Product Description

In February 2001 Scott C. Davis flew to Damascus, attended raucous political salons, talked all night, and sat in local cafes debating the nature of the evolving Syrian nation. Such openness was new in Syria. Was it a sign of things to come? Would the Damascene Curtain fall as heavily and permanently as did the Berlin Wall? Would Damascus become another tourist trap bursting with American franchise restaurants, another Amman? To answer these questions, and to give a feel for the real country beneath the rapidly changing surfaces, Davis tells a story of an earlier time when Syrians did not discuss politics for fear of the 'mukhabarat' and when some hesitated, in their own homes, even to mention the name of the Syrian president. Fourteen years earlier, in October 1987, Davis had come to Damascus and begun a slow, difficult journey through Syrian society. He met artists and intellectuals, wealthy landowners, retired mystics, and also slept on the floor beside humble peasants and working folk. The times were quiet, jobs scarce, and ordinary folk could take a few moments for tea with a guest. Many of those Davis met took pride in their own simplicity. Denied political power and wealth, they aspired instead to wisdom - or at least to perfecting a sardonic wit. This tale of grace, humour, and humanity turns on the author's search for truth and, also, for a few good quotes for his book - a search that took him across Syria in the footsteps of Alexander to the ancient Roman Bridge over the Tigris River in the far eastern tip of the country - and then brought him racing back to Damascus to find the Patriarch of Antioch.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #132191 in Books
• Published on: 2001-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 388 pages

From Publishers Weekly
In a historical moment when the Western world's antennae are zeroed in on all things Middle Eastern, books about that part of the world, such as Scott C. Davis's The Road from Damascus: A Journey through Syria, take on heightened significance. In 1987, five years after the Hama massacre, and with Syria seemingly on the brink of war with Israel, a na‹ve Davis made his first visit. Fourteen years later he returned to find the country radically different: less militarized, less uneasy, less frightening. Refreshingly candid about his pre-1987 ignorance about the Arab world and about his sometimes overblown but very real fears, Davis chronicles his meetings with Christian, Muslim and Jewish members of all stations of Syrian society, painting a cultural portrait that is vivid, moving and wise in its humble, wide-eyed approach. Photos and maps.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Over a decade ago, Davis, a sometimes carpenter/writer (The World of Patience Gromes), decided to leave family, friends, and job behind in Seattle and travel to Syria for a few months. Concerned friends warned him not to go as he was not an experienced traveler and knew only a few words of Arabic and no French. But he went anyway, first in 1987 and then again in 2001. He visited Roman ruins and Islamic and Christian sites and met artists, intellectuals, smugglers, and mystics, as well as many ordinary Syrians, experiencing their openness and hospitality. At the end of his first visit, Davis met with the patriarch of Antioch, who reminded him that according to the Bible, St. Paul experienced his conversion via a vision of God on the road to Damascus. But, as Davis learned during his second visit to Syria, it is not the vision of God that a seeker receives on the road to Damascus that is important but rather how the seeker puts it into practice in life (i.e., how he or she walks the road from Damascus). While the premise of this travelog is interesting (a novice in Syria), Davis's writing is sometimes plodding, and the text falters. Overall, however, this is a worthwhile addition to most libraries. Lee Arnold, Historical Soc. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review
“The Road from Damascus is more than travelogue... Insight, humor, and offhand eloquence are on every page of this book.” -- —Al-Jadid Magazine, Summer 2001

Customer Reviews

Syria at Street Level
Scott Davis' wonderful The Road from Damascus is a treat.
I have found it difficult to put a face on this area of the world, to actually get a sense of how citizens of the Middle East live, work and think. Davis gives the reader a ground-floor vantage. Introducing the reader to the Syrians, young and old, male and female, who sat next to him on rickety busses. Met with him at monastaries. And introduced him to their families, their art, their culture. The Syrian secret police are never very far from the author and rarely out of his thoughts. Which adds to tension that drives this journey through Syria and kept me turning pages.

Not a big fan of "travel" books, I found this one to be seasoned with the author's integrity, humor and affection for the Syrian people. Which made it most enjoyable.

Good Quality Companionship
In 1987, the author boarded a flight to Damascus to spend three months pursuing a dream as a travel writer. No hotels-and-sightseeing dilettante, he kept extensive notes as he traveled the streets and visited homes and offices in a country that in that year was far more security-conscious than the one he found when he returned in early 2001. He writes candidly, sometimes quoting at too much length, but quickly shows himself to be good company for a reader. His intrepid honesty and sincere desire to illuminate grassroots realities of a nation too often branded with stereotypes are admirable. DD

Why this book is intriguing
Why would a Stanford graduate turned mountain climber/carpenter drop everything and, on a shoestring-budget, wander through the deserts of Syria? An attraction to adventure -- a quest. Davis takes the reader along as he visits the homes of Syrians,converses about spirituality, and visits sacred locations, all under the insidious scrutiny of the local police. Davis's narrative captures the ambiguities, fear, and exhilaration instilled by unfamiliar situations in remote places, while keeping a lighthearted perspective now that the trial is behind him.