We were woken up around five by the call for the 1st prayer, but we did not get up until 7:30. It was a sunny day and I went up to take a few pictures with the nice morning light. As I was taking pictures I saw a lot of young boys across the street and I discovered that there was a religious school. They asked me what is my name and where Im from and were happy to take photographs. Our first place of exploration was the Allepo Citadel. It looked like a big old castle on the top of the hill. There was a 150 SL (3 USD) entrance fee for foreigners and 10 SL for students and locals. The castle was quite ruined and was undergoing restoration work. Since it was at the top of a hill we had a very nice view over the whole city. The city looked very gray. The Lonely planet guide book recommended to visit the big soak (market). Since it was right next to the entrance of the citadel we went inside. The atmosphere was very nice and since we were getting hungry we had our first famous Allepo felafel. It was very good and I pay only 50 SL ( 1 USD) for 2 felafel and 2 yogurt drinks. There were many nice little shops
and we were asked all the time where we are from and offered to by things. My tunisian beduin coat and indian funny trousers made us very visible and easy target. I tried traditional beduin scarf on my head and long coat. It looked very nice but I wanted to see more places to get an idea of prices. Agnieszka liked 3 scarfs and we started to bargain for the price. It started at 600 SL and after some discussion we bought it for 150 SL.Latter we discovered that it was still too much. All salesmen were quite friendly and spoke very good English. It did not take too long and a young man ask us if we would like to spend some money at his shop and when his father find out where we are from he took a knife and a sign in Polish and in Czech saying a nice gift for your mother in law. The young man spoke very good English and he told us that he designs jewelry and ask us if we would like to see it. He was very nice so we when to see his shop which was just a few stores down. He looked quite happy that he can talk with us and were were happy to find out more about Syria. Agnieszka ask him how to say few things in arabic and he gave her a quick language course. He told us that he started to make jewelry when he was 12 and that it was his 21 years birthday the day before. He just came back form the army where he was for 2 years. The necklaces were very nice so I bought one for Agnieszka. He offered us a tea and lunch at his cousin shop and took us too see one very nice mosque. His cousin was also very nice and spoke a very good English. We discovered they spoke several languages and were also interested to learn few new words in Polish. Agniszka gave them a quick course. I went to see with the mental hospital which is being turned into a museum. After a nice lunch they took us to the big mosque and we arrange to meet around seven to have a cup of tea in my van. The Big mosque was different than the one we have seen. It was a very long room and in the middle by the wall there was a gold coffin. There were many women and men approaching the coffin and prying. As I have learned latter many people who have health problems or woman who can not get pregnant come to this place. We have again attracted a lot of attention and the guards wanted to take pictures with Agniszka. There were also 2 families which took photograph with her. All people were very friendly and two guys welcomed me in Syria and asked if I need any help. Our next stop was the christian part of the old city. The Armenian church was very nice, but the atmosphere was not as pleasant as in the mosque. It was empty and I was not allowed to take any pictures. Thew whole time we were observed by a young man and as we were leavig he asked us for donation so I gave 50 SL. In front of the Armenian church we met one Armenian men. He also spoke very good English and told us that many Armenians left Syria for economical reasons. He head a nice shop with carpets and antiques. As we were searching our way to the Lating church we came to another christian church. It was almost empty and I asked one man if it is the Latin church. He spoke good english and when he found out that Agnieszka is from Poland he started to speak a few words in Polish and told us about his trip to Poland 20 years ago. We asked for directions and two guys took us to the Latin church and we attended a catholic mass in Arabic. The women were not covered and the whole atmosphere was quite similar to our catolic churches. On the way back we got a bit lost in the labyrinths of small streets and shops. Several streets were also without electricity. Finaly I found a young guy who took us back to the Citadel. We met our new friends and took them to our mobile home for a tea. They liked our car and told us more about the life in Syria. Their biggest wish was to be able to travel and see more places. We took a walk around the whole Citadele and they were surprised that it was not as long as they expected. We thanked them for their hospitality and wend to our home. My first day impression of Syria are very good. People here are very friendly and open.
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