SWF in Syria (1): First Date & Still Smitten
In some ways, traveling to Syria was like going on a blind date…with someone who looks like a bad boy on the outside, but is actually a great guy on the inside. Of course, I didn’t know that when I...
View ArticleSWF in Syria (2): Torn Between Two Husbands
(Click here to read Part 1 of this series re: my 1st date with this country.) Sure I was a SWF in Syria, but I wasn’t there to meet men. In fact, that was the last thing on my mind. So how’d I end up...
View ArticleSWF in Syria (3): Juicy Details of My 2nd Date
Ummayad Mosque, Damascus As you read in Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, within just a few days of arriving in Syria, I was pretty smitten with Damascus and then, torn between two…husbands. I was...
View ArticleSWF in Syria (4): Tips for a Great Trip to This (‘Bad Boy’) Country
A store in Hama that seemed dedicated to Valentine's Day As you’ve seen in this series, it’s easy to fall in love with alleged ‘bad boy’ country Syria and have the time of your life there—whether...
View ArticleHama, Syria’s Water Wheels: Wild, Weird and Wonderful?
It’s a sort of pretty city that almost feels like a small town where time has possibly stood still. Its norias–ancient water wheels–are from the 13th century yet somehow they’re still spinning today....
View ArticleRandom Travel Moment #4: Meeting an Arnold Schwarzenegger Lookalike
When I first spotted him in the Aleppo Souq (market) in Syria, I thought–he looks like a body builder. An Arnold Schwarzenegger lookalike, perhaps, but not exactly. See, he was built. Really built....
View ArticleRemembering Syria: What It Was Like Before the War
Syria, a country I was fortunate to travel to in 2010, has been on my mind a lot lately. I’m sad about what’s going on there…worried about the people I met and their loved ones, as well as the general...
View ArticlePeacetime Reflections: a Photo Journey Through the Umayyad Mosque, Damascus,...
I took these photos of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria, two years ago and am happy that I can share them with you now. I feel fortunate to have visited a mosque that’s so important in terms of...
View Article7 Trips I (Almost) Regret Not Taking–and Whether I’ll Go in the Future...
Have you ever traveled somewhere and opted not to visit the country next door or to take that highly recommended day or side trip that you easily could have squeezed in? This has happened to me a...
View ArticleTwo Boys, Arm in Arm, in Aleppo, Syria—Before the War (Photo of the Day)
I came across this photo a few days ago and was transported back in time to Aleppo, Syria, in 2010–when I had the opportunity to travel there. Before the war. When life was peaceful. These boys and...
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