TBB's World Traveler Reports: Are You Syr-ious?

Aleppo teems with people, literally. From our hotel room there was a steady din from the market below. In the center of the city is the huge medieval Citadel which you can visit. Very imposing. At the foot of the Citadel is The Souk, or closed market, known throughout the Middle East. Not as huge as Istanbus' Grand Bazaar, but impressive nonetheless. Silver jewelry with lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, malachite or tiger eye, is extremely reasonable and well made.

One of the more quirky things I noticed was all this sexy lingerie for sale, since a lot of women wore long black dresses. We're talking lace, see-through, red, black, purple, hot pink, etc. We were told (listen well, Ladies) that while western women manifest their personalities, etc. by how they dress, middle eastern women prefer to show their true selves only to their family and friends. Do you think we can learn something here?

Aleppo has a large Shia population, so dress is more conservative than in Damascus, where styles are western but eminently more modest than in your average American mall. It's quite refreshing frankly. People are courteous, quiet, friendly. They will tell you that they don't agree with our politics but they like American people. Many have never been outside the country, so much of what they know about us is from heavily censored media. And they like us anyway!

Other must-see places: Palmyra, fabulous ruins in the desert, a city formerly ruled by Queen Xenobia (don't you just love the name?), conquered by the Romans; Krak des Chevaliers, an absolutely amazing Crusader Castle; Maalula, a small town in the hills where they still speak Aramaic, the language of Jesus, and you can actually hear the Our Father in Aramaic in a little church (the priests also make a local wine which you can buy).

By all means visit this lovely country which was thriving when the sands of Arabia only had nomad tents, not oil wells and opulent wealth. See the beauty of the stark desert and the teeming streets of Damascus, Homs, Hama and Aleppo where there's not a McDonald's in sight but plenty of cafes and restaurants serving delicious mezas and healthy food. Respect their culture, they have a lot of it. Enjoy the shopping because it's exotic, inexpensive and truly different.

The definitive guide to travel in Syria is the Cadogan guide, Syria & Lebanon by Michael Haag, available at all major bookstores.