i'm trying to decide where i will go next year. 2005 is my turn to choose and earlier in the year i narrowed my choices to three countries: iran, syria and egypt. iran has since dropped off the list because i decided i really need to go to an arabic speaking country if i want to make progress in my arabic studies (and dropping iran is seeming like a good call these days)
in the weeks leading up to the election, when people asked me where i am planning to go in 2005, i would say "syria or egypt, depending on who wins the election." it was kinda a joke, my planning (such as it was) never had much to do with kerry or bush being the president. but now that bush has won, i guess i should decide just how serious that "kinda" was.
i don't have to decide right now. syrian visas are really a last minute thing. the time you are allowed to enter the country starts running as soon as it is issued, which is why most people wait until the last minute to finalize their trip.
although most americans are not aware of it, syria is one of the few countries in the world last year that had a large increase in foreign tourists. actually, much of the increase is from arab tourists, who are having a harder and harder time getting visas to europe and the u.s. and syria's liberalism on dress and alcohol makes it a good place for gulf arabs to cut loose. usually crowds of other tourists is a reason to scratch a place off my list, but seeing arabs from conservative gulf states cut loose is actually a draw for me.
of course, a lot is happening in the region. syria borders both active conflicts in the region and is (arguably, at least) a participant in both. occasionally the neo-cons push to invade the country, but with the u.s. military bogged down in iraq and suffering troop shortages, i don't see how we have the capability anymore. i can also turn that argument around--if we are going to wreck syria, i want to see it now before we mess it up.
but, in all seriousness, i'm still not sure what to do. i don't think the country is actually all that dangerous to travel in right now and i do have some contacts there. but i also don't trust this crazy president of ours when it comes to the middle east. i guess i will just wait and see.
whether i go to syria or egypt there is also the issue of when i should go. i usually travel in the fall--september or october. it recently occurred to me that i could arrange it so i a there during ramadan. i'm not sure if that would make the trip more interesting or more difficult. i am rather attached to eating during daylight. i hear restaurants will be open, but it still may feel a little awkward. i could schedule my trip so that some of it is during ramadan and some not.
um, that's it. sometimes these rants kind of run out of steam. i got nothing else.
