The Footsteps of History

June 5, 2004

Hello to all,

This morning I awoke to the soft pastel light of sunrise illuminating the two story high stone wall of our bedroom. The light was filtered through the intricately carved stone latticework of the upper row of windows on the courtyard side of our expansive room. The marble floors glowed softly as the first birds’ songs of the morning echoed and the first sounds of the old house awaking for another day began.

We are staying in one of the “old homes” of Alleppo, Syria. It once belonged to one of the wealthiest men in the city, and was converted to a hotel eight years ago. Built around two courtyards, it consists of guest rooms, sitting rooms and dining rooms, all elegantly and tastefully furnished to match the exquisite inlaid stone and carved woodwork of the home’s construction.The original decorative wooden panels that lined some rooms were so historically significant they were moved to a museum prior to the home’s conversion to a hotel. The expansive property is indeed alive with history, as is the old city neighborhood of tiny, twisting stone streets and narrow arched passageways and tunnels that surrounds it.

As you walk the hallways of this home, you can feel the history seep into your being. You can smell the smoke of the water pipes as old alliances were renewed. You can hear the warm greetings of old friends and the murmur of conversation as new memories were forged. History lives in every worn threshold, every ancient door handle and every carved stone.

History is alive in this way wherever you travel in this region. Here, history is not an abstract concept, the exclusive purview of cranky old academics, debated only by pedantic enthusiasts or locked away in dusty textbooks. Here, history is alive. It surrounds the living, and its lessons,legends and heroes permeate every aspect of society.

For the rest of the story see the PDF document at:

http://www.hackneystravel.com/writing/2004/syria/06-footsteps-of-history-21.pdf