Abu or Um

It took me a while to get used to the naming system here and it is still difficult to always understand immediately who is mentioned in a conversation.

It seems like everybody - especially the men - have the same name. I guess about 75% is called Mohammed, 15% is called Ahmed, and the rest are Youssefs, Alis, Hassans, Abdel somethings, etc..

So, when you meet a Syrian you don't know or you don't remember his name, just call him Mohammed. Most of the time you are correct.

It is even more complicated. Once, Syrians are married and have a son (which is usually within a few years after the wedding), they name their son after the husband's father and from that moment they are called Abu and Um with the name of the son following.

Let me give you an example :
'"Mohammed and Noura get married.
A son is born after 1 year.
He is called Hassan after Mohammed's father.
Mohammed is now Abu Hassan.
Noura is now Um Hassan."

Sometimes, it happens that a couple doesn't have any son, only daughters.
Sometimes, it happens that a couple cannot have any children.
The Arabic logic is applied. After some time (I don't know how much time), they are Abu and Um anyway.

Let me give you an example :
'"Mohammed and Noura get married.
They don't have a son.
Mohammed's father is called Hassan.
Mohammed is called Abu Hassan.
Noura is called Um Hassan."

It even gets more complicated. 2 or more brothers name their oldest son after their father. So, they start with different names, but get called the same afterwards.
Or, 1 brother has a son and 1 brother doesn't. Again, they are called the same. And so are their wives.

And, it doesn't always help to refer to parents, grandparents, uncles, etc. because then it can get very confusing. Especially, in the villages, nephews and cousins marry each other. Or, uncles and nieces. Or, several brothers of 1 family get married to several sisters of another family. Or, any combination of the above...

I suppose it is complicated for the Syrians also. That's why they call each other Habibi, Hadji, and probably some more denominations that I did not capture yet.

Syrian activities

After a few hours of running through the souks, I'm sitting down and having a bit of time for myself.

It is not easy to be alone in Aleppo. This morning I got up, took a shower, made some tea and started having breakfast and thought : "This is nice, sitting here in my own room with the sun shining and everybody still sleeping..." but then, some visit. Serwat's Mother was announced by Saadr, half of twins and one of the 2 youngest children in that family.

I did not mind, because I like them very much and Serwat's mother is a calm and warm person. She never went to school, but she is able to express herself in a way that I can understand, which a lot of Syrians who went to school until 14 or 18 cannot.

Anyway, she announced that she would go to the souk and as I needed some things, I said I would go with her. After having poured some tea for her that she drank without comment, she went back to join Serwat.

I do not know whether she liked the tea, because she will never tell. It was the first time that I made some. I liked it, but it was a bit too strong, probably.

I have got now the necessary stuff in my room to make and serve tea, coffee, flower tea and simple meals.

But back to the souk... I like running behind Syrian woman in the souk trying to buy things. It helps me understand the Arabic way of shopping and to it also helps me to understand the value of the goods sold in there. It is very tiresome, because the souk is a complicated net of small streets full of shops and people and donkeys. The most important lesson I learnt is that you have to go around the shops selling the article that you want, compare prices and then start bargaining. It also helps being befriended with the shopkeeper or knowing a friend of the shopkeeper.

A few hours in the souk is equal to 1 hour in the gym which I haven't visited yet. I have been too busy moving around, cleaning, buying and visiting.

Yesterday, for example, we drove towards the Turkish border and visited a whole bunch of Byzantine Dead Cities. There are about 800. It keeps you fit climbing over walls and jumping from one rock to another. I'm starting to be very good at it and have taken the discipline to a higher level. I'm actually trying to do it without getting my cloths or hands dirty.

Dust is the worst enemy here and until today it hasn't rained. The villagers are praying for it.

Back in the city, nevertheless

After a lot of thought I decided anyway to have my homebase in the city. Since 4 days now I moved in with Serwat and Khaled. They are living in a house in the Old City near Bab Antakia.

I've got my own room there which I have been cleaning and furnishing up until now. It is an old house which needs a lot of reparations, but at the same time it has a lot of charm. On the courtyard is a big orange tree (actually, mandarins) of which I harvest some fruits every morning to begin each day with a good dose of vitamin C.

We will need a lot of vitamin C to get through the winter.

Serwat is 8 months pregnant and beginning to be both impatient and anxious about the birth. She needs the company.

She has given me some furniture to put in my room which is so big that up until now I cannot cover the whole floor with the carpets that I have collected from friends. The mixture of colours of the carpets, blankets, furniture and curtains are unacceptable according to the European standard of aesthetics, but is normal in the Arabic world.

Up until now the weather is sunny, so I do not really have to bother about heating, but they tell me the weather is unusually sunny for the time of the year and that soon it will be cold and rainy. We will see when the rain comes how to solve that issue...

Am living near the souk(s) where all kinds of vegetables and fruit along with all other necessities are available. And... near the station where I can take the bus to the village.

I also bought myself a Syrian phonecard for my mobile phone. This makes it easy to keep in touch with the locals.

Other than that I have been traveling a few days this week in the mountains near the coast. Next to the magnificent views, I have seen the Mediterranean Sea and citadels. I am still amazed about the richness and variety of historic places in this country and will probably continue to do so.