Two oblivious students round the same corner from opposite directions. Both hunch over their smartphones, texting away furiously without any regard for the outside world. Their footsteps get closer and closer together, the clickity-clacks of their shoes echoing louder and louder on the ceramic tiles. Smash.

To most Americans, the Middle East has become synonymous with war and chaos. Every day seems to bring new turmoil to the region, from the common coups and border disputes to the exceptional self-immolation that set off the Arab Spring. Currently, Syria’s raging civil war serves as the conflit du jour—one order of ruthless dictator who mercilessly attacks his own people coming right up. Despite the fact that this debacle has been ongoing largely overlooked for the past two years, the recent discovery that chemical weapons were allegedly used by Bashar al-Assad’s regime has caused an uproar across the globe.