By John Robshaw
Textile artisan & globally-inspired designer
Bumpy Road to Damascus
This year, fall or winter, actually, started for me in Damascus, Syria - one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world. I had heard some stories of the Souk Bab Tuma and the wonders hiding in its winding lanes.
One suggestion: if you go in winter and plan to spend the days combing the souks (shopping), wear thick socks and two scarves as the sunlight only peeks in and out of the corners.
In the souks, olive soaps, spices, and dried fruits spill out of the barrels. Carpet salesmen adeptly harangue passersby to enter into their establishments - switching from German to Italian to French. Iranians sell ornate village rugs as they stop on the way to the Hajj; the damask fabric displays both traditional patterns and kitschy Persian scenes of invaders in fantastic robes. I searched for intricate inlay walnut furniture for inspiration.
The Petra bed in my creation formed from this trip spent absorbing all the patterns in the floors of the Ummayed mosques and walls of courtyards. The patterns are rich in colors of the painted palaces full of myths and history. My hand painted pillows continue to be inspired by the lush gardens full of beautiful flowers and birds. As the trip continues, I am lost again in the dreams of a far away place.
Thank you for being an interesting travel companion as I search for new locations and prints to bring to your home and mine.
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