From the time I was a young girl, I have been traveling to Syria with my parents to visit family. The first summer in '86 we stayed for 3 months and to this day it remains one of my most memorable trips. I can close my eyes and feel the warm summer breeze on my face and smell the hint of my uncle's Jasmine tree by his front gate. My cousins and I riding the donkey down to the fresh spring to bring back fresh drinkable water. I see smiling faces and warm welcoming embraces from the friends in the village asking us to come in and have some tea. Naturally, I wanted to create these same memories for my kids.
In 2009 and 2010 I did just that! My husband and I took our twins to the homeland and they had similar experiences but for me, it was only made better because now I was watching my past memories being shared through my children's eyes. That is priceless.
The war kept us away in 2011. What I thought would be a one year delay turned into 8 long years. In 2018 my parents and I travel back to Syria. It was a bittersweet reunion. So sweet to see their faces and feel all the familiarities that I had missed so much. We went again in the spring of 2019 and the summer too. I share many of these pictures on my Instagram and will continue to share and write on the locations of where I travel and blog as I go.
Pictures are a true way to capture the moment. Looking at these pictures it is as if I am there!