Day 5: Homs

This morning we left really early by cab from Beirut with Sonia and Shafi and drove north towards Tripoli, and to the border of Syria. via the Arida crossing. What chaos! In the end Samer had to pay Syrian official [Or lebanese official?] $10 because he had a Canadian wife! Past the crossing the drive to Homs was uneventful.

I guess the thing that struck me once we got into Syria is that it's poorer then the poorest parts of Lebanon that I've seen. Either that or the Syrians aren't as industrious ? Not sure. When I was told my mom in law was from Homs and the jokes that abounded around it I had visualized a small village. But apparently the city of Homs is now a large urban center and is home to over 1 million people. It's the third most important city in Syria , and mostly inhabited by Sunni Muslims.

Along with Sonia's good friend Nabila, we visited Homs' traditional Souk, as well as the "The Church of the Lady of the Girdle" where Sonia's mom used to worship. The story goes that this church has a girdle worn by the Virgin Mary. Currently this church, built over two older churches, is an active Syrian Orthodox worship center.

Nabila, a childhood friend of Sonia's treated us to Syrian hospitality. We were served a large meal. When Nabila found out I was vegetarian, she had made a bean dish especially for me. Although the smell of the bean dish was foul, the dish itself was quite delicious. After the meal, her husband drove us to the bus station and insisted on getting us tickets for the luxury coach to Damascus and wouldn't hear about us paying anything.

Oh and before we went to the bus station, he took us to the childhood home where Sonia had lived as a child. I took several photo's of Sonia and Samer in front of the building which still stands and looks very much as Sonia remembered it.

One thing that struck me about Nabila is she reminded me of my friend Diane, not because they looked that much alike but because her skin, both on her hands and face and her facial features appear like those of someone with Scleroderma.