On the road IN Damascus...

Day 2
Breakfast was included with the hotel, so we headed down for tea, fresh bread, amazing cherry jam, and cheese sandwiches. Noah amused himself by eating the white of a hard boiled egg and then "building a house" for the yolk (with pita, olive pits, and bread crusts) before he devoured it.
Back to the room for cartoons and guidebook reading before heading out on a walking tour of the old city of Damascus.
Having every intention of following the Lonely Planet's walking tour, we ended up devising our own. We delighted in the Azem Palace with its serene courtyard, intricately painted ceilings, and stonework...sigh. Absolutely beautiful. Noah's favorite part was the hammam (the bath) - "its a maze, Mama." Great for boys. A little worrying for moms. Ma'alesh. A friendly, royal cat buddied up to Aaron - clearly the spirit of Sappho (our old cat who went to kitty heaven before we left for Jordan) was traveling with us.
Went from there to the Umayyad Mosque....yep. In capital letters. Wow. After donning my druid-like garb (when in Rome...) and removing our shoes (Noah was thrilled), we entered the huge marble-tiled courtyard where shebab ('dudes') seems to clean the floor 24/7. Noah went nuts running at top speed throughout the courtyard and through the carpeted prayer hall. The prayer hall was the fav. - thank god (Allah?) he was doing SILENT running. Went into a room - following a lot of chadored ladies (women wearing - for lack of a better description - sheets over their heads) that led to the shrine of (to?) Hussein (Mohammed's grandson). Reminded me of my childhood in Iran as there were robed women wailing, pounding on the shrine, and gesticulating (not that my childhood was filled with wailing, but we did visit a few Shiite mosques). Later read that it’s a Shiite pilgrimage spot - hence the scene.
Wandered the suq (market) some more - the rugs and suzanis (hand-stitched cloths from Uzbekistan) are AMAZING. We ended up at Khan Assad Pasha, a beautiful Ottoman warehouse decorated with black and white stonework. The size was impressive and the nooks and crannies (was with all of Damascus) so intriguing. In order to explain the function of the Khan to the questioning Noah, I told him that a long time ago, if he were a soap seller, he would have taken his soap to Damascus to sell. He would have left his camel or donkey downstairs in the khan, put his soap in a warehouse, and slept upstairs. The explanation seemed to work, but now Noah is obsessed with soap. He found the 'soap' - a big, pink sponge - in the bathroom where his diaper was changed and marched (the soap - not the diaper, whew) to show everyone.
Its remarkable - right across the street from the 'museum' khan is a functioning khan. There are tons of them throughout the old city.
We lunched at Leila’s and even though the atmospheric rooftop terrace was closed we enjoyed a delicious meal in the courtyard dining room. The highlight was the eggplant kubbeh.
Stopped by Gharoudi Chocolates after lunch (Noah and I read an article about them in Saudi Aramco before we left the States). I think these are the same chocolates that we can get in Amman. Not cheap, but so good.
Wandered through a suq outside of the old city (built up by the Turks?) and picked up rolls and fruit for tomorrow's bus trip to Palmyra. Came back to the hotel to rest, shower, and watch cartoons before heading back to the old city.
Got lost looking for an internet cafe (so as to download photos onto a flash drive) in the Christian quarter. Man, was it dark. Found the cafe, downloaded photos, and set out for pizza and beer at an artist cafe...that we never found. Ended up doing pizza and beer someplace else (Beit Kissri?). Pizza and salad hit the spot, the beer was mediocre.