Dome over the shrine of Habil, the Biblical Abel, forty-five minutes west of Damascus in Zabadani. This Old Testament son of Adam is considered a prophet in orthodox Islam, the first wasiyy or Successor amongst the Shiites, and the very manifestation of the light divine according to the Druze sect who administer this holy site.

Nazism has become the most convenient and abused metaphor applied to the baddies we don't like. Remember Rush Limbaugh's term 'feminazi' which he popularized in the 90s? As if university feminists were clandestinely stacking gassed bodies of males, heterosexuals, and Christians in the basements of America's colleges.

Hamidiyyeh Souk, the famous traditional market in Old Damascus, is all dressed up for the Mawlid al-Nabawi, the Birthday of the Prophet Muhammed. For the next couple months, mosques and private residents will be sponsoring commemorations of the Prophet's birth in which they recite the Qur'an, devotional poems and other religious works.

In religion news, the Gospel of Judas has appeared on the scene, one of the many original Gnostic gospels that didn't make the cut for the actual Bible. For centuries, Judas has played the role of the reviled betrayer whose evil deeds led to the death of Jesus. A similar role is played in Shiite Islam by Muwawiyah ibn Abi Sufyan, who fought against Imam Ali and created the first irreparable rift in Islam. This is the resting place of Muwawiyah in Bab al-Saghir Cemetary in Damascus. Locals try to keep the location secret for fear that Shiites will vandalize his grave. You can't see it in this picture, but the word 'Lanat', or damnation, is spray-painted in large letters to the left of the door.

A number of American news outlets have been cheering Dr. Wafa Sultan's feisty appearance on Al-Jazeera a couple weeks back. The show featured Sultan opposite one Ibrahim Khouly, lecturer at the famous Egyptian Islamic university, Al-Azhar. Sultan characterized Islam as a medieval ideology pretending to compete with modern civilization. In America's imaginary Middle East, Sultan's performance caused a major disturbance in the Islamosphere. In the actual Middle East, it was barely noticed.

True to its reputation, Dubai is showcasing another of its over-the-top projects, the Ibn Battuta Mall, 'The World Under One Roof'. The mall includes six sections based on various destinations in the 14th century Ibn Battuta's travels: China, India, Persia, Egypt, Tunisia, and Andalusia. Maybe we should have a Marco Polo Mall or a Daniel Boone Mall?

Uncool things in the Middle East, as promised:

1) Conspiracy Theories: Arabs have conspiracy theories for everything. There must be some scientific psychological way to explain this kind of mass neurosis. Princess Diana was killed because the Queen refused to risk having Muslim grandchildren, for instance.

Apparently, the locals used to live in huts between the walls of the Crac des Chavalliers during the times when it wasn't occupied. I visited the castle on Syrian Mother's Day while I was staying in Homs, just a short hour or so microbus ride away.

A view from the world-famous Crac des Chevalliers an hour west of Homs, Syria. Originally built by the Kurds, the castle was occupied, built up, renovated, and used by various armies, from the Crusaders to Saladin to the Turks to the French.

In an idle moment, I was thinking: what would be my Top Ten list for the coolest things, and the uncoolest things, I've seen in the Middle East.

Particularly Cool Things, in no particular order:

Bahia Mardini reported in Elaph, a pan-Arab website, on March 30 that: “The Syrian opposition denied, yesterday, media reports and interpretations concerning the statements made by Assistant Secretary of State David Welch in which he confirmed that no communication has been made between the American Administration and the former Syrian vice-President, Abed al-Halim Khaddam, but that Khaddam may have something to say that [the US] wants to hear. The [Syrian] Opposition said that America’s goal on this subject is not to dialogue with Khaddam but ‘to merely listen to the information he has against the Syrian regime’. Khaddam also revealed a new law that the Congress is studying called ‘Syria’s freedom’.