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Overview

72 references 50 Confirmed & Positive
Fluent in Arabic, English; learning French, German
44, Male
Member since 2008

Safwan hotel owner and manager
banking university digree
From lattakia
Profile 100% complete

About Me

CURRENT MISSION

meeting the visitors of our country & budget travellers to show the best of me & my city ..& hide the worst ;-)

PHILOSOPHY

bieng a mediterranean guy ..so i am grateful,libral,moderate,open minded,giving,extremely optimistic & positive prson....hmmm .. actually am trying to be all of this ;-).....thats why i like meeting different people from all different cultures,races & believes .. especially who respect ours ...i can post here what i wrote lately to my contacts:

(( The end of 2007..those days the Islamic & christian feasts and holidays came together..in the same week..over here in Syria the joy in the air you can't differ if this nicely decorated house is partying for christmas or celebrating Hajj,,,the pretty syrian girl wearing happily her new dresses you don't know what to say to her:meelad majeed or Eid sa3eed (merry christmas or happy Eid)..the Imam & the priest in the city streets they look alike,christmas trees look like palm trees,,,,even me going to the prayers mistaked the church with the mosque,,,,really the cross & crescent taking the same shape..the same faith..)).

some nice sayings:
*our attitude should be gratitude.
*thanksgiving is good..thanks-living is better.
*the darkest hour is just before dawn.
*i had the blues because i had no shoes,until upon the street i met a man who had no feet.
*keep ur face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow.

* both the optimists & pessimists contribute to society.
proof?-the optimist invents the airplane and the pessimist invents the parachute!
*the pessimist says,((the worst is just around the corner.)) the optimist says,((the best is yet to come.))

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

.. even that we do have so many holidays & occasions here ....but not for me (since running the hotel,more and more commitments and responsibilities ,and not so much time to travel)..but when you arrive here.. u can be my reason to steal some hours from my day..to hang out with you...

to have our own holiday..u wanna know more ..hmmm...are u more than 18?..ok..so u can start reading ;-) :

our national days like in most of arabic states are so many..
1ne...we celebrate the islamic & christian holidays..may be later je-wish(pas) ones..
2ow.. our independence days are as many as our occupiers..(from crusades,ottoman,french,british,israelis,american..sorry if i skipped any ;-)..
3hree..our wars are many we celebrate victories & defeats alike..with huge demonstratins & controled manifestatioins like sheep ..& of coures heroich speeches by our great sheperds..
4our.. & 5ive.....our king,ameers,sultan & his castrated officers always want us to join his joy in celebrating his events like :
* the happy birthdays,of him & his wives,his mother & fackers.. i mean fathers..father ;-) *his multi-marriages & ...divorces..
* his (99.9969%) sucksessful erection....i mean successful election ..
*not forgetting the day his gorilla-like daughters were not officially deflowered & of sure the great day in wich his only monkey-look son was finally circumsised..;-)

Interests

the same intrests since i was a kid ..reading a lot of books and magazines about other cultures and civilisations(am an encyclopeads' collector)... drawing comics and regarding classical works ( am a cartoon connector)..& transmitting happiness and drowing smiles on my friends faces(am a smiles' corrector ;-)...& so many other outdoors & indoors activities (if u don't believe all that, come to be my personal inspector ;-).....
its sure that if u are coming to me ,my main intrest then is meeting you ;-) ..
wherever u from..specially if were from Belgium, i might be too much friendly with you(no question why;-).. in a way u might like it or hate it ??

books
running
partying
comics
reading
tv
traveling
blogging
drawing
blues
outdoor activities
muslim
history
tourism
budget travel

Music, Movies, and Books

1. Tintin in the Land of the Soviets (1929–1930)
2. Tintin in the Congo (1930–1931)
3. Tintin in America (1931–1932)
4. Cigars of the Pharaoh (1932–1934)
5. The Blue Lotus (1934–1935)
6. The Broken Ear (1935–1937)
7. The Black Island (1937–1938)
8. King Ottokar's Sceptre (1938–1939)
9. The Crab with the Golden Claws (1940–1941)
10. The Shooting Star (1941–1942)
11. The Secret of the Unicorn (1942–1943)
12. Red Rackham's Treasure (1943–1944)
13. The Seven Crystal Balls (1943–1948)
14. Prisoners of the Sun (1946–1949)
15. Land of Black Gold (1948–1950)
16. Destination Moon (1950–1953)
17. Explorers on the Moon (1950–1954)
18. The Calculus Affair (1954–1956)
19. The Red Sea Sharks (1958)
20. Tintin in Tibet (1960)
21. The Castafiore Emerald (1963)
22. Flight 714 (1968)

23. Tintin and the Picaros (1976)
24. Tintin and Alph-Art (1986, 2004)

Teach, Learn, Share

my reviews in the most recent guidebooks:

*Lonely planet ( Middle-east may 2009) :
(( Mohammad Zaideh :even if you' re not staying at safwan hotel and hostel,Mohammad has his finger on Lattakia's pulse and his mission in life seems to be keep travellers to his city well informed..

Safwan hotel& hostel (tel:453 801,093 337 6900)...the place is run by TINTIN fan Mohammad Ziadeh and his family,and Mohammad is switched on to travellers' needs. He is an engagin host .)))

http://www.scribd.com/doc/15499398/Middle-East-Syria-Chapter

*Lonely planet (Syria and Lebanon 2008) :
((..Just a little north of the centre, close to the seafront, the Safwan is a bit shabby albeit clean. Rooms come with TV and air-con or fan, and guests have access to a kitchen and fridge. Friendly manager Mohammed,a self-confessed Tintin fan,is helpful and speaks English.))…

**Le guide de routard 2008:
(( Safwan hotel..rue al kornish algharbi,compter 600 la double avec salle de bains...le patron Mohamad,parl le francais et sera fier de vous montrer sa collection de Tintin:c'est un fan intergral! une adress propre,conviviale et honnet,meme si tout n'est pas parfait. ))

**Le Petit Futé 2008 :
SAFWAN HOTEL
A quelques mètres de la corniche Rue Al-Kornish al-Gharbi
LATTAQUIE - LAZAKIA
Syrie
Tél : (041) 478 602
La simple 400 LS, la double 700 LS. Possibilité de dormir sur la terrasse 150 LS.
Le propriétaire, Mohammad Ziadeh, un grand fan de Tintin, est très accueillant. Chambre assez grande mais pas toujours d’une très grande propreté.

*** the Pascal (Jordan,Lebanon & Syria 2008) in polish :
((..Safwan hotel prowadzi swietnie znajacy o kolice miasta sympatyezny Mohammad Ziadeh doskonale mowiacy po anngielsku & francusku (wielbiciel francuskich komoksow o przygodach Tintina ))...

((( Hotel de Safwan , gharbi do al do kornish do al, enfrentando o salão de cidade , â˜Ž 00963 933 376900 ( safwanhotel@go.com ). funcione por um ventilador Mohammad de TINTIN e sua família, um dos hotéis os mais amigáveis do orçamento na cidade, proprietário ocupado hospitable e aberto Mohammad Ziadeh, 22 rooms diferentes e um dormitório popular do telhado )))

((( Safwan Hotel , Al kornish Al gharbi, Rathaus gegenüberstellend , â˜Ž 00963 933 376900 ( safwanhotel@go.com ). laufen Sie durch einen TINTIN Ventilator Mohammad und seine Familie, eins der freundlichsten Etathotels in der Stadt, gastfreundlicher und geöffneter gekümmerter Inhaber Mohammad Ziadeh, 22 unterschiedliche roooms und ein populärer Dachschlafsaal ))

((Safwan Hotel, al kornish al gharbi, inför Stadshuset, ☎ 00963 933 376900. drivs av en Tintin fan Mohammad och hans familj, en av de vänligaste budget hotell i staden, gästfria & open minded ägare Mohammad Ziadeh, 22 olika roooms & ett populärt tak sovsal redigera ))

links to some websites wrote about me or my hotel or our Tintin )"):

http://hotels.lonelyplanet.com/hotel/Lattakia-Hotel-Safwan-P1000714049.html

http://www.petitfute.com/guide/49895-syrie-lattaquie-lazakia--safwan-hotel-b-

http://www.tintinmilou.free.fr/everywhere/indexuk.htm

http://wikitravel.org/en/Latakia

http://books.google.com/books?id=_R-I_Gx5OgQC&pg=PA146&lpg=PA146&dq=tintin+lattakia&source=bl&ots=3SuSTslCrR&sig=18LPz-UJSnhVpRz7Pe1Pg7Yb10I&hl=ar&ei=Ik0kStfBIt_TjAeQvfTXBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8

http://lookoutsidetime.blogspot.com/2007/09/my-train-to-lattakia-was-first-id-taken.html

http://www.musicalmissionsofpeace.org/mm/2008spring.html

http://blogs.bootsnall.com/llew/syria-is-most-definitely-in-the-middle-east.html

http://www.traveltips24.com/Latakia.htm

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7741046@N06/1513972911

http://workagainstsleep.blogspot.com/2008/05/day-13-latakiatripoli-lebanon-you-want.html