One of my regrets in Syria is that I didn’t get the chance to meet many women.

While contact was very easy with males – in fact, Syrians are among the most friendly and hospitable people in the world, and we ended up being invited for a cup of tea in Damascene houses more than once – it was much more difficult to talk to women. No matter how hard I tried to smile and say a few words in my broken arabic, they would always look at me with fear/aversion and run away from me.

It took me a little while until I realised that I had a reputation problem.

And I am not talking about sleeveless top or revealing dress here…

Smiling at others, particularly at men but also at women, meeting someone’s eyes and even accidentally bumping into others or allowing others to touch you lead others to question your morals. Not to mention my unmarried status!

No surprises when you know that traditional gender roles and subjugation to fathers and husbands have been ingrained by religion in the minds of women from birth.

Mothers, sisters and aunties pass this mindset on the little girls and so most women defend their second-class status whenever it is challenged.

In the West, women have succeeded in freeing themselves fully through their struggle, especially against religion. In Islam, women do not have parental authority, polygamy is permitted, divorce and domestic violence also, homosexuality is forbidden…

This proves we can not speak about equality between men and women in a religious environment. Only secularism allows to do so. Why must women in Middle Eastern countries/cultures be forced to define themselves according to religious terminology at all? Women’s liberation does not require the rubber stamp of Islam or any other religion.

This is a man’s, a man’s, a man’s world. This is a man’s, a man’s, a man’s god.

Forget La Perla, Victoria Secrets, Trashy Lingerie and the like.

We have the scoop. You don’t have to spend like a celeb to get the look! The most outrageous and exuberant lingerie in the world comes from a place you’d probably never expect: deeply religious and conservative Syria.

Satin and lace, faux fur, tassels, feathers, zips, and bras which open like curtains, artificial flowers, sequins and even flashing lights…All manufactured in Syria, some that Lady Gaga herself might blush to wear, all showing bawdy creativity and a wicked sense of humour…Welcome to the naughty world of Syrian lingerie!

Despite the islamic nature of Syrian society, it stems from the tradition for brides-to-be to be given a trousseau of exotic underwear by girlfriends, aunties and cousins, to spice up their wedding nights, honeymoons and beyond – into the privacy of the bedroom!

So get ready to bargain H-A-R-D!

The Polaroid project was almost put to an end in Syria.

Eve was shooting with the tripod and the big camera in the souks of Damascus.
I was holding the Polaroid camera.
That was probably too much, too suspect, so that a friendly guy asked us why and what we were taking pictures of…

He was probably intrigued by this big black square box that I was pretending to be a camera! Really, how could you make such big camera nowadays without even a giant LCD screen? Rubbish…

What a nice bloke I thought, but Eve was smarter and of course, the friendly guy happened to be an uncover cop or intelligence official.
Luckily, he was satisfied that we were not some kind of political journalists threatening the national security of Syria.

The Polaroid camera was safe and we could take some nice shots, turning sepia with the heat of the Palmyra desert. Almost some kind of orientalist drawings of the XIX century…

That was the only clue.

Syria may be on the Axis of Evil, but Google does not care (or maybe that’s the reason indeed): Damascus is on Google Maps.
We had no address or street number.
After some tedious Internet research, it was finally located: a white house near a mosque.
It could be one of the thousand similar white houses near a mosque in Damascus.
But that was it! The house where I spent my early childhood, spoiled with baclavas and bootha.

2010. Will the palm tree still be there after all these years?
A few cab rides and we were near that mosque.
Some walk around it, trying to imagine that Google Maps view and we found it.

Rescued from the extensive works taking place at the house, the palm tree was still standing there, a few concrete bags lying on it. As old as me, but much taller!