Skip to content

Joey Goes Global

ESL and Travel Blog of Joey Tafuro

Menu
  • Mission
  • Photos
  • Social Media
  • Past Trips
  • Contact
  • Videos
Menu

The Road to Damascus is Paved With Uncertainty

Posted on January 26, 2011 by admin

How all of political issues and the U.S. response directly effects my travel is more about frustration than anything else. My plan when I arrived was to stay a couple of nights in Beirut and then cross the border of Syria on the Beirut-Damascus Road. The first day I was here the road was closed due to riots and then yesterday there were more demonstrations following a speech by the leader of Hezbollah. Overall though, the situation remains peaceful as both sides have seemingly transitioned democratically.

The U.S. has had some strong statements against what has gone on here in Lebanon, even though everything was done within the constitution and through the democratic process. It is frustrating the Lebanese to hear the U.S. is reconsidering it’s economic ties. It is interesting to see the situation from this side as I get a unique perspective.

I went to the Syrian embassy to try to get a visa to travel overland to Damascus but was told there is a 1 month waiting period for American citizens. My second option is to attempt the land crossing with out the pre-arranged visa in hand. In normal circumstances the odds of an American getting through at the land border are about 50/50. The current elected Prime Minister is backed by Syrians so the U.S. response has not been taken well throughout the region. This means, the likelihood of me getting through is very low. There is nothing dangerous about trying though. At worst I lose a half a day. The Beirut-Damascus road is about 3 hours. I will likely be turned around at the border and told to go back to Beirut. If this happens I’ll visit a few more sights in Lebanon and then move on to Jordan by plane.

Keep reading to see if my cunning plan works!

1 thought on “The Road to Damascus is Paved With Uncertainty”

  1. Jean says:
    January 29, 2011 at 8:43 pm

    I was thinking about your plans to go to Cairo when I heard about all the hubbub in Egypt. I’m glad to hear you’re staying safe and hope your cunning plan works for adventure’s sake!

    Travel safe.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

  • Learn English: Present Continuous
  • Warm-up Activity using For & Since
  • 5 Years Later: Joey Goes Global on ABC News!
  • Survival (teaching the infinitive)
  • ESL Lesson Plan: Relative Pronouns (no preparation)

Recent Comments

  • jtafuro on Wake up Mr. Joe, time to write!
  • Holly on Wake up Mr. Joe, time to write!
  • Eka Nasution on Why tourists are wrong about Medan
  • Hargeisa, Somaliland: getting there and away | Laila On The Road on From Harar to Hargeisa: The Border Crossing
  • Soso on Are you a Muslim or Christian?

Archives

  • April 2016
  • February 2016
  • February 2014
  • March 2013
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • January 2007
  • March 2005

Categories

  • Africa and SE Asia 2007
  • Colombia 2009
  • Food in Medan
  • Horn of Africa 2010
  • Indonesia
  • Learning Bahasa Indonesia
  • Middle East 2011
  • Morocco 2005
  • Random Thoughts
  • Savings Tips
  • School
  • South East Asia 2011
  • teaching
  • TEFL Related
  • Travel Inspiration
  • Uncategorized

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org
© 2023 Joey Goes Global | Powered by Superbs Personal Blog theme