Alumni in Damascus welcomed students Suzie Ferguson '09 and Sarah Cunningham '09 with a dinner at Ahl al Cham on Sunday, May 28, 2008. On the heels of the dinner with Professor Jeffrey Alexander in Beirut, the Ahlan wa Sahlan Dinner in Syria exemplifies YAAA's on-going effort to deepen Yale University's ties to the Arab Middle East by connecting students and faculty with local Eli communities in the region. YAAAlies Bates '03 and Will Barley '05 continued this fine tradition in Damascus by hosting fresh off the boat Spencer Stackhouse '09 in mid-June.


Shayna Silverstein '00, Katerina Apostolides '06, Bates Barley '03, Suzie Ferguson '09

Suzie, Sarah, and Spencer were all recipients of Yale fellowships to conduct research in Syria. Ferguson volunteered for a women's rights magazine and, after her stint in Dimashq, headed east to Yemen to work on her Arabic. She writes, "Damascus is one of the friendliest cities I've been in...I felt like the entire community, with the exception of a few enterprising cab drivers, welcomed me and went out of their way to help me live easily and happily, as well as practice my Arabic. Overall, life in Damascus was a series of small pleasures--aural, visual, culinary, and interpersonal. I only wish I could have stayed for longer."
Eyad Houssami '07, Will Barley '05, Sarah Cunningham '09