(posted from Beirut, Lebanon)

27 January 2009

Palmyra, Syria

Two things I must mention before I forget. The first is that I have seen an incredibly large number of dwarfs (little people, midgets, whatever) in Syria. They're everywhere. I never knew that there was a high rate of dwarfism in their population. The second is that most hotels I've been in since arriving in Egypt have a little hose next to the toilet. This is for ass cleaning. It has a litte nozzle and handle similar to the hoses found at some kitchen sinks in the West. I took a few pictures of the one in Damascus, and will upload them when possible. Though I never actually used it, I did test it out and took a picture of the device in operation. Anyways, I have now seen the ancient ruins of Palmyra. I'm not really into ruins, but these were good ones. And there are very few tourists here, so I almost had the entire place to myself. Very cool.