Ice Cream & Friendship in Aleppo, Syria

There are at least two truths in this world: 1. Sometimes the simplest travel experiences are the most memorable. 2. Lindsay Duncan loves ice cream. :) These two simple truths collided perfectly at a little ice cream store in Aleppo Syria. In our experience the vast majority of people in Syria are extremely nice and the young Syrian man that worked at the small ice cream store near our hotel was no exception. This tiny ice cream store was on the small street/alley just outside our hotel so every time we were coming/going we would walk by and each time he would wave and smile. Eventually Lindsay had to succumb to the ice cream so one night we ended up stopping…and I am so glad we did. The young man was ecstatic to see us and quickly ignored all other customers. With his broken English he did his best to make conversation and was so excited to show us a picture of “The Terminator” on his phone which was to him the ultimate American icon. After our brief chat he really wanted a picture of us so we happily posed for him. We also got a picture with him as we never wanted to forget our nice friend in Aleppo that works at the ice cream shop. During this encounter I ended up getting a pretty unique picture of Lindsay. She was walking up to order ice cream and was surrounded by women in full black cloak burkas. Even though she had a head scarf on she looked so funny surrounded by these women all dressed in black. It seems funny to write about such a small and trivial memory but it is these types of friendships and encounters while traveling that you just simply never forget.