Greetings from Syria!

Marhaba min Syria!I am not sure if my last note got through from Beirut--the internet has beenpretty shaky traveling around. Of course, problems are not anything new forusers of our seminary system ;) We have just arrived in Aleppo after comingyesterday from Lebanon and having seen the Krak des Chevaliers and today thecitadel of Aleppo. You might call this the 'Crusaders and Muslims' warfaretour of the Middle East, for all the archaeological sites that have beenexcavated and restored in these two countries. I feel I now know more thanI ever wanted to about the use of boiling oil, particularly from theCrusaders but indeed on both sides. But remants of former militaryinfrastructure does make a good backdrop for discussing the political issuesof today, of which we have been doing plenty also. I think I learned morein the past week than I did all last year. (The visual aids do help).This has been the most amazing 'insider's view' of both countries, not justpolitically and religiously but also in the history and culture. The guesthouses and restaurants where we've been include carefully restored old Arabhouses. There is often Arabic signs with French subtitles in the museumsand streets, so I am getting plenty of practice in both languages. Iespecially appreciate the practice in reading the elaborate Islamiccalligraphy on the fortresses, since this was not exactly covered in ourclassroom textbook!To see Syria and Lebanon with so much restoration of the historic sites andpreservation of Arab culture, I have a lot of hope for some time in thefuture for Palestine. It is truly amazing here. Of course, Palestinianshave done so much already to preserve their culture and history,particularly in the major cities. To explain more, large quarters ofBeirut, Hama, and other places were completely destroyed, or at leastheavily damaged; acres of olive trees and other agriculture devastated--andnow, after the war, and granted, with a lot of financial backing, so muchhas been rebuilt. Even the olive trees are coming up again in parts ofSouthern Lebanon. This is not a reason to become complacent about humanrights abuses in Palestine or the rest of the Middle East, but it is acomfort when I hear word of yet more tragedy taking place. But in reality,the only loss in war which truly cannot be replaced is the people. That isstill hard for me to deal with.I am still enjoying being a trip leader for the group of ten, despite thepresence of two very hard-to-please women (read: perpetually grouchy).Everyone else is great, very flexible. And that mediates the other two. Wealso have a local guide, a Palestinian refugee whose family was originallyfrom Nablus who grew up in Damascus, with a very good sense of humor andcharm. He is from the Hinnawi family, and knows exactly where his houseused to be, near the Palestine Hotel in the old city of Nablus. I haveprobably passed it myself several times during my visits there. We stayedup quite late last night talking about the invasion of Nablus, when I wasassigned there to document the atrocities.All the Palestinians we have met in both countries have been very openabout their frustrations that the Right of Return for the refugees has beenso ignored in the past several years due to the fighting within Israel andPalestine. The situation in Lebanon is more desperate for refugees [nolegal work permits, ability to own property outside the camp, or money forhigher education], but even still, Hussein would go immediately if given thechance to return--and he is a very successful business owner and universitygraduate. I mentioned in my last letter that we visited Sabra and Shatilarefugee camps just outside Beirut last week; we will visit another camp nearDamascus. We will also meet with Armenians here to learn more about thegenocide and how they have coped in the diaspora.We will be in Syria until the 6th, when we return to Beirut, then I'll havea few more days to cram-learn Dari and Pashto before heading on to Kabul. Idon't know if I'll ever get to make another trip to Afghanistan (so I'll bestocking up on extra rolls of overpriced film here), but I would very muchlike to return to Syria and Lebanon again, and I may try to wrangle a dealto lead the next group in October during fall term break.I hope you are all having a good Memorial Day weekend if you are readingthis from the U.S. Hope to write more soon!peace,Le Anne