Karaoke in Syria
Damascus, Syria

It came to pass that on my tenth (and final night) in Aleppo, I Karaoked for the first time. I'm not particularly proud of this moment, nor was it done alone, but I'm actually quite happy that it was conducted in a location as random as Syria (as opposed to Asia, where such things are unfortunately quite commonplace).

Karaoke is luxury that you pay for in Syria. Only the vivacious alcohol-fuel elite of the city seem to have access to a by-reservation-only restaurant that sports the only official karaoke in the city once a week.

The first half of the evening is kicked off with English-only song selections, followed by the replacement of the catalog book with version sporting numerous Arabic hits alongside a smattering of English titles mid-way through the night. One would presume (correctly) that it takes a certain amount of alcohol to endure the Arabic numbers, all of which droll on and on and on like a full-length cut of Stairway to Heaven (as opposed to the attention span tolerant 3–5 minute English pop and rock hits).

Some snapshots of the finest looking Karaoke bar I've ever seen (before it became packed for the evening):

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