone. But with a little common sense, and a respect for cultural and religious differences, you can still travel and stay safe in the Middle East.

The place of women in Muslim countries depends on the degree of Sharia Law operating in each country, but in general, it is unusual for women to be seen travelling alone without their families, and women have rigidly defined roles.

In Saudi Arabia, for example, women are covered up most of the time and are not allowed to drive cars. In general, women are held in high esteem, but their place is extremely regimented and conservative. Women are expected to be reserved and behaviour otherwise will make you stick out for all the wrong reasons. But this doesn’t mean that you will treated badly in Middle Eastern countries – just show some respect for local traditions and culture and you will be respected in return and left alone.

One shock most women will find is that in countries like Iran, women don’t go anywhere alone, and are never seen alone in public, only out with their families or in groups of other women. So you will stand out, and may feel a bit strange sitting alone in a café or restaurant, which are usually male dominated.

Safety Advice
  • Firstly take the same precautions you would take in other countries – don’t go to isolated places after dark, and be wary of ending up alone with strange men.
  • You will also need to be sensitive of cultural differences, and be careful not to be misinterpreted – a simple ‘western’ gesture such as fixing the gaze of a man or smiling could be seen as a sexual advancement. Of course if someone is talking to you, maintain eye contact! The best advice is to be more reserved than you normally would, and avoid being openly friendly.
  • The chances are you won’t have to worry about being hassled or harassed by men – as it is considered rude to approach a woman sitting alone and force your company on her without invitation.
  • If you do feel uncomfortable in any situation, feel free to be rude, and make a fuss – they will not want the attention and should leave you alone. Don’t don’t feel like you have to respond if someone starts talking to you, and do leave if someone makes you feel uncomfortable.
  • If you are blonde, you will attract more attention than dark haired women, so maybe bring a hat or headscarf to cover up if you find yourself being hassled.
  • Traveling alone or with another female will make you more vulnerable – sometimes it can help to make a male ‘buddy’ in your hostel if you don’t want to venture out alone. Be aware that if you are out with a man, you may be addressed through him, and that it will be assumed you are married. In many cases, it’s best to pretend that you are.
  • Avoid public displays of affection.
Places to Avoid

There are no places that are off limits for women, but solo female travelers may be more comfortable visiting the countries that employ a less strict version of Sharia Law. Saudi Arabia employs one of the strictest interpretations of Sharia.

Women are not allowed to drive, they are under the guardianship of male relatives at all times, and must be completely covered in public. In Kuwait, Yemen and Iran women must also be completely covered.

Countries like Egypt may be more relaxed towards females travelling alone, but many women can still feel uncomfortable by the hassling they may get in Cairo and the more touristy areas - usually this will only be to sell you things, but some can be quite persistent, so try to ignore any unwanted attention, and show a fake wedding ring, or tell men you are married to try and stave off any unwanted advances.

If you have blond hair especially, you will be approached, so consider covering your head, wearing a hat and wearing your hair up. Even in the main cities, do not walk around alone at night.