Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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Back in Damascus there was the opportunity to take a more leisurely look at the Old Town
and go a little further afield. One of the group was keen to get some Middle Eastern delic-
acies back to friends in Australia and, as it involved going outside the immediate city I went
along for the ride. The roads were wide, tree-lined and well maintained, quite different to
the chaos of the inner-city. There was space and good standard suburbia. The confectionery
shop was very upmarket and I was told the chocolates and other delicacies were world fam-
ous.
To return to the city we walked along the main avenue looking for a taxi. While waiting for
one to come along, a large prison van went by, injecting some reality into those differences
in our societies. The van had a platform at the rear with a couple of armed police. High up
along the sides of the van were ventilation grills. It was the line of fingers hanging out of
these grills that imparted a certain air of menace and despair.
The Old Town and Souq were crowded with people and vehicles. There were street vendors
trying to make a living selling small toys, cigarette lighters and single cigarettes. There were
even people repairing boots on the pavement as well as providing shoeshines. But I can't
recall seeing any beggars.
There was another line of tour buses with Iranian number plates and queues of women in
black chadors standing and sitting along the wall waiting to board.
A little further on there was a crowd of men outside a public building near the entrance to
the Souq. There were a number of tables set up and some form of registration was occurring.
The crowd was extensive and getting on with whatever they were doing, THEN all went
quiet as a small prison van pulled up. Plain clothes police literally dragged out a group of 6
young men in handcuffs. All the prisoners looked frightened, some looked defiant and one
of them was being held in a headlock.
Syria was not a place to find yourself in prison, but I wondered why they didn't take the
vehicle further into the compound area before pulling the prisoners out. Maybe that was de-
signed to instil a certain level of fear in those who were watching.
