In The Gates of Damascus author Lieve Joris presents an intimate portrait of modern Syria. Joris went to Syria in the wake of the Gulf War and stayed with a Syrian woman, Hala, whom she"d met many years before at a conference in Baghdad. When she arrives in Damascus, she discovers that Hala"s husband was taken by the secret police 11 years earlier and has still not returned. Sharing a tiny apartment with Hala and her daughter, Asma, Joris is introduced to the hidden world that modern Syrians occupy--a world of family and the day-to-day challenges of living with fear of betrayal--even by one"s closest friends and relatives. And over all is the current situation in the Middle East. As Joris comes to know Hala"s friends and family, the chasm between her own European assumptions and the reality of life in Damascus widens,bringing with it potential danger for her friend. The Gates of Damascus reads like a thriller at times as the subtle paranoia that defines Syria begins to infect Joris as well. Mostly, however, it is a penetrating, compassionate portrait of contemporary Arab society, and a rational sounding board for the many political and cultural viewpoints contained therein.