Meanwhile, if you want to read more reviews about my past services please click on Handwritten Reviews , Tripadvisor.com reviews, or Lonelyplanet.com reviews.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
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About Me
- Abdul Ibrahim
- Damascus, Syria
- I'm up and the Treasury is far below in Petra, Jordan Email me: syriaroad@gmail.com Tel: 001-718-717-2205 (USA Phone) 0055-11-989318481 (Brazil) 00963-955-326815 (Syria)
My husband and I just returned from a 6 day Eid break in Damascus, Syria and what a wonderful time we had in that historic country. The sites were fantastic but what made the holiday so memorable was meeting Abdul.
ReplyDeleteBy chance I found Abdul's name on Trip Advisor and booked him to drive us on day trips to Palmyra, Bosra and Krac de Chevelier.
Like many less developed countries Syria's roads are dangerous but with Abdul at the wheel we were in safe hands. He has an excellent car, that is well maintained, very comfortable and suitabe for touring. He enquired at what speed we wished to travel and stuck to that speed. He drove safely as if he was on the roads in Europe or other western countries. I am a nervous nellie as a passenger and I was relaxed with his driving.
He expertly navigated his way to all the places we wished to visit and adjusted our route according to our wishes.
His English language skills were excellent and we conversed and debated on a wide range of topics during our hours on the road, topics as diverse as the effects of TV on children, religion, history of the Middle East, Islam etc. Our discussions were the highlight of our trip. We now have an excellent insight into Syrian society.
He went the extra mile for us. I misplaced my scarf on our last day and he was determined to find it. He revisited all the shops and restaurants/bars we went to that day and he returned the scarf to me. He also organised the packing of a mirror we bought, making the wooden packing crate himself.
We expressed interest in a religious icon and he scoured the shops looking for the same and negotiating prices with the shop keepers. He was honest in his dealings with the shop keepers and informed us of a commission offered.
I fell in love with maktoush, spicy stuffed eggplant and wanted to take some home. Abdul found some home made maktoush in the market and I can now have a traditional Syrian breakfast at home until the eggplant run out or I find them in a shop at home.
We intend to return to Syria and base ourselves in Aleppo next time. We will ask Abdul to look after us whilst we are there and travel to the sites of northern Syria with him.
Thank you Abdul.
Tom and Susan (Australian)
UAE
We spent 20 days with Abdul touring in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. He made the whole trip for us.
ReplyDeleteAbdul has great driving skills and you will always feel safe with him. He can park anywhere. His car is comfortable and clean. Anywhere you want to go, he will figure out a schedule that will incorporate all your needs and make it a lot of fun. I doubt we passed anything of note during our twenty days that he didn't offer to stop at - he would point it out and offer to fit it in if we were interested.
As others have noted, he goes far out of this way to assist in every way, with restaurants, hotels and general sight seeing. I am a bit wobbly at times, and Abdul's helping hand was never out of reach. He must have helped me up and down thousands of stairs. He helped us bargain for a few items in the markets and took us around to visit fun spots in the souk's, for instance his favorite nut guy where we got the world's best cashews.
Abdul is well educated and speaks excellent English so he makes very good company. Over our 20 days together we discussed many subjects and made a good friend.
If you want to have a great time and make your visit to Syria, Jordan and
Lebanon fun and worry-free, you couldn't pick a better person than Abdul.
Richard and Helen mcHargue