pictures/videos from Damascus

Here are the videos that I took from the taxi driving through Damascus when we visited it two weeks ago. I took them basically once right after the other, and they total about 90 seconds of film (with sound). I tried to combine them into one large video, but wasn't able to do it.

It's interesting to see what downtown Damscus looks like... from the videos you might not be able to pick that much out in terms of differences between Damascus and a western city. However this is not a problem because the only major difference visible in these videos is that the Damascus architecture is poorer and there are somewhat more people. Pictures below do a better job of showing the city's architectural uniqueness.

If the videos don't work, that's because I've exceeded my allotted bandwidth on Geocities, which is where I'm storing these; try back in an hour.

Video 1

Video 2

Video 3

Here are some of the cooler photos from downtown Damascus. First we went to a large market called a souk. Souks are basically large streets or alleys with shops on either side, and are usually filled to the brim with people shopping and bartering. Most souks are in alleys, but this one is larger and newer and therefore wider. It's absolutely packed though, and in the center of Damascus:

(Click on photos to see a larger copy)

They sell a lot of great drinks in the souk. One drink I got was basically raspberry juice made from real raspberries on the spot. Another drink is sold by guys who carry it around in huge jugs on their back and pour it out for you on the spot (they also carry cups around their waist). Here's one of them:

We also visited a major mosque downtown that was built on top of a church that used to exist in Damascus. Damascus was an important city in early Christianity... it was one of the centers of Paul's early ministry, and was the location of the first confrontation between Peter and Paul over the role of Jewish purity laws in Christian theology. This church was converted to a mosque later on, I forget when...

Interior courtyard:

Interior of the mosque (Muslims continue to use this. There is a bizarre mixture inside of worshippers/people praying and tourists...

The head of John the Baptist is kept in a shrine within this mosque (below)... Muslims recognize John the Baptist as a prophet, so they kept the shrine when they took over the church. The body is buried elsewhere.

This is a typical street in downtown Damascus. There are lots of mosques and shops (see a previous post below for a picture of a Damascus residential alley):