We were exploring the old city in Damascus and checked out 12 of the ’boutique hotels’ that have mushroomed in the old city over the past four years. Some hotels are done with style, others trying too hard, then you’ve got some that are just ostentatious. The following could be worth a try: Beit Mamlouka (the first one and owned by a Syrian architect who was inspired while writing a book about old Damascene houses; 8 rooms); Beit Rumman (recently opened; 6 chic rooms; quaint courtyard); 
Talisman 1 & 2 (the fanciest and priciest of them all; large couryard with small pool to cool off in; rooms are furnished with style; and Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt stayed there!); Beit Rose (small courtyard, 6 simple rooms, down to earth… probably where Deedee would stay). Also possibly worth trying: Hanania (7 rooms – bathrooms not too cool, iron beds, small courtyard); Dar Al Noor (opened in April 2010, medium sized courtyard, 11 rooms – some are over decorated and verging on tacky); there are lots more, bas khalas bi kaffé.
As for the grub, I wanted typical Damascene food so one night we had Hirrak Isba’ou (lentils, Quadrettini - flat square pasta, coriander, toasted bread, garlic and fried onions), a Vegetarian Kibbé stuffed with spinach or swiss chard & onions, Fatteh bi Hummous (a warm dish of fried bread and chick peas topped with yoghurt and drizzled with pine seeds 
cooked in lard), Fattit Makdous (small eggplants stuffed with meat, some tomato pasty sauce, topped with yoghurt). We also had Kibbé Nayyé (raw meat) with chopped condiments. A traditionally scrumptious meal! I fell in love with the Arak serving tray, smart and practicle, with round holes for the glasses on the rim area and a bigger one in the middle for the ice bucket! Shoo hal moufaja’a el mahdoumé?!
Can you believe the Syrians have banned smoking in restaurants? Well, “Homsi” style… yaani some places allow hubbly bubblies?!?! But in general, they got the right idea.
Went to the Four Seasons Hotel, where the woman security guard was very friendly and polite. AEN wanted to show me their XO Cigar Lounge. They banned smoking in the Cigar Lounge too, therefore… there was no one there!
Their wine list was quite impressive, so was their selection of malts and grappas/eau de vie. The sommelier they hired to put the list together knew his stuff. My favorite part was the wide selection of champagne, and to top it off, they carried most of them in half bottles!! Now how smart is that in champagne upselling!
We ordered a bottle of Beronia Rioja Reserva 2005 from Spain: a tannic deep red wine made of 90% tempranillo grapes. It carried aromas of nuts and toasted bread within its oakiness. Gentle velvety on the palate, we got deep dark red berries and ripe fruit, and a little vanilla. This bottle was sexy in a smoky way, with minerals lingering around till the finish. Good call AEN!
All good things come to an end… and they sure did when we ordered a plate of assorted cheese to go along with our Spanish Rioja. To make a long story short, the only thing that was missing on the cheese platter was La Vache qui Rit and Picon!! Naza’touha shabaab!
Kudos to the Syrians for preserving their old city… or maybe it was by accident cuz they didn’t have much of a choice 
!! But seriously, at least they have an old city with an authentic oriental character. Ahlein yaamo! Ma tzourounaa?
deedee cracks me up!!! lllllooooovvvvveeeeeee iittt:)))