Why a Booktrail?
1966 – It may have been published in 1967 but this journey to Damascus takes you on a journey from the days of the Amorites to the 1966 revolution.
Mirror to Damascus
What you need to know before your trail
Damascus is one of the oldest cities on earth – its origins wrapped in a series of mysteries and enigmas and layers and layers of culture and tradition. So a journey of discovery of this city is bound to be an interesting one.
Colin Thubron is known for his travel writing and he was named by the Times newspapers as being one of the fifty greatest post -war writers. He unwraps the city, examines its contents, pays tribute to its people and helps to illustrate its history.
All sprinkled with a generous dose of humour and wry observation
Travel Guide
Great cities pain pictures. Cairo a pyramid, Shiraz a rose. Damascus conjures running water, a river out of Lebanon which carries down calcarerous soil and smears it over the desert for a hundred and seventy square miles, giving birth to a miracle of trees.
From the very first line of the introduction, the picture of Damascus starts to paint itself, and the picture which starts to emerge is one you can’t take your eyes off. Even its name is though to mean ‘ the righteous blood’ as this is the place where Cain slew Abel. Thubron writes that he started to write a history of the city and to describe its many facets but that it became a personal journey and one of its people.
With quotes from the Koran, Shakespeare and peppered at the start of every chapter, you can immediately feel the sandy ground at your feet, the silvery crest of the olive trees and the mountainous landscape
“To view Damascus is to view confusion”
It’s a city hiding its identity, its streets contorted and overlapping, high walls, trees – all attempts like its woman whose beauty is customary veiled.
These are the descriptions of how Thubron guides us on to Damascus.and with the beauty comes the history – how it is known as the birthplace of Abraham. Against this backdrop of history he takes us to meet the people here too – from the man on the street to the young boy who kisses the grill of the Gate of Jupiter, one of the 8 ancient city gates, the stories are personal and uplifting.
Damascus has many many layers and each one reveals something new and equally fascinating. Step back in time…
Where Next?
