Damascus Nights
by Mounir R. Sa'adah

Long before there were cinemas, radios or television, before the days of electric fans and air conditioners, the people in Damascus, when evening came, took to their flat roofs for the cool air in the summer. The still and stagnant air in the yard-pit and the bedrooms was not altogether to their taste, but on the housetop a breeze would be gentle and cool coming from the east where the desert, as soon as the sun set, blew its fresh breezes into the night. We would climb up the steps carrying a couple of rugs and cushions to sit on while watching the stars light the sky and the Milky Way girdle space. It was a lighthearted and pleasant way to end the day. Much of the evening was taken in story telling...and Damascus Nights is a story book...[READ MORE]