orange juice and international development

One of the loveliest things about living in Damascus is that you can buy fresh fruit juice on any street corner. Orange, strawberry, peach, mango...for about 75 cents a pop. I was anticipating the juice stalls. However, I didn't expect that I'd be able to get my juice to go. One thing I've noticed during previous travels is that, while the "take away" concept is always available for food, it rarely applies to drinks. In most countries, you stay at the stall and drink out of a glass or bottle, which you then return to the proprietor. Some places improvise local solutions: in Thailand, you can get a drink in a plastic bag with a straw and take it with you. Syria, however, is the first place I've traveled outside of Europe and North America where take away cups are ubiquitous. You can get fruit juice to go, tea to go. In Lebanon, people sold coffee out of the back of their pickups: open the back doors and there's an espresso machine and a stack of pink plastic cups.

So, I propose the "Take-Away Cup Index" as a measure of is international development. The more advanced the economy, the more likely you can sip your drink en route. Hey, if The Economist can have a Big Mac Index measuring the relative value of different currencies, then this should be perfectly legitimate!

OK, maybe it's a half-baked idea. Alternative indicators could include: air conditioners (very common, especially outside of the old city) and private vehicle ownership (not so common; public transport still dominates). It doesn't take long to notice that all these signs of economic advancement demand a lot more energy and generate a lot more waste than their predecessors; I'm starting to understand why one of the conventional measures for economic development is per capita energy consumption.

And, while on the subject of beverages and development, can't resist posting a few photos illustrating the spread of Starbucks to ever-more distant corners of the globe. In Beirut, they had a few local shops, include the one shown here. I had to take this photo from above because, when I tried to take one of the counter, I was reprimanded by an employee. Apparently, Starbucks' corporate policy forbids photos. Further signs of the Evil Empire.

In Damascus, there are no Starbucks. Or McDonalds, although they do have KFC. However, Syrians have developed their own version: In House Coffee. There are about half a dozen branches in the city. Prices are extremely steep, the menu is only in English, and it's very much a place to see and be seen. The coffee, however, is tastier than the average Starbucks. Here are a couple more photos.

The inclusion of the ash tray in the above photo is intentional; this was the smokiest place I've been in Damascus. I managed to sit for 20 minutes while drinking my coffee and reading the scrolling Al-Jazeera headlines on the flat-screen TV (which you find in almost all modern Damascene cafes, although they usually show Arab music videos), then fled to the street.