Yarn Shopping in Syria

This is looking back ath the fiber/notions section of the large market in Damascus.


One of the shops:


This cost me about 3 USD!


This past weekend was a three-day weekend in Jordan (King Hussein's birthday). So, three classmates and I decided to go to Damascus. We had only one full day there, and one afternoon, so we decided to concentrate our time on the Old City and the adjacent market. It was amazing! There is an entire yarn souk. In Damascus people handpaint skeins, which are sold by weight. You will find cotton, linen, wool, and synthetics. If you ever have the chance, go through the main entrance to the market. Walk all the way to the end (where you are let out to a courtyard adjacent to the Umayyad Mosque, and take the last right turn before you enter the courtyard. You'll find yarn, beads, ribbons, and buttons at amazing prices.

Syrians are also amazingly kind and hospitable folks, making a visit to their country a pleasure. Damascus was beautiful, and we all enjoied the fusion of French with Arabic food. Even paying tourist prices, Damascus was a steal!

Knitting in Egypt

I returned from Egypt last night. I took my jacket with me, and I'm almost finished. When I left 10 days ago I was up to the stripes following the third gusset on the back. Now, I'm knitting the first ridge of the collar. Not bad! The only thing I did not enjoy about taking this along was that it's really hot in Egypt, and having a big wool jacket on my lap was a drag. Now that I'm back in Amman, I need this jacket. Tomorrow the high will be 54 (Fahrenheit). I think winter is nearly here.

All in all I've enjoyed this project. It's easy to work on. It doesn't go quickly or anything, but I appreciate that if I'm going to knit for 2 months solid that I have a project I can work on that doesn't require me watching each stitch I knit.