Bedouin on the Horizon

In the middle of the picture, on the horizon, one can just make out two Bedouin tents. The Bedouin pasture their flocks on the newly harvested fields. In exchange for what their goats eat, the goats leave behind helpful fertilizer.

Another tell on the horizon

Can you see it? You may need to save this photo and enlarge it. It's out there!

From Aleppo to Damascus

Dennis and I returned to Damascus yesterday by bus. Along the way we saw numerous "tells" on the horizon. Below these mounds one finds the stratigraphic remains of ancient settlements that accumulated over time and then were abandoned.

Run Robert Run!

In the white shirt, Robert darts across the street out of the way of the oncoming taxi. We are on our way to a nice farewell dinner on our last night as a full group in Aleppo.

Damascus at Night

Damascus at Night

Damascus at Night

The next three photos were taken from the 9th floor terrace of the Damascus Int'l Hotel where we twice visited for an evening drink. During our second visit a film crew showed up and began shooting some type of TV show. They weren't too happy with our chatter in the background.

Final Fireworks

The fireworks were in celebration of the recent elections and the president's visit to Aleppo. They were more impressive than this sequence of photos might suggest.

More Fireworks in Aleppo

Fireworks in Aleppo

Rolling Black Outs

It has been hot these last few days in Aleppo. We're not sure if this is the cause of the "rolling black outs" that have taken place each of the last few afternoons. The city loses electricity in sections. It seems like it happens to the part of town with the new internet cafes first, then proceeds across town to our hotel. A collective groan goes up in the internet cafe and all the lights go out. This is very frustrating when one is half way through typing an email or blog entry!

The Omayyad Mosque in Aleppo

The Suq

Move your A**

Dennis walks past a small horse and cart from which a man is selling house plants.

Chez Olga II

Miller's room in Aleppo.

Chez Olga

Our hallway in our hotel

Breakfast -- Chez Olga

We share breakfast with our new friends from the south of France.

The Tourist Hotel, a.k.a. Chez Olga

Our lovely abode in Aleppo. We're very comfortable here.

Miller at work. "So that's why my back hurts each night!"

Hard at work in the Aleppo museum: LtoR Dennis, Robert, and Carole.

Lunchtime

Above: Dennis enjoys his various grilled meats. Below: Carole and Robert pay the check. What remains of our ungrilled meat hangs over the counter.

Is that our bus?

Do we go to station 22? No, wait--station 12. No, wait--22 was right! In any case, we found our bus to Aleppo.

Back in Business-commentary

It seems as if the CoolNet cafe is fast enough to upload pictures. It feels good to be back in the blogosphere.

Back in Business

Chaos at the Damascus bus station!

Still No Uploads

Once again friends, I am sorry to say that the local internets are preventing me from uploading pictures. I am continuing to take a lot of pictures and will distribute them to my fellow teammates before the end of the mission. I will also continue to try to upload picutres whenever I come to the internet cafe, but I am pessimistic about the possible success.

Today we found a new internet cafe and the uploads still do not work. The new cafe is considerably farther away from our hotel. We'll see if I can find my way home when I leave today!

Arrived in Aleppo

Hello family and friends. We have arrived safely in Aleppo. For the moment the technology at the internet cafe is preventing me from uploading more photos. I hope to solve the problem soon!!

Our friend and colleague Muyassar wows the crowd with her presentation on cylinder seals.

Pierre and Michel give a television interview.

A quick cup of tea or coffee before the conference

The conference poster

Top: Dennis examines a tablet (or is he sleeping) and Etienne ponders something. Bottom: Robert, Carole, and Françoise busy at work.

Chez Mahmoud

The group sits in the front room at Mahmoud's house. His mother is hosting us for a lavish meal. We depart grateful, but stuffed.

The military school decorated with lights and a presidential portrait.

A corner restaurant lit up for the evening. Look closely and see Dennis crossing from left to right. Look out for the speeding bus Dennis!

05-31-07 Work continues

We have fallen into our groove. For those readers not familiar with the standard day for us…We begin our day with a small breakfast that we arrange for ourselves in our hotel. By 8:15 a.m. we begin our 15 minute walk to the museum where we meet the museum staff, sometimes for coffee. We are usually well into our work by 9 a.m. After our work day ends around 2:45 we usually walk to Al-Shamiat restaurant for lunch as a group. After lunch we usually split and take care of our personal business. Some pay a visit to an internet café, while others run errands, and some take naps. I usually fight the urge to take a nap. After visiting the internet café I try to edit the photos that I took during the day at the museum. This takes a few hours each day. Depending on everyone’s circumstances we sometime gather for an evening snack and drink around 7:30 p.m. This leaves a little time to finish up work before going to bed. I have been falling asleep very quickly so far.

I have been trying to read “Right Ho, Jeeves,” by P. G. Wodehouse, but have not had much luck due to exhaustion at the end of the day. In the plot-line as far as I have read, Jeeves has promised to help Bertie’s friend Gussie Fink-Nottle in his attempt to woo Madeline Bassett. If the story progresses in the standard fashion of the Jeeves stories, ultimately Bertie will attempt to interfere with Jeeves’ plan, but Jeeves with be two steps ahead and solve the problem, usually by means that lead to Bertie’s embarrassment or humiliation.