| Wallid
By Susan (L’06)
“So, please, kullu quiess? As we say, everything
good?”
And so began all of our days in Syria, under
the patient care of Walid Aswad, the guide for Max’s groups
since METS first went to Syria in 1989. As he has done for so
many years, Walid, “a master tour guide” (Brian),
“a quiet presence” (Jason S), “awesome”
(Jason D), helped acclimate the 2006 METS group to the culture
of the Middle East. Through hundreds of small gestures, he made
our visit comfortable, fun and enlightening.
Walid and his wife Souher are the proud parents
of three beautiful daughters, Heba, 15 (Arabic for “Gift”),
Wala’a, 13 (“Loyalty”) and Ula, 8 (“Glory”).
He became a tour guide in 1986 after studying history and archaeology
at the University of Damascus for five years and completing
an additional 1 1/2 year guide course. Walid has adopted an inclusive
approach to the history and culture of Syria. “Information
about Babylonians and Sumerians can be boring,” he said,
“you need to explain the meaning of ideas, of social life,
family life today, religion, politics.” METS
participants all agreed that Walid does just that. As Chris said,
“Walid has the knowledge to provide information, the charisma
to communicate it and the kindness to make it personal.”
A recounting of our day with Walid in Palmyra
illustrates the care and affection he has for METS travelers and
Syria’s heritage. Before the 2006 group could visit a reconstructed
tower tomb on the outskirts of Palmyra, Walid first had to track
down the man who had the keys to the tomb (and yes, this man really
has a gigantic key ring with keys to various tombs – his
family has been the keeper of the keys for generations). As we
were about to enter the magnificent underground Tomb of the Three
Brothers, Walid, in his understated way, told us that we were
about to see “another interesting thing.” Another
interesting thing indeed – he thoughtfully explained the
beautiful frescoes, the incredibly detailed tomb reliefs, and
the haunting tomb curtains, which he described as “of course,
a good idea.” Later, while the METS group wandered like
stray cats around the Temple of Bel, Walid waited patiently, an
amused smile on his face; when the group was finally herded, he
described with great enthusiasm the architecture
and religious artifacts of that Roman temple, placing them in
context with current religious practices. As we left the Temple,
Walid jokingly said, “You will remember Palmyra and you
will remember Walid.” The day ended with a sunset worship
service at the Crusader castle overlooking Palmyra. During the
service, Walid chatted with the keeper of the keys to that castle,
until Max finally told the group, in the way that only Max can,
“Let’s go, this guy
has kept his castle open long enough.”
Walid has been so careful in his work with the
last fourteen METS trips that he has few stories about missteps
or misadventures. He did describe what he called his worst decision,
which occurred on the 1996 trip to Saladin’s Castle in Lattakia.
The castle was in sight and the roads
were poor, so Walid suggested that everyone get off the bus and
walk “20 minutes” to the castle. Over one hour later,
after a steep descent and even steeper ascent, the group reached
the castle. Ever diligent, Walid managed to get minibuses to pick
up the bedraggled group for the ride back to the bus. The fact
that an unexpected hike was the worst thing to have happened in
14 years of traveling in Syria is a testament to Walid’s
competence and talent.
In southern Syria, our METS group visited with
a traditional farming family. The grandfather of that family described
to us how he got out of mandatory military service, using both
the universal gesture of rubbing his thumb and fingertips together
and a Syrian hikma, or wise saying: “Pay the money, get
the bride.” When asked if his own father taught him any
such hikmas, Walid said that his father taught him that it’s
better not to lie, not to steal and to “be shy in front
of people – don’t shout, be calm, be quiet.”
When asked what his father would say about the folks on Max’s
bus (who were definitely not shy in front of people or calm or
quiet), Walid, with a twinkle in his eye, gently said, “of
course, that’s different.” He learned his father’s
lessons well.
Walid describes himself as “a Syrian citizen
with a Palestinian heart.” Both his mother’s and his
father’s families were shopkeepers in Haifa. His father
fled Haifa by boat in 1947 and went first to Lebanon, then to
Syria. While very circumspect about the Israeli-Palestinian situation
and the status of the Syrian government, Walid does believe that
“all of us here, as Syrians and Palestinians, are looking
for peace for tomorrow, but peace with rights.” When pressed
about what exactly that means, Walid replied only that he does
not think there can be peace without a Palestinian state and that
there needs to be an “acceptable solution.” I asked
Walid what
he would like to say to all his former METS travelers. He wants
everyone “to remember Syria...a country with a very old
history but also with a future.” And when you remember Syria,
remember Walid.
“So, please, kullu quiess? As we say, everything
good?”
“Kullu taman. Everything is great.”
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