Amina's Driving Results

The American State Department has (seriously) issued warnings that Americans who travel to the Middle East are in extreme danger of death due to road accidents. So. The results are in... here is Amina's unofficial rating of the driving in the past four countries she has visited.

1st place goes to... Iran. Iran definitely has the best driving in the Middle East. Not only do they drive backwards on the sidewalk on the wrong side of the street, but they then yell that you're driving like a Qommi. (No comment) When in Iran, I rapidly learned to cross the street in groups. It's somewhat embarrassing shadowing an old lady to make it to the other side safely... but better that than the alternative.

2nd place goes to... Lebanon. In Lebanon, driving is somewhat like a game of chicken. Both cars rush towards each other as fast as they can, and you wait and see which car will swerve first (note that which side of the road does not seem to have any bearing on who gives way). I was somewhat impressed that, unlike in other countries, women seemed to participate just as actively as men do in this national sport.

3rd place goes to... Iraq. In Iraq, you get the feeling that the people are taking out decades of frustration due to wars, economic sanctions, and a brutal dictatorship on their accelerators. I don't blame them. The only mitigating factor was the frequent appearance of farm animals, which somewhat slowed the traffic.

And last places goes to... believe it or not... Syria. Despite the fact that my neighbor (who is not Syrian) says that Syrians drive "like they are drunk", and despite the fact that I saw three car accidents in the past couple weeks, I have found Syria to have the tamest driving in the Middle East. Although, like other areas in the region, you find the same spirit of independent interpretation of road laws, the sheer number of cars and pedestrians forces the traffic to flow at a very moderate pace. Plus, you really feel like they are trying NOT to hit you. Kudos to Syria!

That's all for now... more to come wherever life takes me.