Damascus by foot

After breakfast we took to the streets of Damascus by foot - strolling about 10 minutes to the National Museum, which lays out artifacts and information on the various periods of Syrian history in an orderly and easy to follow fashion.

We then walked back in the other direction to the old city.  Arriving at the Ommayad Mosque we saw a large group of people outside chanting at a religious leader in the centre. We had arrived on the anniversary day  when the grandson of Muhammed, Husain (the Islamic leader at the time) was killed and his head left on display at this mosque.  This was at beginning of the split between Sunni and Shi'ite islamic groups. Many Shi'ite pilgrims had come from all over the Middle East especially from Iran.  

The women in our group were directed to the ‘Putting On Special Clothes’ room where they were inpected and if they did not pass the test, dressed appropriately.  As you can see, mum did not pass the test!


The Omayyad Mosque is very large and impressive with much to take in.  It claims to have the head of John the Baptist in one section which we visited.

Chandelier with energy saver bulbs

We had to take our shoes off so we are all standing on the carpet because it was so cold!

Afterwards we made our way through many old alleys and bazaars to explore the old city.  At one point, a large procession of pilrims passed by hitting and beating themselves to similate the murder of Husain.  Some of these were bleeding badly as they continued to make cuts on themselves.