Celebrity Sighting!

Wednesday, 16 September 2009

I’m at DamascusGate, The World’s Largest Restaurant (Guinness Book of World Records confirmed), settling down to enjoy a classic Syrian Iftar with a handful of American and Syrian friends, when we notice universal attention suddenly focused on a crowd to our right. People stand up and gawk at the cluster of well-dressed men surrounded by waiters and media; other patrons wander over and take photographs, ignoring basic conventions like “requesting permission” or “being subtle.” Who could this celebrity be, we wonder? A famous singer? A government minister? A Bab Al-Hara* cast member?

Nope. We’re graced with the presence of Muntadar al-Zaidi, otherwise known as That Iraqi Journalist Who Threw His Shoes At Bush. Released from Iraqi jail just two days earlier, Mr. Al-Zaidi evidently topped his list of “Things To Do When I’m Out of Prison” with a visit to the Damascus’ gastro-architectural glory.

Seated at the table in a grey suit and his gap-toothed glory, Mr. Al-Zaidi receives a constant stream of hand shakes and photo requests. "Good aim!", we imagine them saying. "So, tortured much?" We stare openly for a while and consider the likelihood of getting his signature on one of our shoe. By the time my friends pluck up the courage to go over with a camera phone he says he’s too tired to pose anymore. Shame.

*Bab Al-Hara is the single most popular television show in the Sham countries of Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria. Shown only during the thirty days of Ramadan, the series follows the lives of Damascus residents under the French occupation some seventy years ago. Though the actual Bab Al-Hara (literally “Door of the Quarter”) is fictional, much of the show references real places around Damascus.