Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
to a side road. Outside the gate was a small shed with a guard. We found the cemetery
closed and I proposed to climb the fence. I indicated as such to the guard who shrugged his
shoulders.
But then Mohammed and our driver became involved and the guard changed his mind and
decided it was not in his interest to have witnesses to me climbing the fence. It was collect-
ively agreed that we should walk around the high chain wire fence and have a look from
there. This we did. The cemetery was in immaculate condition and we could see a number
of Australian and other Commonwealth headstones.
We returned to the original hotel on the fringe of Damascus and were to stay only one night
before moving closer to the Old Town in the centre of the city.
The small group had held up pretty well so far, although one, an older American woman
was proving to be a bit of a strain, both for Mohammed and others in the group. Because
of her frail physicality it became a burden on one or other of the group to keep looking out
for her. However, her physical frailness was in direct contrast to the steel that lay beneath
it. She was becoming somewhat demanding in various subtle and not so subtle ways, par-
ticularly on Mohammed's good graces.
I tried to keep my distance, but others were not so lucky. We had come into the city for a
walk around during the early evening and it was necessary to agree on a common meeting
point to get back to the hotel. As we were to be there only an hour or so, several of us re-
tired to a café that overlooked the main intersection quite close to the meeting point.
We ordered mint tea and chatted on the balcony watching the mass of passing traffic, with
its continuous cacophony of horns while the pedestrians ducked and weaved their way to
safety.
I believe we became even more relaxed knowing that it was some of the others, rather than
us, struggling through the Souq with the frail American.
We watched the clock and on returning to the rendezvous we found ourselves enveloped in
an air of martyrdom from those who had been coping with the American.
Our last supper as a group was marked by a birthday celebration for one of the members.
From here we would be going our separate ways and, for several of us, that meant a short
diversion to Beirut.
