We departed on the 4th. At 3.am landed in Cairo at 7.30 am. And straight away took a guided tour of the main highlights of Cairo, The Pyramids and the City. Got into Aleppo at 8 pm. everything was taken care of at the Air Port. Like immigration, transportation etc. checked into a 5 star Hotel called “Chaba Cham Palace Hotel” which was booked for us all. It is a beautiful Hotel.
ON THE 5TH.
In the morning, we all were briefed as to what to expect in coming days. Most of the meals consist of many many types of Salads, traditional food, which is very similar to Lebanese food and then lots of deserts and fruits. In the evening we were hosted to a wonderful dinner by Mawla na Hazar Imam at a historical place, which is a very old building with high ceiling and small windows. Hazar Imam personally received all of us including local dignitaries, Award recipients, foreign dignitaries and other ceremony participants.
The venue Dar Zamaria is a complex of three traditional courtyard houses dating from 17th and 18th centuries. Prince Amyn Mohamed, Princess Zahara, Prince Hussein, Mark Boyden were all seated on different tables. Wonderful musical entertainment was provided.
ON THE 6TH.
In the morning, a slide presentation on the history of Aleppo and the project for the Rehabilitation of the old city was shown for an hour and then we were taken to a guided tour of the city and were shown many Historic places and Souk Market. Aleppo has many such sites. At 4. We all got ready and headed for the famous “Citadel, the site for Award Ceremony. This is a very very old and one of the largest in the world. This is mentioned in the Guinness book of record. This building, which overlooks the city, is a magnificent symbol of the Arabian military architecture. As we came out of our Bus, marching bands with lots of volunteers were there to receive all of us. It took us almost 15 minutes to climb large stone stairs to get to the top from where you can see the city. As we entered the hall that has a very high ceiling with four large pillars all carved very artistically. Concealed lighting made this place look great. The place was tastefully decorated in fresh flowers. All invited guests took their seats in the Throne Room where the award ceremony was held.
Upon Hazar Imam’s arrival with the Prime Minister Mario of Syria, Silk Road team headed by Yoyo Ma provided the live music. Tabalchi Dass from New Delhi, Sentur from New York, Sitar player from Boston and other musicians from many parts of the world. At the close of this ceremony, we visited the monuments within the Citadel. Refreshments and traditional entertainment was provided. Hazar Imam and the Noorany family and the winners of the Award arrived soon after we got seated which were all prearranged. The menu was wonderful and all had a good time.
ON THE 7TH. This was Winners’ Seminar Day. It started at 9 am till 5 pm with a short break for coffee and lunch. Hazar Imam with Princess Zahra, Prince Hussein and Mark Boyden were there till the end seated on the front raw. We were fortunately we got the seats in the third raw. The Slide presentation of the winning sites was followed by questions and answer by the winners. This was truly an eye opener in the field of Architecture. We had a dinner with Hazar Imam and the invited guests.
ON THE 8TH.
We left Aleppo for Tartus where we stayed at a very nice 5 star Hotel Shaheen. On the way, we had wonderful Lunch at the water front Restaurant with nice music. All the Roads we traveled on, were tarmac and no potholes.
ON THE 9TH.
At 7.30 am we started our couch ride to AlKhawabi half an hour of drive. The road to Al Khawabi was all winding road going through Mountains and valleys. Truly a wonderful scenic part of the world. As we approached the site, we saw a Mountain with a big sign made out of small stones “WELCOME HAZAR IMAM” with a heart sign at the bottom. This was to be our first site of “The Deedar”.Backyard of vice President banu of Syria National council was leveled and carpeted to accommodate some 10,000 murids. Truly this was a unique experience of Life. We had wonderful Deedar. All LIF members and their spouses were given front rows right opposite Bapa.This was just like described by Mehdi in his mail. Just to add to this, all had brought their own lunch. The discipline was wonderful. Hazar Imam looked very Happy and at the time of leaving, after Hazar Imam got to the end, he turned around again. Looked around all over the Jamat once more, gave a big smile of happiness and satisfaction and then left. This was one of the most memorable moments. After this wonderful Deedar, we were taken to a town called Hana where we spent a night. We had a tour of the area. Syria is fairly developed country with all infrastructures in place. All these places we went to, had good roads, electricity and good water.
ON THE 10TH.
We departed at 7.30 again for Salamia. As we got near the town, we saw lots of people walking towards the site. The whole town was decorated with the national and our MY Flags. This was truly a very touching experience. Many shops and houses were decorated with colorful lightings. The site of Deear was countries best Agricultural Institute. This Institute was built and donated by Sultan Mohamed Shah 100 years ago. 10 acres were covered with carpets to accommodate over 100 thousand. The Government had provided with lots of security officers and the arrangement was very well done. The stage was in carved wood with colorful draping. The volunteers were smartly dressed and were very organized in rendering their duties. As Hazar Imam entered, the jamat was quite emotionally charged up. Some saying salwat, some waving hands. Hazar Imam walked by with smile and acknowledging murids. During Hazar imam’s presence, it was a very emotional time. There were hardly any dry eyes. Before Hazar Imam’s firmans, Quranic Ayat and Kasida were resited. In firman, Khudavind talked about devercity, Education. Hazar Imam reminded all muslims bounded by one “Shahada” La Illah ha Ilella” which unites thousand million people who over the centuries, live in different cultures,speak different languages, live in different political contexts and who differentiate in some interpretations of their faith. Hazar Imam thanked the President of the Country for inviting and for providing with wonderful facilities to make his stay a very pleasant one. After Deedar, we left for a visit to Prince Aly Khan’s moseleum where we all said fatya and then visited Salamia Jamat Khana. Afteer this we left for Damascuss. This was the most wonderful time of our life. We had wonderful deedar and for this Mubaraki to you all. We thought of you all.
We spent a week in Damascuss and had a very nice time. This is a great county to visit.