Well, that was a little whirlwind. Peter and I leave for Aleppo tomorrow morning at 10:30. We will be traveling in style to the airport in one of the new air-conditioned yellow taxis that actually use meters and print receipts. I hope they age better than most of the improvements that have been attempted in this city that decays faster than any one I’ve ever visited.

It’s happening of course: I’m getting nostalgic already. I left the Windsor Hotel bar, which is a museum of nostalgia, just at twilight, and something about the air, and the smell, and the honking of horns, and the men smoking sheesha and watching soccer, and the trees with the bright-red blooms, made me a bit sad.

That all vanishes when it’s 106 degrees out, as it was for one day last week, but for now I’m happy to have been back and found a new affection for this place that was so problematic for me for almost a decade.

Sorry no more tales of travel-guide-author road rage and all that. I will try to pull together a couple more anecdotes and post again when I’m in Turkey in another week and a half.