Tonight my heart and thoughts are in Syria

Christmas around a campfire in a tent in Damascus, 2009

Christmas always makes me think of Syria, and this year the thoughts are stronger than ever.

Today my heart is breaking for Syria and her citizens, but it wasn’t always that way.

I first visited Damascus in 1977, and then moved there in 1980 after Poor John and I married in Jordan (must tell that story one day). Our first daughter, Libby (who lives in Paris now), was born in Damascus in 1981 and had her first Christmas in that once beautiful city.

That year I bought an artificial Christmas tree and a variety of simple decorations at the small shop that was around the corner from our flat. I still have all the decorations but, a few years ago, I gave the tree to my dear friend, Maggie.

We were back in Syria for Christmas in 2009. That was the year we spent travelling through Africa on the back of an overland truck. We had some of December in Egypt, but moved on to Jordan and then Syria.

Some of our travelling companions

Christmas Eve was in a large tent in a campground in Damascus. Christmas Day we drove on to Palmyra, that glorious city that has been ravaged by ISIL (or whatever name you use to call these mongrels).

This year has been especially devastating for Palmyra. ISIL destroyed the Lion of Al-lat and other statues, the Temple of Baalshamin, the Temple of Bel, three tower tombs and some non-religious structures including the monumental arch.

In August, the savages brutally murdered 82-year-old Khaled al-Asaad, a renowned antiquities scholar, because he refused to reveal where valuable artefacts had been moved for safekeeping.

Amidst all this tragedy and the flight of so many Syrians from their beloved homeland, I am stunned by the heartless reactions of so many people in the Western world. The cries of ‘no Muslims in our country’ and ‘stop the boats’ leave me feeling the world has lost its bearings and its sense of community.

I can only hope that 2016 brings a greater sense of reason and compassion.

Christmas lunch in Palmyra

A few obscure things you probably don’t know about Syria
A friend of ours looks after refugees in Barcelona. He says, without exception, that the Syrians he looks after only want to return home when there is peace. They love their country. He says that’s rarely the case with other refugees.

When we lived in Syria only two people were authorised to hold gold ingots—an Arab (Christian or Muslim) and a Jew.

I’m not sure of the exact year, but Assad senior allowed 50 Jewish girls to migrate to Israel because there weren’t enough young Jewish men for them to marry in Syria.

In spite of his flaws, Assad is a member of a minority. Over the years, the Assads have, for the most part, tried to protect the minorities. Of course, there are exceptions.

More about Syria soon
I’ll be doing a few more blog posts about Syria in the coming weeks. I want Libby, who may never see the country of her birth, to know more about a once wonderful and beautiful country.

And I want to share pictures of how Syria once was.

The two links below show some of the devastation that has hit Syria. Perhaps they’ll help you to understand how this country is suffering and why people flee.

Syria—humanitarian crisis

Syria—before and after

Cooking some Arabic bread
If you’re an enthusiastic cook, or even an novice, you can enjoy Arabic bread with this simple recipe.

I wonder where and how these lovely Syrian children are now