syria in my rearview mirror

We spent my last full day in Syria at Crac Des Chevaliers, the largest of the Crusader castles. Seen Braveheart? This is where he was hanging out. In fact, Braveheart's signature is carved into the stones above one of the fort's gates. Even better: Remember the knights of the round table? That was Braveheart's idea. Guess what? It's still there. I felt like I was walking through a story book.

From there we drove down the road a ways to the St. George monastery, where three churches have been built one top of the other over centuries. And the place was chock-full with faithful teenagers praying, then strolling down into the village's one cafe to gossip and flirt over juices in the shadows of the flags of the World Cup participating countries. Not to mention that the cafe is named Manzo and the insignia is an M, as in the golden arches. Globalization strikes again.

I got through the sixth book of this trip yesterday. I'm starting to run low again. Fred, I take it back, bring some books to Greece.

So far I've gotten trough:

1. Falling off the Map, Pico Iyer
2. The Quiet American, Graham Greene
3. In Cold Blood, Truman Capote
4. The Alchemist, Paulo Coehlo
5. Mayada -- Daughte of Iraq, Jean Sasson
6. The Writing Life, Annie Dillard

Now I'm working on An American Childhood, also by Dillard. It's a three-in-one. The one book she won the Pulitzer for (Pilgrim at Tinker Creek) I just couldn't bear. Thankfully, I picked up Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat in Dubai. That's my kind of beach reading.

Tomorrow afternoon I drive down to Beirut with a friend of Avo's for the sixth country on my seven-stop tour. I don't have a Lebanese visa, so we'll see how much of a hassle they decide to give me. Don't worry: I've got my poker face on.