Assalaam Alaikum,
This is the first in a series of ‘photo blogs’ I’ll post, inshaAllah. This is the ‘edited’ version minus any personal pictures, but so you guys can get an idea of what my amazing journey through Shaam was like. I’ll post a description and then the link to the pictures follows.
Bismillah al-Rahman al-Raheem
Assalaam alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuhu.
Here begin the online descriptions.
Description of Ain Al Fijeh
Ain al Fijeh means Fiji Spring. It’s basically a resort right outside of Damascus that rich Damascenes have summer homes at. It’s a place where you can kind of get an idea of what Damascus must have been like at the time Rasulullah (s) visited it. At that time Damascus was not urban sprawl, but was full of lush gardens and rivers with the Barada River flowing through it. There’s a nice picture here of a mural of how this area must have looked at one time. When you see the Ummayad Mosque pictures note the famous mosaics that show beautiful houses and mansions next to a lovely river. They still don’t know if those mosaics are depicting this area at one time in it’s glorious past or are scenes from Jannah.
In the Spring and Summer, this place is packed with Syrians picnicking, taking a ride on the old wooden train that comes up from Damascus winding through the mountains, or eating at it’s fancy restaurants that overlook the river.
We first visited in early Spring and you can see how the trees were beginning to blossom and plants starting to flourish. You can imagine how lovely it is in full summer. We walked around a bit and some old ladies came and invited us to their house where we had a great view. They said they came all the time with their families to escape the oppressive heat that is Damascus in the summer and enjoy themselves here. The second time, we came here with some people in our class and ate at the restaurant there. So you can see some pictures of our annisaas and the other girls in our class. There are also some pictures of the houses there and the views of the countryside right outside of Damascus in winter, along with some Mosques we passed. As for the goat/sheep? picture and why he has a nice spot prime on the river…I have no idea. 
Link to the pictures of Ain al Fijeh
