Pedestrians walk through the ancient Roman archways in the Old City section of Damascus, the capital of Syria. Damascus is one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities, with ruins from several civilizations. (Photographer: Michael Luongo/Bloomberg)
(Bloomberg Businessweek) -- The request came on my last evening in Damascus. I was getting ready to go out to dinner when a friend, a journalist who used to also cover Syria, sent me a message asking to get him a tablecloth. He wanted a particular type, handcrafted with charming prints of flowers and birds, the kind available at the souvenir and handicraft stores in the old Hamidiyyeh bazaar. He didn’t want the intricate, silver-embr...