As we drove to Jerusalem, I had wondered what it would be like. Now I know. Jerusalem sits on a hill, a bastion of intolerance, its position inland symbolic of its isolation and of the stark contrast to the laic openness and modernity of Tel Aviv just sixty-seven kilometres away on the coast. Known, fittingly, as the navel of the world, it is the epitome of all that is regressive and inward-looking. It turns its back on the world and focuses its schizophrenic energy on how it can keep itself only for Jews, only for Muslims, only for Christians, each time to the exclusion of the hated other. It cannot, of course, fulfil all of these aims simultaneously. To me, it represents the abject failure of the representatives of the three great monotheistic religions to practise what they preach and an excuse for many others to barricade themselves behind the placards of bitter tribalism. Instead of love, tolerance, peace and forgiveness, the city encapsulates and exudes the antitheses of all its protagonists purport to espouse. If there is a God, surely he must despair when he looks down on Jerusalem.
Am I biased? Of course I am. In this supposedly holiest of cities, none of their Gods answered my prayers.
Afterword
While I was writing From Souk to Souk, the already volatile Middle East was swept up in the Arab Spring, dramatically changing the lives of millions of people. The media are filled with images of crowds filling the streets and accounts of revolutions. But when you have actually been to the countries and cities affected, watching events unfold feels very different.
Syria has been transformed from the country I visited. It used to be possible to walk the streets of central Damascus safely at night; now, by all accounts – in addition to the dangers brought by the fighting in the civil war – going out after dusk is a life-threatening experience as gangs roam the city. Aleppo, where I once contemplated the calm of the ancient citadel, has been the site of fierce fighting and large parts of the souk have been destroyed. Beirut’s Place Sassine became a scene of carnage when a bomb went off and in Iraq the number of terror attacks is once more on the rise. Even Turkey has not been spared civil unrest.
It is easy to sigh and to dismiss the troubles in these seemingly distant countries as belonging to another world, one which does not concern us. Yet I hope that in From Souk to Souk I have been able to show a different side to life in these countries and that a common heritage links the lives of people around the globe to those of the inhabitants of the region, both past and present. The societies I encountered are in some ways markedly different from the one I live in, but my experiences have shown me that the aspirations and desires of the ordinary people are not so unlike our own.
Both on a cultural and a human level, the region covered in this book has an amazing amount to offer the visitor. With every visit, I learn something new, discover somewhere different and am continually impressed by the warmth and hospitality of the people.
And, in case you were wondering, all the postcards from Yemen arrived at their destinations.
Robin Ratchford
March 2014
Acknowledgements
With thanks to Ann, Eva and José for their help and support.
With thanks to James at Untamed Borders for having made
the trip to Afghanistan possible
Thanks for joining me From Souk to Souk!
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About the Author
Robin Ratchford was born in the UK. He thinks it was collecting colourful stamps as a child that first sparked his interest in foreign lands and cultures. He has lived in six different countries and visited more than a hundred others and their territories. Robin has a background in international affairs, and travel, adventure and discovery are central themes in his life. He is currently based in Belgium, where he lives with his dog Mortimer.
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