Rafif is a great expert on the labyrinth known as the Old Town. Every time we go back home, we make sure to spend a whole day in this most splendid part of Damascus. The wealth of beauty found there is unmatched by any other city we have been to up till now.
Our regular pilgrimages notwithstanding, the Old Town never fails to reveal to us a hitherto unknown gem or two, making every new trip a mixture of reacquainting ourselves with the much missed familiar, and the serendipity of stumbling upon a totally unknown old house, narrow street, delightful café, or fascinating shop in a remote corner. This time, it was the house of Dr. Abdul Rahman al-Shahbandar, the Syrian Nationalist leader that took us by surprise. Having been renovated and converted to an elegant boutique hotel, it has become the newest oasis in the oldest of old towns.
