Dispatch from Damascus

Bab Tuma, Bab Sharqi, Ba humba

The first two, Bab Tuma and Bab Sharqi, are gates in the old city of Damascus.  The last is a phrase al-Farabi utters when he discovers a hidden gem in Damascus.  Al-Farabi’s favorite past time in Syria is walking through the random nukes and crannies of the old city.  Rarely are there any markings or indications of what you are about to stumble into.  That makes exploring the thousands of years old city all the more enjoyable.  For instance, there were countless times that al-Farbi came across a beautiful 700 year old courtyard.  Then he would find a door, which looks certain it will fall apart if it is touched the wrong way, into a whole other realm.

One day, al-Farabi walked down what appeared to be a neighborhood in the Casbah of Algiers until he turned a corner and opened a gigantic door into a beautiful open space with a magnificent fountain.  Who would have known?  Pictures will follow this post.

Back

The few readers of this blog surely noticed the lack of posts since…..the start of August.  Our nosey Syrian friends decided to block access to this blog.  So, there I was in Syria with so much to write about and no venue to write on!  Frustrating indeed.  I am stateside now but only temporarily.  I will post a few items, pictures, reflections, and analysis before I head back again.  Who knows, maybe I will find a way around the censorship this second trip….insha’allah!

Apologies for the delayed explanation.  In retrospect I should have emailed a friend to write in so the readers knew I was not in trouble.

Further Reading on al-Mashriq Closing

For Arabic readers, al-akhbar has more on Syrian Intelligence shutting down al-Mashriq.

Baby Steps

The easing of U.S. sanctions on Syria is a continuation of the small steps necessary for the revival of bilateral relations.  There is no need to provide much analysis at this early stage, just wanted to point to the development.

Locked Up

Muhammad al-Hussani, a human rights lawyer, has been arrested by….you guessed it, Syrian intelligence.  No word on the cause, though one supposes he’s dug up more rocks than the Asad regime is willing to allow.

Stratfor on Syrian-Saudi Power Moves

Stratfor has an interesting analysis of the Syrian-Saudi Rapprochement.  Apparently, it cannot be linked to because you need to have an account to read it on their website.  However, al-Farabi snagged a sample article via email.  The most significant passage follows:

“Saudi Arabia, which carries substantial clout among the Lebanese Sunni population, has come to terms with Syria’s bid to reclaim influence in Lebanon and wants Syria to eclipse Iran’s role in the Levant. But the Saudis also understand that Syria is reluctant to dismantle Hezbollah and incur the backlash for such a move. So, Riyadh has revised its demands, asking Damascus instead to contain Hezbollah’s actions to prevent the group from playing an injurious role in Lebanon. Saudi Arabia has primarily used its petrodollar prowess to rehabilitate the Syrian regime, pumping money into Syrian coffers every time Damascus delivers on its promises.

But Saudi patience is also wearing thin; the Syrians are treading carefully with the Iranians and are demanding more money from the Saudis for even minor concessions, according to a STRATFOR source. Until Syria and Saudi Arabia can come to an understanding over how exactly Syria will move against Iran and Hezbollah, the formation of the Lebanese Cabinet and a highly anticipated Syrian-Saudi summit (which was supposed to take place this week) will continue to stall.”

Times a ticking for that summit.

Surfin’ Safari: Phoenician Style

Eleven years ago, al-Farabi stood up on his surfboard and caught his first ever wave.  Even though the ride lasted only a split second, he was hooked.  Years later he can boast having surfed California, Florida, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Maryland, but he has yet to surf anywhere outside of the states.  Any surfer will tell you this is a glaring hole in a surfing resume.  Thanks to Abu Guerrilla at Blogging the Casbah, al-Farabi might finally be able to fill that void.

AG caught some beaut chest high waves at Jiyeh, just south of Beirut. Now, al-Farabi’s board is sitting back in the states in a dusty garage.  He also knows that surf conditions are difficult to predict.  Nevertheless,  Al-Farabi is stoked at the possibility of a surf trip to Lebanon.  It may not be Costa Rica or Australia, but those are some glassy waves to cut into.

Any Syrian surfers interested? Email al-farabi at the following address: al-farabi@live.com.

Al-Farabi has a busy travel schedule ahead of him.  Fear not, he has a few posts queued up over the next couple of days.

The Regime Strikes Back

Al-Farabi heard rumors that Syrian intelligence shut down a broadcasting network.  He refrained from mentioning anything on Dispatch because they were unverified.  All for Syria now is reporting the takeover (excuse the poor grammar):

“A patrol from Syrian Securities ( state intelligence) closed this morning the office of almashreq satellite channel in Damascus. they took all the employees to the security office for investigation and force them to sign a paper said that they will not work in the future with almashreq satellite ! , among who signed the office manager jamil sammaq , production manager Mouhammad aljindi , Anchor souher aldahabi , presenter Maria shehada & Amal shahin. the move came after a tensed week in which the owner of almashreq ( Ghassan abboud) issued a statement against the bureaucracy and corruption he faced during his work to get the permission to operate in Syria.”

This seems to be just a single event reprimanding individuals who were critical of the regime, and unlikely that it signals a broad crackdown of any sort.  Nevertheless, Al-Farabi will continue to monitor developments as best he can.