Cleopatra's Wedding Present: Travels through Syria

by Robert Tewdwr Moss

Cleopatra’s Wedding Present is the rare book that captivates its reader from the first page. Like the best travel books, Robert Tewdwr Moss’s memoir of his travels through Syria resonates on many levels: as a profoundly telling vivisection of Middle Eastern society, a chilling history of ethnic crimes, a picaresque adventure story, a purely entertaining travelogue, and a poignant romance.

Tewdwr Moss, a brilliant young writer who was murdered in London the day after he finished this book, left this lyrical gem as his legacy. He adeptly captures an essence of the Middle East that is foreign to most of us, but which becomes real with his astute observations of the region’s culture and explosive politics. He conveys what so many westerners find both fascinating and frightening in the Middle East, making no attempt to mask circumstances that are appalling and dangerous while also exotic, beautiful, and sometimes very funny.

Mesopotamia, now present-day Syria, was part of Mark Anthony’s love gift to Cleopatra. Then and now, it is a land of mystery and love.

The Wisconsin edition is only for sale in the United States and its dependencies.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, LGBT, Memoir, Biography Memoir

252 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're curious about why Syria has destructed as a nation, this look at the country a generation ago will provide the background. Assad struck me as their version of a Dear Leader, or Stalin if you prefer. On the surface one encountered a functioning, if not particularly prosperous, place. Food is available, though the cuisine rather dull. Moss manages transport, though the cars are generally in so-so shape.

He covers most of the nation, rather than just settling down in the urban centers. Attention is paid to the clearing away of historic sites, not just in the name of "progress" but also when in an area deemed "subversive" by the authorities.

While life in Syria proves a grim experience, Moss presents hospitality and determination often. Parts of the book are quite funny, echoes of Waugh and Greene.

Tragic that he was murdered almost immediately after finishing the manuscript for thus book; I'd love to have seen more of him in say India, or Thailand. However, we do have this one. You've finished my review, go look for a copy!

[George Ilsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this memoir on a list of "best books about Syria". While not really in a position to judge, it is a fascinating book, and there is always a certain frisson reading about place names which continue to be in the news. The story of this book's publication is also, sadly, remarkable (the author was murdered, revisions were lost, the manuscript re-edited by others, and published posthumously).

Syria, it would seem, has more history than is humanly possible to bear. Phoenicians, Alexander the Great, Romans, Crusaders, Ottoman, the French Mandate — just a few mentions, skipping gaily through the time-line. Sometimes layers of history just seem to create layers of problems.

Although this book took place during the regime of the current ruler's father, not much seems to have changed. The hotbeds of opposition are well-known targets, and the killing goes in cycles.

For reasons lost to history, I have classified this book as both memoir and historical fiction.

[Denise Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has so many layers to it that it's difficult to summarize. The author travels through Syria about fifteen years ago, relating the history and his experiences there. He did not know at the time that the uprising happening now would take place (although you can almost feel its undercurrents throughout the book even then). His descriptions of the people, the squalor, the dust, the heat, the decay, the fear and paranoia, created an experience for me of a place that, as an American female, I will never consider visiting in person. Although I love history and Syria is layered with thousands of years of it, the country has too much baggage from all its wars and rulers and massacres and hatred and violence. It is filled with displaced people who would rather be somewhere else but really have no home. Anger, resentment, and suspicion fill the air, along with the dust. Robert Moss does an amazing job capturing these flavor and feelings. I have read other books of this genre in which the authors were so self-absorbed, they only talked about themselves rather than the impressions from their travels. Moss gave me just enough of himself in his observations to keep me curious about him and want to know more. Sadly, Robert Tewder Moss was murdered in a random act of violence in the relative safety of his London home just after finishing this book. So there will never another book by Robert Tewder Moss, which is truly a shame. I think his voice from this book will be with me for some time to come, whenever I hear about Syria.

[Jim Coughenour · Rating 3 out of 5]

I owe the discovery of this book to my friend Gerald, who recommended it after reading my review of Death in Persia. Originally published in 1997, after the murder of its author and the disappearance of the final draft, it's a haunted tale of both a writer and a country. Tewdwr Moss – variously described as "a perfumed gadfly" and "gay as a paper hat" – is the type of traveler the Brits delight in producing. His perilous peregrinations through Syria in the mid-90s not only foreshadow his own death but the war now tearing Syria apart. Reading Cleopatra's Wedding Present you can only wonder that this badly-constructed country took so long to explode. But the main reason to read this book is to inhabit its author's sensibility, to see a strange land through a stranger's eyes, even as you hold your breath knowing that the end is right around the corner.

[Liam Ostermann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every word of praise this book has received is more then justified - the tragedy of the authors death is all the more grotesque because he had survived so many potential dangers - that it is still illuminating to read makes its singularity even more frustrating when there is so much bad writing out there.

Despite shelving it as 'queer-interest' I should stress that this is not a tale of frolicking with Arab boys a la Gide. Those days are long over but that doesn't mean that Tewdwr-Moss doesn't have things to say, it is only that they are more interesting, nuanced and complex. Needless to say that makes them more worth reading.

It is a great book and will give you great pleasure.

[George Arees · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose this book for two reasons - all four grandparents were immigrants from Syria and I had visited twic in 1978 and 1979. The book is set just over a decade after I had been there, and the author's experiences may have reflected more of the real Syria in terms of politics and the nature of the government. My experience was very different, as I had a second cousin and his family as my guide to some of the historical sights. Discussions were about family rather than politics. Reading this book now in 2024 and knowing the effects of the Civil War in Syria, I realized that my experience was very different. I learned about the dangers that were a part of a person's experiences when traveling through Stria as a tourist. The more I read, the more I understood more of what eventually led to discontent of the people bringing about the war. In knowing the author's computer was stolen at the time of his murder, I strongly assume that his murder is linked to his visit. There are are several passages in the book that state what he was doing was dangerous and in all probability, he was being watched. The book was past paced , although some passages could have been omitted.

[Ron Turner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed emotions.

These are the last words of a dying breed, an old-fashioned British dandy. He was murdered while working on the final draft of the book. The irony being that he wasn't killed by Syrian secret police or ISIS terrorists but two neighborhood thugs who he invited in to his house to party with and ended up choking him to death and robbing him.

We get a look at a Syria that no longer exists. The government has lost control of two thirds of the country. Aleppo itself is pretty much gone.

His observations in general are interesting. He shows us how people on the fringe survive. The macho guys who are really closet homosexuals. The Armenian Christians who were exterminated by the Turks and now can barely remember anything of their past. The ancient Jews who linger on. The sick who have to rely on hospitals who are nothing more than butcher shops. The Western expatriates who have hung on through decades of political turbulence.

This all sounds amazing but unfortunately they're only tiny glimpses. It's more of a quick travel diary than anything else. Whether or not it was meant to have been expanded into something grander will forever remain a mystery.

[Debrah Roemisch · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author manages to survive all kinds of possible dangers in Syria including getting very sick before going home to England only to be murdered there before his book was published--what irony. With all the bad news about Syria today it was interesting to read about what it was like a couple decades ago and to learn some of the history of the area.

[Warren Singh-Bartlett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous, lyrical and utterly unputdownable, this beautiful travelogue-memoir of a gay man's travels through 90s Syria blends history, culture, politics and trenchant observation, bringing the Middle East to life in a way that makes you deeply regret that the author was murdered in London the day after he finished writing it.

[Benjamin Doughty · Rating 3 out of 5]

_You_ try inscribing on the 95!

[Marisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 3.5. Undeniably gorgeous prose.

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a captivating account of a 30-something gay man travelling through Syria in the mid 1990s. You get great, random details, like how the Syrians loved Princess Diana, and there's fascinating anecdotes about grave robbing and alluding hotel authorities. You can definitely see all the elements that have led to the current trouble in Syria.

A few of my favorite bits: The chapter "The Perfume of Rosewater" is near perfect, featuring a liberal teenage girl named Safa who befriends the author. Also, the history chapters are quite accessible and lively. In a few places the author explores what it is that draws Westerners to the Middle East. "What was the enigma that drew the lonely and detached... to a community that has such strong rules, such cohesion and ultimately such conformism? Perhaps it was the warmth, hospitality and security of that community which appealed to strangers, allied with the special allowance made for the outsider, who would never perhaps be expected to conform in the same way as its own members. Being a foreigner in an alien culture is a way of institutionalizing your aloneness, of going public with it. You are no longer failing to meet the expectations and values of your own world, nor do you have to meet those of your adopted one - or if you do, no one expects you to do it perfectly."

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though I read it in preparation for travel to Syria, recommended also for armchair travelers or anyone with interest in the Middle East. Earning his comparisons to Bruce Chatwin (though I haven't read any similar accusations of embellishment, but who knows), Tewdwr Moss's observations of a conflicted and complicated place are connected by the people he encounters throughout his journey. A well-balanced mix of reportage and personal narrative, Tewdwr Moss addresses both the cultural (being invited into someone's home five minutes after meeting them, when that level of hospitality goes from heartwarming to a little overwhelming) and the political (from the literal bones of the Armenian genocide to the constant shadow of the mukhabarat) with equal candor.

A note: This keeps getting tagged as "gay interest," and it is — the author is homosexual, introducing both another level of danger as well as of insight into the narrative — the book is travel literature by a gay man, not gay literature by a traveler, if you're uneasy about that kind of thing?

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was an unexpected joy to read. Moss wrote an engaging, easy to follow account of his travels in the country of Syria in 1996ish but intertwines both his cultural experiences, but also his romances as well. It was equally interesting to hear about the sublities of gay life in this cloistered middle eastern country as it was to learn of various archeological sites. And he also touches on the impact of both the Kurdish and Armenian populations living in the borders of Syria. It is saddening to know that this author was murdered the day he completed this novel but heartening that it exists as a testiment to the quality of his craft.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The contrived title is the only criticism I have of this amazing look into Syrian life two decades ago, written by a young gay Englishman. The dreadful fact of his murder hangs over the reader who wants so much for this lively, intelligent, interesting man to have had a long life. His observations, insights and unusual experiences are fascinating and very helpful for someone trying to get a sense of Syrian culture. It provides a background to the civil war that has been unfolding these past 5 years or so, helping put it into some context. I was enriched by this book, and mourn the author's senseless death.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moss' memoir takes us into the Syria of the early 90s (I think, based on the date of the author's death; a little clarification on this point would have been helpful). There's so much color in this book, and his descriptions of many of the people he encountered are so on the mark, I found myself reeling with memories of living in Egypt. The sexuality angle is a very interesting addition to the "journeys in the Middle East" genre. I could barely put down "Cleopatra's Wedding Present" and I regret that there will be no more stories and insights from Moss.

[Shovelmonkey1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best travel book i've ever read... and i've read a lot. I read this in 2001 before I went to Syria for research purposes and weirdly I actually managed to meet some of the people who Robert Tewdr Moss met and interacted with. His descriptions of Syria are so exact and he captures the key elements of each city he describes. Such a huge shame that he did not live long enough to write anything else because surely he would have been one of the best travel writers.

[Virginia · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you wanted to travel to Syria (I'm sure no one does right now) let this book take you there and show you on an intimate level how effed up it was/is. As a travel book this is pretty good as each chapter are little vignettes of the author's travel adventures. And it is interesting to get a view through a gay man's eyes. This book also touches on the Palestinian refugee problem in the other Arab countries. Events take place in the 1990's.

[Gilgamesh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very readable, the author has a great way with words. A very understated honesty in his writing. Such a unique book as well: gay travels through Syria. A few statements were uncomfortably orientalist, perhaps even racist, but the way he writes he can almost get a way with it. What a shame he was murdered the night he completed this book and we won't be able to read anything else by such a talent though.

[Edi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun read. I enjoyed it very much before spending time in Syria. If you're a gay male you'll enjoy it even better. Culturally is specific to Syria and the relationships one as a man develops with fellow brothers. I would not translate this into other Middle Eastern societies.

The book is well written, good use of the English language (he's British journalist), funny and entertaining.

Add it to your list!

[Trina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Syria in all its tough beauty and ugliness. I didn't plan to really read this book, passed on to me by a friend, but the writing is vivid and the author's story unexpected: a gay British reporter who recounts his hookups with Middle Eastern men in a thoughtful and touching way. Someday I hope to visit Syria, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon.

[Josie Shagwert · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like Bruce Chatwin you will love this book. Robert Tewdr Moss was an incredible travel writer, a observant story teller, and just a fascinating person. He really brings Syria (the good the bad and the ugly) to your living room!

[Scott Morrison · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is very boring. I read it for a book group and very little happens in the 200 pages. If I could have given it zero stars I would. The only good thing is that you can skim it very quickly because nothing happens at all. It is a shame when there are so many fantastic books out there.

[Karoliina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cleopatra's Wedding Present got more interesting towards the end. The first couple of chapters about Aleppo were less interesting, but I really enjoyed reading about Damascus.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intoxicating and exotic.