First of all, a moment of silence for one of my absolute favorite ladies - Molly Ivins. I just read that she passed away from breast cancer and the world is a worse place from the loss.
Yes, I have been silent. Quick update for now, but the Syria adventure seems to be over. The people are still great, but the mukhabarat seems to be a little down on some of us. When I went to inquire about returning to work at Amideast I found the place had been shut down by the mukhabarat. There were these very Soviet-looking wax seals on the doors. Interesting.
Then, I headed for Turkey for a visit. Planned to stay a few months and study the language and return to Syria. Well, at the dreaded Bab Al-Hawa border crossing I was held for over an hour despite having a current multiple-entry visa. Luckily the world's best bus drivers, Suleyman and Mehmet held the bus. And luckily the other riders did not come for my head. They did all poor into the station wondering what was going on, but luckily seemed amused when I turned to them and threw up my hands to admit the problem was mine. The message from the man ın charge, wearing a spiffy track suit, was somewhat obvious. Though polite, he pointedly asked me, "So when you go to Turkey you are not returning to Syria, correct?" So, I suppose not.
So, I am now in S. Turkey and will head to Ankara in a week and not sure what is next. I may stick around, but I have some things tugging at me to return to the US. Just wanted to post something in the mean time.
Salaam.
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