Bonnie & Clyde in the Middle East

Hey dear friends and family.
I had some downtime while I was in Syria, because we didn't have internet so often, and this site was actually blocked. In Syria I can't write or read my own blog! Also facebook and youtube are blocked from puclic acces. A bit of a totalitarian state indeed, when you see pictures of the president on pretty much every corner. But hey, Syria is not so scary, cause the people are really nice.

However, I did write some words down while I was there, so I'll make it a Syria report in 2 parts. I had both good and bad experiences, but overal I must say it was a very nice holiday!

And so we got to Istanbul on Friday the 6th. I tell you that town is huge. Like HUGE! There’s about 15 million people living there including the suburbs. Can you imagine the whole of the Netherlands stacked into one big city? We met with Cigdem, who invited us into her house and offered us to stay for a few days. It was good to have her as a guide because it’s quite easy to get lost in this metropol. Add to that the enormous traffic jams that are far from occasional, and you can spend hours on finding your way to whatever destination.

That’s the only thing I didn’t like about Istanbul; the public transportation is really not sufficient for a city of that size. There are no metros for one, so the public transport is pretty much limited to busses and trams. And because of the traffic jams it’s not always a good idea to travel by bus or take a cab. Often you’re even better off walking! But the people are really nice and warm hearted, the food is great, especially borek and baklava. I don’t get how people can eat all those sweets and not get fat, but somehow they manage.

So after a few days of Istanbul, we decided it was time to move on to a new place. After all, Iva wanted to see Lebanon and get tanned on the coast. It’s a bit unfortunate that we don’t have more time than we do, because you’d need at least a month to travel around and see places while not having the feeling of racing against the clock. My philosophy is to make a simple plan, not too detailed, and stay open to new ideas and suggestions. Stay in the places that appeal to you, leave the ones that don’t.

We took a train to Adana, quite a big city on the east side of Turkey. We only stayed there for one night, because it was too late to go on to Antakya. I didn’t really like Adana; it had no charm, no flair. I was happy to be on the way to Antakya. When we got there, we got jumped by numerous cab drivers who all wanted to take us somewhere. We decided to go with a guy who spoke understandable English who was going to drive us to Latakia in Syria. Our initial plan was to go to Aleppo, but Latakia seemed like a nice place to see, it being on the coast and all.

When we crossed the Syrian border we had to wait for a while before we got in, the visa was quite expensive (67 dollars together), but it was totally worth it. Because Syria is actually a really nice country, contradictory to the American propaganda. I couldn’t believe the warm heartedness and hospitality with which we were welcomed; the guy who drove us to Latakia bought us dinner at a restaurant at the side of a big lake (even though we couldn’t see much of it in the dark), and later on when we went onwards toward the city we met some of his friends in customs who gave us some tea. One of the officers actually offered us to stay in his house that night, and to buy us lunch the next day.

We never asked for anything, but it just happened. Such is the kindness of the Syrian people. It was a positive culture shock so to say. I couldn’t make this shit up. I kept wondering: Are these guys for real? And they are. We stayed at his house, and today he brought us to a nice restaurant looking over the Mediterranean Sea where we had a great lunch. The Syrian food is cheap, and damn good. Also it is much healthier than the Turkish food, offering a big variety in vegetables, nuts, and many delicates. I had one of the best fish ever, fresh from the sea!

Later that same day Faisal offered us to come and visit him in his other house (he has 6) where he lives with his wife. Apparently, once you’re married, you need to have your own house and can’t live together with your parents; that’s why he has so many houses, because he has many kids; 3 boys, 2 girls. It was an amazing experience; we met all his children, the oldest being about 26, and the youngest 15. His oldest also brought his wife and baby, a very cute little girl.

One of the guys offered me to take me around the neighborhood on his motor bike. That was really cool! He sounded the horn at pretty much every shop we passed; he knew everyone. Later after we got back we would all go (the men that is) to the local café, and we had tea and water pipes. Imagine that you’re with people that you barely know, and you barely understand each other, and yet you have such a deep sense of belonginess to another. We talked for about 2 hours, had a lot of fun, and then went back to the house.

During our whole stay in Syria, me and Iva pretended to be married. I think this makes our lives here a lot easier, since it’s simply not accepted by everyone to have such a thing as a girlfriend. No sex before marriage kind of thing. Don’t be fooled; of course the single Syrian girls have boyfriends, and of course the single Syrian guys have girlfriends, but this all happens in secrecy. Even though I haven’t seen most of the world, I realize that people are still people where ever you go. We all have the same impulses and desires; just because society has different values doesn’t mean that the game changes; just that the rules of engagement are slightly different.

Of course I don’t believe in no sex before marriage, but that doesn’t mean I have to be a prophet about it and tell people how ignorant they are, and how civilized we are back in the West. Bullshit, we don’t know anything about the things that make Syria such a beautiful country. It is us who are ignorant, mainly because we think we know everything. Arrogant fools, who wouldn’t burn our flags here?

Yes my friends, Syria is a great country. It’s a shame that with my Syrian visa, I will not be able to visit Israel, because that is also definitely a nice place to see. I believe that the Middle East is one of the most hospitable places on earth, and we in the West could learn a lot from the kindness with which they greet foreigners. We can learn a lot from each other. But you can’t give someone a pizza who didn’t ask for it; it’s up to them to order it. What I’m saying is that we can’t go judging other people based on our values. If we want to do something good to the world, we could start by taking responsibility for ourselves first and learn from others the values that we seem to have forgotten.

And it is up to them to change their views about marriage, women, gay sexuality and whatever else we think we have a more sophisticated opinion on. You can’t start a war to bring democracy, shove it down their throats and expect them to accept it. It’s disrespectful and creates a lot of bad blood. Of course the well informed amongst us know that there was never a war for democracy; our political leaders don’t fight for ideas, but money and power.

Talking about money, the dollar will collapse sooner or later; probably more soon than later. Better invest your money in something that doesn’t lose its value, or spend it on traveling; seeing the world is always a life richening experience. But more about the dollar some other time, else this post will just get too long.

As I’m typing this, I’m on the way to Aleppo together with my wife, Iva. I rather like the idea of being married to this lovely girl actually. At least it aint too hard to pretend! Having a good marriage, kids, and having a warm heart for everyone around you, are values that really appeal to me. You can learn something new anywhere you go; never ever think that you know it all, for you are the biggest fool walking on the face of the earth.