The Retired Syrian General
Damascus, Syria
Easily one of my favorite characters in the extended family that I'm staying with is the silver haired, blue eyed father of my host's mother, a former general in the Syrian army.
Charismatic and wonderfully well-traveled, each encounter with the grandfather was warm and full of tales from his former days of world travel and military service. What an amazing thing it is to be an American, conversing and eating casually with a man such as this.
The portrait sketch (hanging framed in his formal sitting room) was done earlier in his career, by one of his former subordinates.
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