Our friends had left to return to the greyness of Paris and we continued on our own our journey through ancient Syria; moreover, we had to make up our minds to leave the refined Dar Halabia hotel, a haven of peace in the heart of the souq of Aleppo. Finding a car with a driver turned out to be more difficult than expected: the driver of a 1960s Mercedes contacted the day before didn't come to pick us up, so we decided to go back to the bus and taxi terminal to see if we would have better luck. The prices were outrageous, some drivers didn't want to leave for several days, or they didn't understand the itinerary we wanted to follow... Suddenly, a young man came forward shyly, wanted to look at our map and, asking for help translating his words, inquired about our destination.
With the help of gestures, motions, improvised translators, Zoer understood that we wanted to set off for five days in the north of the country following the road along the Turkish border to reach Hassake, Der Er Zor, Rassaffa, hama, Malula, Bosra and finally Damascus. He immediately proposed an honest price and after a handshake we say to him: we leave right away! We got on board his minibus and when it was time to turn on the ignition, Zoer was called back by his colleagues who demanded that we get off the vehicle. We turned a deaf ear... and the Police arrived... After a long discussion, Zoer asked us to wait, a friend of his stayed with us while the other drivers kept trying to get us off the minivan, but we didn't show any willingness...
A thousand unanswered questions ran through our minds; Zoer came back assuring us that everything would be sorted out in less than an hour, and that we should wait for him at the Dar Halabia Hotel, all of it explained with gestures and a few words of a mix of Arabic and English; his friend accompanied us to the hotel and the wait began... We had decided, without consulting each other, to trust him; he was so shy and kind. Five minutes later Zoer was in the lobby of the hotel, having the porter explain our route to him once again, and we set off...
Zoer explained to us, always with the help of gestures and the few English words he knew, and we with our very limited knowledge of Arabic, that the Police wanted to put him in prison because he didn't have the right to hire out his minibus inside the bus terminal (outside, however, it's possible) because his minibus is a public vehicle that runs the Aleppo - Kurkunia route, located about 50 km away. Zoer had managed to avoid prison by paying a fine of about 1000 Syrian pounds (a large sum for them) and the day went on, running into the Police... a real nightmare: every 50/100 km the Police stopped us, and although they never bothered us, Zoer always had to show his documents. On the second day we realised that Zoer was paying the Police: all drivers have to submit to the bribe unless they are carrying tourists.
Modest and naive, Zoer always parked far from the checkpoint so that we wouldn't see these scenes degrading to the image of the Police force. He didn't know that if the Police realise that tourists can notice the existence of legalised kickbacks, they let the driver go without demanding the bribe. This journey, forever inscribed in our minds, allowed us to cross little-known, desert, enchanting areas, to meet people who welcomed us with open arms, offering us the little they possessed, but the encounter with Zoer and his family, who live in a tiny village in the desert, will remain unforgettable because he defied the Police and risked prison to accompany us.
What had we said or done to deserve such selflessness on his part, especially since it was the first time he had dared to throw himself into the adventure of transporting tourists? We were his first clients, his first time, his first great journey in his native Syria, and he managed to enchant us thanks to his helpfulness and greatness of soul, always trying to please us, finding a way to guess our desires so as to let us experience the splendours of the thousand and one tales as we dream of them from the West...
Graziella (angy8@bluewin.ch) 1. THE DAR HALABIA HOTEL in the souq of Aleppo can be contacted at: TEL: ++ 963 21 222 65 51 / 224 84 97 FAX: ++ 963 21 221 96 57 or E-mail: halabiatour@net.sy or 2. Zoer: look for him at the bus and taxi terminal opposite the Bab Antakia gate
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