From Beirut to Damascus
My escape from Lebanon was a long and adventurous one. Looking back at it now it was an interesting experience but while I was in the car on my way to the Syrian border it was a completely different story. I wasn’t afraid or anything but I really didn’t like the idea that at any moment the road will be blocked and I would have to turn back and cancel my whole trip.
The roads from Lebanon to Syria were randomly getting blocked with burning tires, rocks and sand mounds. There were a lot of taxis offering to take people to the border but none could guarantee you would get there because of the way roads were getting blocked randomly. I needed a “sure thing” and this is why one of my relatives hooked me up with this guy who managed to arrange a series of rides from one area to another until I finally got to Damascus.
The main theory behind changing cars after every area is that the drivers would be very familiar with the roads. So for example if I take a car with a guy who lives in the neighborhood, if one road is blocked he would know another way out and if that road is also blocked he would know another way. By the end of my journey I had taken 6 cars including one that was a van that carried fish! As you can see from the photos, we didn’t stay on the main roads or even the inside roads, we spent most of the time on muddy farmland trails.
The Syrian border I went to (Daboosiyeh) was pretty empty but thats because the roads to get to that border were all blocked. I had some friends who had left much earlier in the day and had gotten stuck at another Syrian border for over 6 hours. Nat did a great job in getting me a Jazeera Airlines ticket before they got sold out and then managed to find me a room in a hotel to stay in even though most hotels in Damascus were fully booked. Anyway I am back and its good to be back but I will be leaving again in a couple of days to Munich.
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18 Comments, add your own...
1. steve_leb | May 11th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
man i hope the pay is enough.. lol..
2. Gollum | May 11th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
find me a job with you man..
carrying your bag maybe .. lighting your cigarette .. anything :P
3. kuwaitya | May 11th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
you wrote about changing cars…roads…tell us about the shootings…about the human, infrastructure damage…about the fear, and calling it adventure, made me ironically laugh, you don’t care any more about your country…? adventure?
4. mocman | May 11th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
great… now germany will go to war….
5. Mark | May 11th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
kuwaitya not to sound insensitive or anything but conflict has existed in Lebanon since before I was born. The night there were street battles taking place there were people clubbing in other parts of the country. War in Lebanon has sadly become part of the way of life.
6. holla | May 11th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
you owe Nat another car LMAO
7. Ansam | May 11th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
Glad you made it back in one Peace
I hope things cool down in Lebanon! Its heart breaking
8. Dodo | May 11th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
ure going to munich!! plz take me with u! :p
9. nice | May 11th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
Thanks
10. confused | May 11th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
good thing you dont have a kid, mark
11. whatsupbahrain | May 11th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
el hamdella 3ala el salemeh man ….
12. Marzouq | May 11th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
7amdilla 3ala salamah.. for some reason those pics remind of Top Gear when they go off the beat! lol
13. Shoxin | May 11th, 2008 at 7:13 pm
That seemed purrty exciting ^^” Hamdellah 3al salemeh ^^”
14. sars | May 11th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
“I wasn’t afraid or anything but I really didn’t like the idea that at any moment the road will be blocked and I would have to turn back and cancel my whole trip.”
people are dying and you’re worried about 1) sounding macho and 2) your trip getting cancelled?
hamdellah 3al salemeh…
15. ghassan99 | May 11th, 2008 at 10:30 pm
wow what a ride…
On another note, I just got back from Munich, a very nice place indeed. Thinking of going back again next month.
16. Saeed | May 12th, 2008 at 1:46 am
That was really scary .. :-/ you said you have some videos ?
again Hamdellah 3al salemeh
17. Armani Exchanger | May 12th, 2008 at 3:05 am
Thanks God that you are doing alright,,, wow two thumbs up to Nat who was the SUPER GIRL to get you a ticket back home + room in Syria. You are so lucky to have a girl/friend/wife like Nat …Come back to her safe please! :>
18. Musa'ad Haider | May 12th, 2008 at 8:51 am
Hats off to Nat for keeping herself together in such stressful time and making things easier for you remotely.
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