Shadowland<\/a> \n October 22, 2009<\/p>\n Chris Johns, Editor-in-Chief Dear Chris Johns:<\/p>\n It is with a heavy heart and a great deal of indignation that I write this letter to you.\u00a0 I read with deep disappointment on the pages of your November publication the story on Syria by your editor, Don Belt. \u00a0This piece, laden with inaccuracies and disinformation, was a misrepresentation of the Syria that I belong to, and the National Geographic that I have read for decades.<\/p>\n The article draws an unfairly bleak and intentionally inaccurate picture of Syria, reminiscent of the neoconservative literature that was prevalent during President Bush\u2019s era, and in stark contradiction to all current, objective reporting covering Syria.\u00a0 It is skewed to highlight solely negative aspects of an otherwise vibrant country undergoing tremendous transformations on the social, cultural, economic, and political levels. Moreover, as an avid reader of this magazine since my teenage years, this article seems an outlier in the legacy and spirit of the National Geographic that has made a name for itself by exposing the hidden beauty of cultures and geographies of different parts of the world.\u00a0 This is a political article par excellence inspired by the most radical neoconservative paradigm, and it saddens me to see this great name of your magazine reduced to a propaganda horn.\u00a0 I can refer you to the Syrian Studies Association, a neutral and authoritative expert body on Syria that includes over 170 American academics, all of who would unequivocally refute and reject this article.<\/p>\n The author clearly did not approach this project with objectivity; rather, he came with a preset thesis and searched for people and settings to prove his point.\u00a0 It is equivalent to a third-rate foreign journalist who visits the US, talks to neo-Nazi groups, such as the one who recently killed the guard at the Holocaust Museum; talks to the LaRouche group that declares there is no democracy in this country; talks to inmates in Guantanamo; talks to people living in the ghettos with high illiteracy and low life expectancy rates; talks to crime and drug lords; talks to ignorant folks that think all Arabs are terrorist and must be expelled or executed; and then based on that information, he publishes an article on the \u2018truth\u2019 about this great country.\u00a0 It obviously will be a specious, skewed article. A \u2018Borat-style\u2019, if you may \u2013in reference to the Hollywood movie character played by Sacha Baron Cohen.<\/p>\n The bottom line is that Syria is admittedly far from a perfect place.\u00a0 Although the author unfairly focuses on the mukhabarat<\/em> legacy of Hafez Assad while ignoring how much he helped transform Syria, he makes a point in depicting that President Bashar Assad had much reform to undertake.\u00a0 However, to show that Syria is still a tenebrous place where people live in fear, where education is lagging, bookstores are dated, factories are defunct, progress is stagnant, run by \u2018Beverly Hillbillies\u2019 and mobsters, and lacks entrepreneurship and opportunity is an egregious fallacy.<\/p>\n It also seems that while the First Family of Syria opened their doors and lives to the author in full transparency and candor, he reciprocated with spleen and a supercilious attitude.<\/p>\n Sir, I have included a point-by-point critique of this article.\u00a0 I hope you take the time to read them carefully.\u00a0 Unfortunately, the disinformation, lack of objectivity, and unprofessionalism exhibited in this piece assure me that the relationship between your foundation and my country has been permanently damaged.\u00a0 Indeed, I believe that many other countries in our region will reconsider their working relationship with your organization when they are made aware of this incident.<\/p>\n Sincerely, Cc: Terry Adamson, NGS Executive Vice President; Don Belt, Senior Editor<\/strong><\/p>\n Detailed critique of the article:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cShadowland.\u201d\u00a0 This is the first word in the article on the opening photograph.\u00a0 This is not what the author saw, but what he perceived Syria as before setting foot there on his last trip.\u00a0 It sets the stage for how he approaches this article, by pithily and hastily listing the drastic positive developments in Syrian society, while digging meticulously and painstakingly to find people and images that would fit his \u2018shadowland\u2019 theme.<\/p>\n The opening passage of the article is indicative, truly setting the tone for the article.\u00a0 This comparison with the Corleone\u2019s is an analogy that neocon, Israeli, and other writers wore-out during the previous eight years in an attempt to veil all of Syria\u2019s reform and development behind a specious veil of a \u2018mob-like\u2019 ruling family.\u00a0 People like Jonathan Schanzer, Trudy Rubin, Eyal Zisser, and even the somewhat unbiased Flynt Leverett and David Lesch have used this analogy on several occasions, especially when Bashar Assad first came to power, rendering it an unimaginative, boring tautology.\u00a0 More importantly, the University of Maryland, along with the Zogby International Polling, conducted an opinion poll in six Arab countries earlier this year (all US allies), Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Lebanon, and the UAE, which showed that President Assad was the most popular figure amongst Arab leader.\u00a0 These results consolidate those of last year\u2019s, where President Assad also came in first place as the most popular Arab leader.\u00a0 While you might disagree with many of President Bashar Assad\u2019s policies, these numbers year in, year out, indicate that he is actually standing for the demands of his people in particular, and the Arab street as a whole.\u00a0 To turn the reality around and make him into a mere \u2018mafia don\u2019 is unjust.\u00a0 A mafia don would not capture the imagination and hearts of the Arab street in such a fashion.\u00a0 Moreover, my understanding is that the author spent several hours with President Assad and his wife, discussing all issues, and even took a trip with the First Lady.\u00a0 This makes me wonder how can such a \u2018mobster\u2019 family, or a \u2018Soviet-like\u2019 family as he also likes to describe them, provide him with so much access.\u00a0 One thinks of mobsters and soviet-era leaders to be secretive, not to allow such access for an unknown journalist.<\/p>\n \u201cIran pilgrims at the Omayyad\u201d: This is an example of the image the author tries to draw.\u00a0 The Omayyad mosque that is always bustling with visitors from around the world and from all different backgrounds, is confined to \u2018Iranian pilgrims.\u2019 Anyone who visits it, knows that it is a tourist and religious attraction for Christians as much as Muslims, foreigners as much as locals.\u00a0 Obviously, singling out Iranian pilgrims aims to make specific hints, and adds a certain touch to his pre-conceived story.<\/p>\n \u201cBab Touma Police Station\u201d: This is the first of many very disturbing distortions and actual lies in the article.\u00a0 As a Syrian who grew up constantly visiting the Bab Touma area, I can assure you that not only have I never heard the so-called \u2018screams\u2019 from the police station, but I have never even heard of such procedures taking place in such a station.\u00a0 Anyone with basic knowledge of Syria knows that a police station is not involved in any political procedures, interrogations or not.\u00a0 Moreover, Bab Touma is the second most touristic place in Damascus (after the Omayyad mosque) and it is ludicrous to think that there would be such horrible interrogations taking place among the tourists and visitors of that area.\u00a0 In fact, this area has underwent the most transformation in the city as the public and private sectors focused on reviving the old city, promoting it into a premier tourist destination by turning its old houses into boutique restaurants and hotels.\u00a0 Thus, as one reads this awful depiction of screams, seemingly out of a thriller novel, we have to question whether there is any proof for such theatrical stories. I challenge you to find any Syrian who would confirm this woven tale.<\/p>\n The novel continues with Syrians casting \u201ceach other knowing glances, but no one says a word.\u00a0 Someone might be listening.\u201d\u00a0 Again, a thriller movie taking place in the most awful of places would not contain such descriptions.\u00a0 Instead of wasting time weaving fables of interrogations and states of fear in Bab Touma, the author could have talked about the beautiful maze of streets and houses that is Bab Touma, dating back centuries, and adorned with beautiful Damascene jasmine overflowing from behind every wall, and shyly bending into the streets as if inviting passers into these beautiful antique homes.\u00a0 He should have discussed the mosques and churches that stand side-by-side.\u00a0 He should have described the over 120 boutique restaurants and hotels, which although seem numerous, you still have to make reservations months in advance in order to find room.\u00a0 That is the heart of the oldest continually inhabited city in the world, which alas, the author renders it a fable of an imaginary torture cell. In reality, the sounds you hear there are not those of \u201cblood-chilling screams\u201d; rather the sounds of giddy locals and tourists sharing a drink and a bite under a Damascene moon, and to the sounds of church bells and Muslim call to prayer.\u00a0 This is the Bab Touma I grew up knowing, and it is the one I visit every year.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Assad regime\u2026by a combination of guile and cozying up to more powerful countries, first the Soviet Union and now Iran.\u201d A brief overview of Syrian political history shows that Syria always maintained an independent foreign policy from either the Soviet Union or Iran.\u00a0 During the so-called \u2018cozying\u2019 to the USSR, Syria engaged with the US on the Peace Process, while disagreeing with the USSR on many issues, including Lebanon.\u00a0 Also, during that time and later, Presidents Nixon, Ford, Carter, Bush, and Clinton all either visited Damascus or met President Assad in a third country.\u00a0 Of course, Syria was known to be closer to the Soviet Union, but it was the Cold War, and all developing countries had to take a side.\u00a0 The Americans took the Israeli side, Syria was forced to turn to the Soviets, all while maintaining good relations with the US.\u00a0 As for Iran, it is US policy in the region, and its previous attempts to isolate Syria \u2013something which is eerily brought to mind through this article \u2013that brought Syria and Iran even closer.\u00a0 If the author was honest, or maybe just knowledgeable, he would note that Syria is actually \u2018cozying up\u2019 to Turkey, which has become Syria\u2019s closest ally in the region, politically and economically.\u00a0 We just removed border barriers between Syria and Turkey and our trade amounts to $2.4 billion, as opposed to the mere $0.5 billion of Syrian-Iranian trade.<\/p>\n Relations with US \u201cnever good\u201d:\u00a0 on this topic, all I have to remind the author of is: a) Syria and the US were allies during the Gulf War, fighting side by side against Saddam\u2019s troops, and b) the cooperation on Al-Qaeda which then-Secretary of State Collin Powell described as \u201csaving American lives\u201d in a formal letter to Congress.<\/p>\n The author then sets the premise of the article, stating that as there is a new administration \u201chungry for success in the ME,\u201d and that we need to know if anything has changed in Syria \u2013implicitly asking if there is change that constitutes this engagement.\u00a0 Obviously, the author is indirectly arguing in this article that there is not much change, or it is still \u2018struggling to escape its dark past\u2019; thus, implying that maybe Syria is not ready for engagement.\u00a0 Now if this was an op-ed in the Washington Times or the Weekly Standard I would understand, because first, they always discourage US-Syrian rapprochement, and second, because they focus on such matters of policy.\u00a0 Never, though, did I imagine that the National Geographic Society would advocate such a malicious policy of disengagement within its covers.\u00a0 After all, one of the founding principles of the magazine was to build bridges with the rest of the world, was it not??<\/p>\n \u201cTending to its crippling internal disrepair\u201d: I find it hard to believe that President Assad \u201cacknowledges\u201d such a description.\u00a0 I have heard him say on several occasions that there is much room for reform and improvement, even humbly admitting that reforms are not where he hoped them to be.\u00a0 Still, Syria has registered an economic growth of over 6.2%, according to World Bank figures, and I find it hard to believe that it could do so with \u201ccrippling internal disrepair,\u201d just as I doubt the President would describe it as such.\u00a0 Still, if he did \u201cacknowledge\u201d such short-comings, it does not strike me as something a \u2018mobster\u2019 does.\u00a0 Does it?<\/p>\n The author then gets lost in describing the town of Qurdaha \u2013which any observer of Syrian politics would easily tell you that it is not quite a center of power as it might have once been or as the author shows it to be.\u00a0 The author returns to his Soprano-esque style, describing \u201cregime officials\u2026flaunting their unfettered power by padding around town in the pajamas.\u201d\u00a0 Again, it is either ignorance, or the author\u2019s fascination with the mafia theme that makes him write such fallacies.\u00a0 If one visits any coastal city in Syria, it is a common sight to see people walking around in pajamas, women more than men.\u00a0 It is a very rural theme in Syria, and you can even see it amongst farmers in most Syrian villages.\u00a0 The notion that only gangsters do that is a purely American\/Hollywood one, and can be viewed as very patronizing to Syrian citizens.<\/p>\n The author then describes Syria as \u201cethnically volatile.\u201d\u00a0 This is also a very egregious statement that would offend most Syrians.\u00a0 Lebanon is known to be ethnically volatile, not Syria.\u00a0 Syria has always been an example of co-existence (something attested to by Popes John and Benedict).\u00a0 The most vivid proof is our long history of coexistence, where violent incidents between ethnicities and sects are almost nonexistent.\u00a0 Historically, different religious and ethnic groups have fought side-by-side for independence, formed governments and coalitions together, and traded amongst each other.\u00a0 When the Armenians fled the massacre in the beginning of the 20th C., they chose Syria as their destination where they found a safe haven and managed to prosper and flourish.\u00a0 That would not have been the case if Syria was \u201cethnically volatile.\u201d\u00a0 The author then erroneously claims that Hafez Assad protected other minorities \u201cto counterweight the Sunnis.\u201d\u00a0 Shamefully, the author ignores all of Syria\u2019s history. The ethnic and religious coexistence in Syria far dates Hafez Assad.\u00a0 In fact, the main figures of Syria\u2019s independence were the likes of Ibrahim Hanano (Kurdish), Saleh al-Ali (Allawite), Sultan Basha al-Atrash (Druze), Fares al-Khouri (Christian).\u00a0 These forces all then untied under the National Front and coalesced to fight foreign invaders together.\u00a0 If there is one fact ordinary Syrians take immense pride in, it is their harmonious coexistence for millennia.<\/p>\n The author then uses the \u201cBeverly Hillbillies\u201d analogy. What a condescending way to describe such a proud ethnic group with centuries-old culture and traditions, and who were so pivotal in the independence of Syria.\u00a0 Any journalist can get \u201cone diplomat\u201d to describe the US, or any other country, in the most disrespectful way, but does that mean it is something to be promoted?<\/p>\n Hama: once again the author regurgitates Israeli and neocon rhetoric in depicting the events of Hama.\u00a0 If he had underwent any investigative work, he would have discovered that actually the Muslim brotherhood did not just \u201claunch a series of bombing\u201d, but were rather massacring and beheading government officials, along with women who were \u2018too liberal\u2019 or did not confine to Muslim attire.\u00a0 And that the government response never included the air force, but rather, it sent troops and tanks and surrounded these extremist, and in turn a vicious battle ensued similar to the US\u2019s encounter in Fallujah.\u00a0 Undoubtedly, innocent civilians lost their lives, as unfortunately is always the case, but Syria was facing what many North African countries, such as Algeria, would then face with these fanatics declaring an \u2018Islamic state\u2019 in Hama, and trying to spread it to the rest of the country. Also, the numbers of casualties put forth by the author are grossly exaggerated and again, mainly taken from Israeli and neocon authors.\u00a0 In fact, there is not one neutral source that can substantiate these allegations.<\/p>\n The author then turns to a young man who tells him about Vitamin Wow.\u00a0 I cannot claim that just like most developing countries, there is not a certain level of corruption \u2013something that the government has committed to fighting.\u00a0 However, to show only that side raises suspicion.\u00a0 The author never interviews the thousands of other young men who are involved in the private sector \u2013a sector employing so many of Syria\u2019s youth. He does not interview someone from, say the Syrian Young Entrepreneurs Association that holds job fairs and conferences, and promotes entrepreneurship and opportunity among young adults (one of its own was just named by the Davos-based World Economic Forum among 200 of the most distinguished young leaders in 2009).\u00a0 But again, such a detail does not fit the black-and-black portrait this author paints of Syria.<\/p>\n Then, the author surprisingly dedicates one section describing in brevity the actual change and improvement in Syria, which is mindboggling.\u00a0 After all, the ostensible premise of this article was to \u201cask what, if anything, has changed?\u201d Yet, he briefly and hastily counts the tremendous improvements, such as privatizing banks and industries, opening of a stock exchange, introducing the internet, recruiting highly qualified minds to the government, developing programs for literacy and economic empowerment, etc.\u00a0 This all apparently does not constitute \u2018change\u2019 for the author, and thus, is unworthy of elaboration.\u00a0 Instead, he is interested in guys walking around in pajamas, 27-year old colognes, and self-woven fables of dons and mafias.<\/p>\n The author then describes Aleppo as \u201ca medieval mosh pit of shopkeepers, food vendors, gold merchants, donkey carts, craftsmen, trinket peddlers, beggars, and hustlers of all stripes, moving in a great colorful clanking parade of goat bells and sandaled feet.\u201d This could very well be a scene out of Aladdin, which although many in the West find amusing and enchanting, the Arab world finds offensive and emblematic of colonial and Orientalist rhetoric.\u00a0 The late Edward Said would undoubtedly been outraged by it and considered it further flagrant proof to his treatise on \u201cOrientalism\u201d.<\/p>\n The author then claims that in the 70\u2019s, Syrian officials wanted to bulldoze the Old City (which is already somewhat difficult to believe), until the residents prevented it from happening.\u00a0 Yet, the author claims that this was a time of \u201cMao and Stalin\u201d style of dictatorship -\u201cwhen dictators were dictators.\u201d The author though fails to explain how such a \u2018dictatorship\u2019 would heed to the complaints of the people on such a colossal project?!?!<\/p>\n The author then discusses his trip to a state-run factory where he talks to workers with lost fingers and crushed feet.\u00a0 I will not refute this escapade that he presents, but I am left to wonder why he refuses to take such a trip to some of Syria numerous private factories that he inaccurately describes later as driving prices up and forcing people out of their jobs.\u00a0 Syria has one of the most productive private industrial sectors in the region, exporting everything from pharmaceuticals to olive oil (Syria is the world\u2019s 4th largest exporter of olive oil) and with international recognition.\u00a0 These industries and their suppliers provide jobs to millions of Syrians, as well as help catapult Syria on to the international and regional markets.<\/p>\n The section on education is also just as skewed and inaccurate as that of the industrial sector.\u00a0 To say that \u201cit\u2019s hard to find a bookstore that isn\u2019t full of communist-era tracts,\u201d is either a sign of lack of knowledge or an attempt for deception.\u00a0 Almost any bookstore in Syria contains a wide range of books from Hemmingway to \u2018how to have a healthy sexual relationship\u2019 to theories on capitalism and economic integration. Education wise, private schools and universities in Syria are mushrooming everywhere with internationally recognized curricula.\u00a0 Even public universities have undergone a tremendous overhaul of their curricula and pedagogical philosophies that is transforming the education process in Syria.\u00a0 The author also ignores the vibrant cultural scene in Syria widely regarded as the best in the region, with Damascus being elected the Arab cultural capital \u2013Aleppo was the Muslim cultural capital the prior year.\u00a0 During the year, Damascus put on such a fascinating program of artistic, theatrical and musical performances from around the world, that it received immense international acclaim (more on the cultural scene in the conclusion).<\/p>\n The author then turns to the events of 9\/11 and the Iraq war, and their resonance in Syria, where he further demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of the events on the ground and their nature.\u00a0 When the US invaded Iraq, the Syrian street, like all the Arab streets, was vehemently against such a foreign invasion of a fellow Arab country.\u00a0 However, among all Arab leaders, President Assad was one of the very few that opposed the war, knowing that it would be detrimental to Syria, the region, and more importantly, Iraq (something that ironically the current US president shares with President Assad).\u00a0 He demonstrated once again that he represented the Arab street more than any other Arab leader.\u00a0 I am, therefore, confused regarding why the author said that President Assad \u201cdiverted the widespread rage in Syria away from his vulnerable regime toward the Americans\u2026\u201d It is common knowledge that the Syrian, and indeed the Arab, street was against the invasion before the Syrian government can take any position, leaving one wondering about the \u2018diversion.\u2019\u00a0 Furthermore, when we take into consideration that the author actually acknowledges the real threat that Syria faced from Al-Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood, the \u201csaber rattling\u201d from the US, and the 1.5 million Iraqi refugees \u2013all which the \u2018regime\u2019 had nothing to do \u2013we see further signs of self-contradiction regarding \u2018diversion\u2019.<\/p>\n The author then addresses the Hariri assassination with worrisome ambiguity.\u00a0 He states that it \u201cled to Assad\u2019s doorstep.\u201d\u00a0 This is a misleading statement that leaves much room for dangerous speculation.\u00a0 If he means that the assassination affected Syria, then it is true, as it eventually led to Syria\u2019s full withdrawal from Lebanon; however, this does not seem to be his intent as he does not mention such withdrawal.\u00a0 If by \u201cleading\u201d to his doorstep, he means that President Assad is behind it, then this is another blatant neoconservative\/Israeli slogan.\u00a0 There is a UN investigation currently underway to determine the perpetrator and all the reports by the current and previous lead investigators (Bellamare and Brammertz) have commended Syria for its cooperation in the investigation.\u00a0 Moreover, all objective reporting on this issue has shown that Syria suffered the most from this incident, which would have made it impossible for it to be behind the assassination.\u00a0 Regardless, the statement is again, dangerously ambiguous and can be seen to have sinister implications.<\/p>\n Finally, the author again talks about a \u201ccloud of fear\u201d in Syria, depicting it as a dark, sepulchral, state.\u00a0 Yet, when one walks the streets, sits in coffee shops, and reads the paper, people are freely criticizing most anything.\u00a0 To claim that it is full freedom of speech is an exaggeration; to describe it as a state where no one dares \u201csay a word\u201d is unjust. With a preconceived theme for his article, a \u201cshadowland,\u201d the author (and his photographer) sets off on a journey taking pictures and talking to anyone who would help him paint this theme.\u00a0 He is clearly obsessed with what Syria \u2018was\u2019, or how some neocons view it currently, instead of focusing on what it really \u2018is\u2019.\u00a0 The author completely ignores, or barely brushes on, the recent developments evolving in Syria.\u00a0 Instead, he spends pages weaving a novel-like description of President Hafez Assad\u2019s rise to power and how President Bashar then came to power, while ignoring the \u2018real\u2019 issues of change.\u00a0 It inaccurately depicts Syria as a remnant of an \u201880\u2019s style communist Eastern European\u2019 state that is drowned in corruption and intelligence, rather than presenting a more accurate picture of Syria, which is one with a vibrant social, cultural, and economic scene.<\/p>\n In the past few years, Syria has witnessed tremendous transformations.\u00a0 Economically, it has registered one of the highest growth rates in the region.\u00a0 Financial institutions and banks have mushroomed, stock exchange opened, previously government-run sectors privatized, foreign investment flowing and sparking a wide range of new projects and construction, the only law dedicated to microfinance in the region, among many others \u2013some which this author mentions but does not attribute any value to.\u00a0 Culturally, Syria boasts some of the most sophisticated art and art houses in the region; one of two opera houses in the region; internationally-renowned novelists and poets; and vibrant film, TV, and theater productions.\u00a0 Politically, Syria weathered a ferocious attempt of isolation, and even regime change by regional and international powers, all while maintaining an astounding economic growth rate (6.2%) and promoting cultural dynamism.<\/p>\n The author asks \u201cwhat, if anything, has changed\u201d in the past decade.\u00a0 These are the true answers to his question.\u00a0 This is what I would expect to find in the National Geographic.\u00a0 Not a tale of old cologne, mafia guys in pajamas, and a worn-out saga of a brother \u2018forced\u2019 into leadership.\u00a0 I would leave that to Hollywood.<\/p>\n [end of Amb. Moustapha letter]<\/strong><\/p>\n The following story is the kind that the authorities in Damascus like — and from Fox News no less.<\/p>\n Fox News does Syria: Traditional Bedouin women pose for Fox News<\/p><\/div>\n Syria: A Crossroads of Civilizations and Contrasts<\/a><\/p>\n Monday, October 26, 2009 DAMASCUS, Syria \u2014 The Syrian Ministry of Tourism invited journalists from Tehran to Tunis to check out its top attractions during a trip to the normally reclusive country. Fox News hopped a caravan and went along for the ride.<\/p>\n Weaving through the narrow streets of old Damascus you can see women in modest black Islamic dress, or women in little black dresses. Syria is as diverse in public dresscode as Saudi Arabia is not…..<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Also read:<\/strong><\/p>\n Dawn in Damascus<\/a> This article by Oliver August who has lived in Syria off and on for years<\/span><\/span> makes a nice contrast to the National Geographic article<\/span><\/span> and captures aspects of Syria that Ambassador Moustapha speaks about in his letter. Read the first page for an excellent hook.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Once the center of the Islamic world, the Syrian capital is celebrating a cultural and economic rebirth\u2014despite authoritarian rule. Amid the avant-garde galleries, hip restaurants, noisy souks, and Roman, Christian, and Ottoman architecture, Oliver August finds a city enthralled with its new freedoms<\/p>\n We have been waiting in our theater seats for half an hour when someone starts clapping. I join in, thinking, Hell, maybe this will persuade the actors to come onstage<\/em>. We hope to see an adaptation of Richard III<\/em>, subtitled An Arab Tragedy<\/em>. Shakespeare has been rewritten to critique dictatorship in the Middle East\u2014not something you see every day in Damascus. I worry that government censors have intervened at the last minute. But quite the opposite.<\/p>\n The clapping was initiated, it turns out, by what in the movie business they call a studio plant. When more and more hands join in, a side door opens, and in walks President Bashar Assad\u2014the real one, not an actor\u2014whose family has ruled Syria for longer than I have been alive. He waves awkwardly, his long neck tilted to one side, and sits down a few feet away from me. So this was the holdup. Tonight there are two kings, only one of them onstage. Most of the audience seems unsure which one to watch when the curtain goes up.<\/p>\n In the play, the homicidal Gloucester decides to have himself elected to the throne. This being the Middle East, the election is rigged. Puff-chested minions tell Glouces\u00adter that he has won ninety-nine percent of the vote. “What about the other one percent?” he cries. “Why did they not vote for me?” The audience guffaws. They can’t help but look over at Assad. In 2007, he won 97.6 percent of the vote in a presidential “election.” Nobody believed the result. Now he is throwing back his head in laughter and slapping his knee….. (Read the interesting discussion about the Assad’s presence at the play by that took place after?)<\/a><\/p>\n Pretty in black: These girls socialize in the Umayyad Mosque, but they have other options now\u2014hundreds of caf\u00e9s, bars, restaurants.<\/p><\/div>\n …. Restaurants are old hat already. The new craze is small hotels in historic buildings. Most Syrians I know seem connected to one or another project that aims to install water beds in old courtyard houses with mother-of-pearl-inlaid furniture and gardens of bougainvillea. May Mamarbachi was the first with Beit al Mamlouka, an eight-room gem. She now has competition from the Talisman Hotel, which has a pool, forty-inch TVs, and twice as many rooms (though half were built illegally, it is whispered). Estimates range from ten to fifty small, chic hotels under construction. Can they all make money? Ask not to reason with those caught in rapture. Even the Aga Khan is in on it: He wants to combine three large palaces to form what must be the Macy’s of small hotels.<\/p>\n
\nPoised to play a pivotal new role in the Middle East, Syria struggles to escape its dark past.
\nBy Don Belt
\nPhotograph by Ed Kashi
\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/s.ngm.com\/2009\/11\/syria\/img\/syria-damascus-615.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\nNational Geographic Magazine
\n1145 17th Street, NW
\nWashington, DC 20036<\/p>\n
\nImad Moustapha
\nAmbassador of Syria to the United States of America<\/p>\n
\n<\/span>
\nConclusion:<\/span>
\nTo sum up, as a Syrian and as a reader of the National Geographic, I expect a piece on Syria in this magazine to give justice for both.\u00a0 It saddens me that this article gives none to either.<\/p>\n![\"Fox](\"http:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/images\/580727\/0_21_102609_bedouin.jpg\")
\nBy Amy Kellogg
\nFox News<\/p>\n
\nby <\/span><\/span>Oliver August
\nConde Nast <\/em>Traveler, November 2009<\/em>
\n<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.concierge.com\/images\/cnt\/articles\/november09\/damascus\/syria_umayyadmosque_001p.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.concierge.com\/images\/cnt\/articles\/november09\/damascus\/syria_zbar_001p.jpg\")