old city al-balad

Last week I visited the old city Al-Balad the first time. It was really interesting. The houses were amazing, not gorgeous but were very historically rich and fertile. The balconies were mostly wooden, some precariously balanced, delicately put together by many small wooden chips. From what I read, when they build such balconies wood was hard to come by, so they had to piece together small ones. The other main attraction was the market -- a sprawling bazar with variety of items being sold. This market, also known for the gold/silver bazars, we re covered with rows of gold/silver stores. I have to go back to this part of the city again. Once we figure out a good way to travel back-forth between campus/city.

More soon, hopefully.

moving to the campus

I got the apartment. Lot of things to be fixed, but a big step forward. Also moved to my new office with a stable network connection. Classes have started too. Still managing to get some time for reading, the campus library for fiction/non-faction has started, so a good source for now. Should be able to settle down by this week.

Got a glimpse of the climbing wall. Its ok, but not as much as I expected. But optimistic but that we can move things around to get a better one, more entertaining one.

Did I find any gems yet? No. Haven't been to the old part of the city yet, but tomorrow evening is the when we go there. I am looking forward to that. Gems are getting to know the local people, how they live, how they go about with their life, their aspirations and joys, ... more later.