I read this morning that France has helped broker a diplomatic breakthrough in which Syria and Lebanon are upgrading their relationship on the step towards eventually establishing embassies in the other’s country. Having said that, Dr. Bashar is apparently dragging his feet a little, wanting other things to happen first, so we’ll see how long it takes for this to play out.
I must say that it is nice to see France step in to an area in which it has historical relevance (as opposed to the US which just has global political clout), particularly considering that this is supposed to be the (undesignated) Year of Middle East Peace and not much seems to be happening with that from the US side. Of course Middle East peace is not just a concern for the US and others should step in regardless.
July 13, 2008 at 5:13 pm
All what I hope, is to stay America faraway as much as possible, man don’t get me wrong, but U.S.A never wanted peace in middle east.
August 15, 2008 at 3:37 pm
I came across your blog while searching “Aleppo.” It’s been very informative so far, as I am planning a nine month stay in Aleppo myself, working for Berlitz. I was wondering if you could tell me anything about that…you’ve mentioned Berlitz a few times in your posts. Were you working or studying there? Any information you have would be a great help.
August 22, 2008 at 7:21 am
Frans, I actually did both, although primarily I was working since I already knew Arabic. A word of warning, though. A couple of us who wanted to study Arabic found that it was a bit hard juggling that and teaching since we spent most of our day speaking English. But you might be better with time management, so go for it if you want to.
Aleppo is great and the students are very friendly. They can help you adjust, get around, tell you which restaurants are best, etc.
I’m sure you’ll enjoy your stay.