Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Raed was fine. She was very open and frank without crossing the line of being over critical.
She was tactful and impartial and the balance worked.
In between waking and sleep, Peter would come to check up on me and make sure I was
drinking my electrolyte solution. It was working a treat and by evening, I felt well enough
to visit a “ryad” style restaurant set in an old house just off a narrow street. You entered
it from an unprepossessing door on a busy and dingy street and then, all of a sudden, you
were faced with a bright and airy courtyard with tables set around a central fountain and
interior balconies overlooking it and attentive waiters everywhere.
While the setting was impressive, the food was for package tourists and the entertainment
that was provided consisted of some very unspiritual and very commercial “Whirling Der-
vishes” and to cap it all, the oud player took a call on his mobile phone mid-song, which
would normally mean a lifelong banishment from the international fraternity of musicians,
if not worse.
By now, we had met up with an old friend of Peter's who joined us in the restaurant, having
severely slept in earlier. He had actually almost been the third member of our party. He
was staying at the five-star Meridian Hotel and had also rented a flat for entertainment pur-
poses, as he was not allowed to host guests in his hotel room; but for the sake of discretion,
I'll say that what went on holiday in Damascus stays on holiday in Damascus. Peter and I
did however have lots of fun teasing him about his “cultural” visit and further teased him
the next day on the way to the airport as we passed some of the main sights of Damascus,
which he had not visited. As we passed them, we informed him, so he could at least say,
with a tiny grain of truth, that he had “seen” them.
After the restaurant, we had a brief trip round the souk in the old city and we returned home
relatively early. By this time, I felt much better and I slept well that night.
