Goodbye 2009, Hello 2010

Yes, it’s Merry New Year again. This time from Aleppo, Syria, where I had gone as part of a three-day tour of that country. I knew when I signed up that the hotel was hosting a New Year’s Eve gala and the price of the tour included this event. It sounded like a meal and some music. I had no idea this festivity would turn out to be spectacle. But let me backtrack.

We didn’t get into our hotel rooms until around eight. We were told to be downstairs at 9:30 PM. I’d planned to shower and change into my party duds, but first I wanted to rest a bit – it had been a long day. Well, my roommate woke be at 9:15, no shower and not much time to change. That was okay. Only half our group was there on time and the official event – there was a program on every table – didn’t start until 10:00 PM and was scheduled to end at 5 AM! Our group was assigned the tables on either side of the door. I sat with my back against the wall, which allowed me to watch everyone make their entry. And making an entry was what they did.

First you had to walk through a little tunnel of arches, designed to look like a snow scene -- yes, those are little Santas waving from the "snowy" arches. If you look into the ballroom, you can see that each chair has been covered with a sheet of satiny fabric. A big red ribbon -- probably 10" wide -- has been tied around the back. That was our table.

They began bringing appetizers somewhat after 10 PM. We'd had such a big and late lunch that appetizers were just fine for me -- you ended up with a plateful of food just sampling. When the music started at 10:30 PM and the room was only about one quarter full -- I wondered if it would be a meager crowd. I needn't have worried; people kept entering. Yes, here and there a family with younger children or someone in a headscarf and conservative dress. However, for the most part it reminded me a bit of a scene out of the Godfather with women almost over dressed, over coiffed and over accessorized on the arms of dark-haired men in suits. Of course, that's from my more conservative Northwest vantage point. Actually, I quite enjoyed the people watching aspect.

The Western Music portion of the program was performed by a duo, a violinist and a keyboardist. The keyboardist had a whole band in his instrument, and he also provided the occasional vocal. The music was sort of Western pop, meant to be danceable. I got a kick out of watching couples dance to a bouncy version of Silent Night. Quite a switch from standing in a darkened church on Christmas Eve, everyone singing Silent Night reverently while holding a candle in one's hand. As midnight approached the dance floor filled. The musicians launched into a medley of Christmas carols. It was a hoot to see everyone out there bopping away to "Angels We Have Heard on High" -- and I could belt out the Gloria in Excelsis Deo part without anyone even noticing. That portion of the program ended at 12:20 AM, followed by -- not what you might expect after Christmas caroles -- a voluptuous belly dancer who really brought the crowd to its feet.

This belly dancer was quite an energetic person. She actually took one very short break and then came back. When she was finished, the musicians continued playing and one of the guests came out on the floor and did her little belly dancing routine.

Then the fun really began. A Syrian pop singer and his band came on stage. I found out later was the most famous pop singer in Syria. They played Arabic pop and the dance floor was packed. It's not so much couples dancing but rather everyone out there doing their own thing. Some get into lines, some just twirl around to the beat. Hard to describe but very infectious. You could hardly keep from smiling, in fact, you could hardly watch and sit still. Eventually I even had to get out there. And if that weren't enough, sometime just past 1:00 AM they brought out the main course! A traditional breakfast was scheduled for 4:30 AM but I gave up at 2:30 AM.

There was one touching incident that I really didn't understand until the following day. Abutting the other table occupied by our group was a table of eight. They were a very energetic group. All the women were tall and blonde (not naturally so, says my catty self). Just before I left one man from our group went over and dragged a couple of men from that table onto the dance floor. They started doing a sort of traditional Middle Eastern line dance and then were joined by other members of the group. They were all laughing and goofing around. I couldn't understand why this guy would have gone to a table of strangers like that. It turns out members of our party had been talking to this group. One of them had gone to the university and lived in Istanbul. However, he had returned to Damascus because that's where his family was. The group had come all the way from Damascus for this party -- a group of Armenians. It turns out the pop singer was also Armenian, so perhaps there was some connection there. Anyhow, I think it was a gesture by the Turk to reach out to the Armenians. Of course, it doesn't undo the past, but it's nevertheless important to build these relationships in the present.