Preview of Seanandjeannie's blog at TravelPod. Read the full blog here: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seanandjeannie/worldtrip/1177868280/tpod.html This blog preview was made by TravelPod using the TripAdvisor™ TripWow slideshow creator. Entry from: Damascus, Syria Entry Title: "Beautiful Damascas" Entry: "Jeannie here. Our time in Damascus has been too brief! We arrived on Friday - the holy day - so our fantastic guide arranged for us to visit a mosque that has an attached cultural center. We met with local and western Muslims to discuss their beliefs and their lives as Muslims. It was a fascinating experience. As we have traveled through Syria, I have become increasingly bothered by my role as a woman here. Because my hair is not covered, I am either treated as an object by men or scorned by women - or completely ignored. I know that I have reacted in a typically western way, but by this point I was looking for personal interaction with women to see how they feel about their lifestyle and their roles in society. To enter the mosque we had to part from the men in our group, wear hooded cloaks, and use separate entrances and rooms to hear the sermon. We then met as a mixed group, but the men were on one side and the women were on the other. The Muslim women did not speak often during our dialogue, so I was extremely interested to see what they would say during our segregated lunch. We all moved downstairs to have lunch, but the women passed through the dining hall and into a small corner room to wait. We could hear the men in the hall eating and talking, but we apparently were waiting for our separate table to be made ready? I asked why we were separated from the men for the meal, and the women replied that it was more comfortable for them in social settings to meet as women apart from the men, but also that Allah asks it. With more discussion, we realized that women and men do not really have the opportunity to socialize outside of their families. In fact, many young people have to rely on their relatives of the opposite gender to find suitable mates for them because they have so little access. The limited realm of women's daily lives include their husbands, children, and female relatives living nearby. They shop in the morning, and then stay in the home most of the day. It they wish to socialize, it must be in someone's home. At weddings, the women celebrate together, apart from the men's celebrations. We were told that women can work if they wish to, but that it is often an overwhelming prospect because of their considerable duties in the home. Rather than seeing the housework as difficult, the women told us that they were well taken care of by their hardworking husbands and that they felt they had considerable domestic power. Leaving the mosque, I felt a little less open-minded than when we arrived in Syria, but at the same time I realized I was as incapable of setting aside my own cultural beliefs about equality and women's roles as the women I met were. Back to Damascus... It really is a lovely city. We enjoyed the National Museum, visiting the handicraft souq (beautiful woodcarvings and inlay work), the main souqs and the mosque. Our guide took us to the Palace of Culture one night after hours (with a little bribe) to see and smell an elegant old courtyard planted in orange trees and snapdragons with beautiful woodworking and decorations. It was the kind of place you want to visit daily to restore a sense of tranquility. I had a small adventure with three other women on the tour when we decided to find a beauty salon. We had some trouble finding a place, and then we found that hairstylist Tony was liberal in his interpretation of one inch, but there were no tears. We feel we could have spent another day here easily - wandering the side streets and enjoying more tea, but Jordan awaits us." Read and see more at: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/seanandjeannie/worldtrip/1177868280/tpod.html Photos from this trip: 1. "Divine ice cream/yogurt later rolled in pistachios" 2. "Jeannie and Bashar at secret courtyard" 3. "Men's lunch at the Islamic Center" 4. "One of the Souqs in Damascus" 5. "Road to Damascas" 6. "Sean and a MIG at the military museum" 7. "Sean loves this inlaid game table" 8. "Sean Slingsby enjoying his favorite falafel" 9. "Secret courtyard" 10. "Secret courtyard 2" 11. "Traditional mosque" 12. "Ummayad Mosque" See this TripWow and more at http://tripwow.tripadvisor.com/tripwow/ta-00b5-d652-1322?ytv4=1

• published: 23 Nov 2010
• views: 531