Because he stargazes for as long as eight hours at a time--from after sundown until sunup--he also has installed a space heater, a minifridge stocked with Diet Coke and a CD player that serenades him with Mozart string quartets.
In Damascus, the traditions of Ramadan are as old as the Koran, Islam's holy book: a month of introspection and prayer, no food or water from sunup to sundown.