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| Damascus Diary: A City Filled With Life, and Hints of Brutal Death | Damascus Diary: A City Filled With Life, and Hints of Brutal Death |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| There is always a rush of tension and excitement driving into Damascus, a city inhabited for thousands of years, where cultures and influences have mixed and accumulated like coral on a reef. | There is always a rush of tension and excitement driving into Damascus, a city inhabited for thousands of years, where cultures and influences have mixed and accumulated like coral on a reef. |
| More than five years into Syria’s chaotic civil war, the capital is relatively undamaged and functioning, bustling with commuters, markets and restaurants — especially compared with Aleppo, where government airstrikes this week are pummeling rebel-held districts and rebels are shelling government-held ones. But my stay in the capital early this month, even under the restrictions of government minders, revealed new ways that war has wounded and warped the city, which I have visited nine times since 2001. | More than five years into Syria’s chaotic civil war, the capital is relatively undamaged and functioning, bustling with commuters, markets and restaurants — especially compared with Aleppo, where government airstrikes this week are pummeling rebel-held districts and rebels are shelling government-held ones. But my stay in the capital early this month, even under the restrictions of government minders, revealed new ways that war has wounded and warped the city, which I have visited nine times since 2001. |
| Coming from Beirut as part of a 12-day trip to Syria, we take the highway past President Bashar al-Assad’s hilltop palace. Rebel-held suburbs are visible, sometimes smoking from government airstrikes or shelling. Also nearby is an air base where detained opponents of the government sometimes disappear without a trace. Then we enter Damascus on the Mezze Highway, a broad avenue of apartment buildings, government offices, cafes and cellphone shops. | |
| Then suddenly, we are in the heart of the city. | Then suddenly, we are in the heart of the city. |
| At the base of the Umayyad Mosque, one of the most layered and beautiful sites in the Old City, couples and families hang out, feed pigeons and pose for a man who’s been using the same Polaroid camera for decades. The Roman-era walls of the mosque once housed a pagan temple, then a cathedral, and its courtyard remains one of the most peaceful spaces I’ve seen. | At the base of the Umayyad Mosque, one of the most layered and beautiful sites in the Old City, couples and families hang out, feed pigeons and pose for a man who’s been using the same Polaroid camera for decades. The Roman-era walls of the mosque once housed a pagan temple, then a cathedral, and its courtyard remains one of the most peaceful spaces I’ve seen. |
| Inside, children play on a polished marble floor that reflects the sky; women sit, murmuring their news; gilded murals and stained glass catch the sunset. But sometimes the crescendo of unseen warplanes bores into the quiet. | Inside, children play on a polished marble floor that reflects the sky; women sit, murmuring their news; gilded murals and stained glass catch the sunset. But sometimes the crescendo of unseen warplanes bores into the quiet. |
| At the Sheraton Damascus Hotel, lavish weddings and, in warm weather, afternoons lounging by the pool have continued throughout the war, but fewer and fewer can partake. | At the Sheraton Damascus Hotel, lavish weddings and, in warm weather, afternoons lounging by the pool have continued throughout the war, but fewer and fewer can partake. |
| Government employees, their salaries gutted by inflation and currency crashes, have slipped from the middle class into poverty, forcing many young people to postpone weddings they can’t afford. And with men ensconced in the army and militias — or in exile to avoid the draft — there is a shortage of grooms. | Government employees, their salaries gutted by inflation and currency crashes, have slipped from the middle class into poverty, forcing many young people to postpone weddings they can’t afford. And with men ensconced in the army and militias — or in exile to avoid the draft — there is a shortage of grooms. |
| Downtown Damascus feels busy and alive, with people boarding vans and buses to get to work as in any other city. But the heavy traffic is partly a result of the security checkpoints that have proliferated. | Downtown Damascus feels busy and alive, with people boarding vans and buses to get to work as in any other city. But the heavy traffic is partly a result of the security checkpoints that have proliferated. |
| We were forbidden to photograph checkpoints, but they are ubiquitous. Our government-required minder alternately castigated, teased and charmed the soldiers and militiamen to speed our passage. But the checkpoints are more than a nuisance for many Syrians, who can be forced to pay bribes, detained or seized and sent off to army service. | We were forbidden to photograph checkpoints, but they are ubiquitous. Our government-required minder alternately castigated, teased and charmed the soldiers and militiamen to speed our passage. But the checkpoints are more than a nuisance for many Syrians, who can be forced to pay bribes, detained or seized and sent off to army service. |
| Mount Qasioun towers above the city as always. But the cafes near the top, once a popular date spot, are closed. Artillery guns atop the mountain have been the backbeat of the war, the strange spectacle of a capital shelling its own suburbs, and sometimes being shelled back. | Mount Qasioun towers above the city as always. But the cafes near the top, once a popular date spot, are closed. Artillery guns atop the mountain have been the backbeat of the war, the strange spectacle of a capital shelling its own suburbs, and sometimes being shelled back. |
| The simple act of changing money underscores how the economy has crashed with the costs of war, the destruction of manufacturing and the flight of capital as wealthy Syrians flee or send assets abroad. | The simple act of changing money underscores how the economy has crashed with the costs of war, the destruction of manufacturing and the flight of capital as wealthy Syrians flee or send assets abroad. |
| For $600, we got a four-inch brick of Syrian pounds at the Lebanese border. | For $600, we got a four-inch brick of Syrian pounds at the Lebanese border. |
| The value of the pound against the dollar is a tenth of prewar levels. So restaurant tabs are paid in sheafs of bills but seem ridiculously cheap compared with past visits. At Naranj, the fanciest restaurant in the Old City, a lavish spread of traditional Syrian food around the marble fountains and mosaics came to the equivalent of about $10 per person. | The value of the pound against the dollar is a tenth of prewar levels. So restaurant tabs are paid in sheafs of bills but seem ridiculously cheap compared with past visits. At Naranj, the fanciest restaurant in the Old City, a lavish spread of traditional Syrian food around the marble fountains and mosaics came to the equivalent of about $10 per person. |
| Sanctions imposed by the United States and Europe, meant to punish the government for human rights abuses, leave most Syrians unable to use credit cards or open international bank accounts. Even industries intended to be exempt, like pharmaceuticals, are sometimes hampered by international banks’ caution against running afoul of the sanctions. | Sanctions imposed by the United States and Europe, meant to punish the government for human rights abuses, leave most Syrians unable to use credit cards or open international bank accounts. Even industries intended to be exempt, like pharmaceuticals, are sometimes hampered by international banks’ caution against running afoul of the sanctions. |
| Taxi and bus drivers have always seen themselves as impresarios in Damascus: playing Arabic classics and Western pop music, making coffee in little electric pots while weaving through traffic, setting up romantic lights they flick on at night for an instant party atmosphere. But this cabby was a moonlighting soldier, trying to supplement a salary whose shrinking value could not support his family, still stuck in the army several years past the normal two-year requirement. | Taxi and bus drivers have always seen themselves as impresarios in Damascus: playing Arabic classics and Western pop music, making coffee in little electric pots while weaving through traffic, setting up romantic lights they flick on at night for an instant party atmosphere. But this cabby was a moonlighting soldier, trying to supplement a salary whose shrinking value could not support his family, still stuck in the army several years past the normal two-year requirement. |
| At a central roundabout were these two contrasting ads side by side. | At a central roundabout were these two contrasting ads side by side. |
| On the right, a recruitment poster sponsored by a women’s group declares: “Our army means all of us. Join the armed forces.” On the left, a clinic offers a weight-loss treatment that promises “losing one kilogram after each session,” as well as “hair removal and bleaching without pain.” A short drive away is Moadhamiyeh, a suburb where, during a government siege earlier in the war, some of the most vulnerable starved to death. | On the right, a recruitment poster sponsored by a women’s group declares: “Our army means all of us. Join the armed forces.” On the left, a clinic offers a weight-loss treatment that promises “losing one kilogram after each session,” as well as “hair removal and bleaching without pain.” A short drive away is Moadhamiyeh, a suburb where, during a government siege earlier in the war, some of the most vulnerable starved to death. |
| The Old City of Damascus is its most beautiful, famous section, with pedestrian streets, alleys overhung with vines and centuries-old houses built around courtyards. | The Old City of Damascus is its most beautiful, famous section, with pedestrian streets, alleys overhung with vines and centuries-old houses built around courtyards. |
| No tourist museum, it is a thriving set of interlocking neighborhoods reflecting the city’s cultural and religious diversity, where a shop selling classic Syrian crafts and antiques might be next door to ones selling toothpaste and detergents, or lingerie and sweatsuits. | No tourist museum, it is a thriving set of interlocking neighborhoods reflecting the city’s cultural and religious diversity, where a shop selling classic Syrian crafts and antiques might be next door to ones selling toothpaste and detergents, or lingerie and sweatsuits. |
| But many of those shops have closed, or remain open only for their owners to keep company drinking coffee and playing backgammon with neighboring merchants. Militiamen from the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, or Syrians they have helped train, keep watch on the streets. | But many of those shops have closed, or remain open only for their owners to keep company drinking coffee and playing backgammon with neighboring merchants. Militiamen from the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, or Syrians they have helped train, keep watch on the streets. |
| Some shop owners whisper that they feel as if they are under occupation or grumble that they were forced to paint the Syrian flag on their doors. Others want to leave Syria but can’t afford it because all their wealth is tied up in inventory — silver, tiles, brass, silk brocade, mosaic woodwork — they cannot sell. Rebel shells still occasionally crash down, killing people at random. | Some shop owners whisper that they feel as if they are under occupation or grumble that they were forced to paint the Syrian flag on their doors. Others want to leave Syria but can’t afford it because all their wealth is tied up in inventory — silver, tiles, brass, silk brocade, mosaic woodwork — they cannot sell. Rebel shells still occasionally crash down, killing people at random. |
| Some owners are coping by transforming antique shops into bars for the locals, especially on the thoroughfare known as the Street Called Straight, the destination of the Apostle Paul’s biblical journey to Damascus. | Some owners are coping by transforming antique shops into bars for the locals, especially on the thoroughfare known as the Street Called Straight, the destination of the Apostle Paul’s biblical journey to Damascus. |
| The Tiki Bar, shown in the video below on the Saturday before Halloween, had a bartender D.J.-ing from his laptop as costumed patrons drank and smoked. | The Tiki Bar, shown in the video below on the Saturday before Halloween, had a bartender D.J.-ing from his laptop as costumed patrons drank and smoked. |
| I noticed only later, watching the video, that the man next to me was, startlingly, dressed as a Nazi. There was a swastika on his armband. | I noticed only later, watching the video, that the man next to me was, startlingly, dressed as a Nazi. There was a swastika on his armband. |
| The stunning shrine of Sayeda Rokaya, a figure revered by Shiites, is encrusted with layers of decoration: Why choose between blue ceramic tiles, Iranian-style cut-glass sparkle and voluminous chandeliers when you can have them all? | The stunning shrine of Sayeda Rokaya, a figure revered by Shiites, is encrusted with layers of decoration: Why choose between blue ceramic tiles, Iranian-style cut-glass sparkle and voluminous chandeliers when you can have them all? |
| There is a sense of community at the shrine among women who bring ailing children to try to absorb its blessing, and wipe dolls and garments against its grille. They beat their chests in lamentation. Many are pilgrims from Iraq, Iran and Lebanon, countries with militias supporting the Syrian Army, an intervention that has deeply divided Syrians. | There is a sense of community at the shrine among women who bring ailing children to try to absorb its blessing, and wipe dolls and garments against its grille. They beat their chests in lamentation. Many are pilgrims from Iraq, Iran and Lebanon, countries with militias supporting the Syrian Army, an intervention that has deeply divided Syrians. |
| The privations of war intrude here, as everywhere. The electricity goes off, a result of the daily power cuts imposed across Damascus because of fuel shortages. The chants continue even when the loudspeaker cuts off. Then the lights come back on, along with the amplified prayers. | The privations of war intrude here, as everywhere. The electricity goes off, a result of the daily power cuts imposed across Damascus because of fuel shortages. The chants continue even when the loudspeaker cuts off. Then the lights come back on, along with the amplified prayers. |