syria: journalaleppo - 14th julyour arrival into aleppo could not have been more welcoming. as the budget accommodation is to be found in the spare car parts and tyres part of town there was much interest in the vehicle and us. everyone had a wave and a 'welcome'. this pleased us as we were not too sure what kind of reception we would receive in the middle-east at this present time. throughout turkey, syria and jordan we have been welcomed by strangers, offered endless cups of tea in many different places - banks, petrol stations, railway crossings, backstreet moneychangers, underneath a radiomast on the top of a remote hill - and when lost, locals have stopped their cars to see if they can help; including invitations to dinner and free watermelons. as a westerner this hospitality takes you by surprise.
aleppo is syria's second biggest city overlooked by a citadel and filled with mosques, souks, and yellow taxis. the food is reputed to be the best in syria and our first night saw us eating a delicious mezze on a roof-top terrace whilst around us an all-male clientele smoked 'shishas' (waterpipes) and drank arak.
if visting aleppo the souks are a must see, kilometres of passageways filled with traders selling their wares - scarves, carpets, spices, meats, gold, fruit and veg, you name it they've probably got it somewhere - with supplies delivered by donkey. it's a great place to lose yourself for an hour or two.
basilica of st simeon - 15th julywe drove out into the countryside to visit the remains of the basilica of st simeon of stylites - a saint who spent 40 years on top of a pillar preaching to the locals. not much remains of the pillar today but the cathedral that was built around his home still stands and the ruins and the panoramic views are worth seeing. north of aleppo the land is scattered with the 'dead cities' and on the road to st simeon we passed khrab shams. free to wander over the rocks and boulders we were alone to imagine what this city must have looked like in its heyday.
aleppo, hama, tartus, crac de chevaliers - 16th julywe set out from aleppo, heading south towards hama; a town famous for its large iron water-wheels, once used to power factories lining the river. we weren't aiming to stay long, just check out the water-wheels, have lunch and move on. we got a bit lost trying to find the water-wheels. claire had seen one, but i had been concentrating on negotiating the traffic. "they're not worth seeing" she said, "we may as well keep going". i was still a little curious, "what were they like?". "they're just big, black ... things" she said with contempt. i did see them in the end, and in a way, she was right. we moved straight on to tartus, not even stopping for lunch - it stank by the river. tartus is one of syria's main beach resorts. the guide book said the local fish was a speciality. we fancied a change from lamb kebab, so reasoned this would be a pleasant place to spend the night. we entered the town through a canyon of trucks, queuing to get to the port. down on the sea-front, with the windswept yellow sand and crumbling stone fort it felt more desert outpost that sea-side resort. we re-read the guide book. it said the fish was expensive. we decided to move on.
we headed for the cool of the hills. the roads were steep and narrow, sometimes first gear was necessary to haul us up through the streets of the small villages that clung to the mountainside. as sunset approached we reached the old crusader castle named krak des chevaliers. we made camp right next to the castle, with a commanding view of the surrounding hills and cracked open the beers. krak des chevaliers to palmyra - 17th june
the desert, this is what we've been waiting for. the roman ruins of palmyra lie 200km out into syria's eastern desert. they are also just 150 or so km from the iraqi border, a daunting prospect in these times and one that can't be forgotten as we passed signposts to baghdad. large numbers of syrian tanks are visible in the distance on either side of the road. perhaps we shouldn't be taking photos.
at sunset in palmyra, the old fort is the place to be. situated on top of a small but prominent hill, it's the perfect place to watch the desert, as it subtly shifts it's colours, matching the reds of the setting sun. the fort itself is small and well restored. clambering over its ramparts and stairways, it's everything you imagine a desert fort to be; while looking down across the desert, the columns and colonades of this ancient roman outpost stretch out into the dusk.
palmyra - 18th june
we hadn't eaten much over the last couple of days, but what we had eaten, though tasty, had become objectionable somewhere along the digestive process. it had been a sleepless night.
in some ways this made it easier to get up, as we'd planned, for sunrise. we returned to the fort and waited, shivering, sick and a little feverish in the grey dawn. we were also early, by about half an hour. somehow the gps had got it's sunrise calculation wrong.
we concluded the fort wasn't the best place for sunrise after all, and drove down amongst the ruins themselves. they were spectacular, glowing in the soft, golden light. we walked slowly, weak, pointing cameras here and there, but still appreciative of this ancient magnificence.
when the light got too bright, we headed back to the room - and stayed there. we really were ill.
palmyra to damascus - 19th junestill sick, but moving, we packed up and got on the road to damascus (sorry, couldn't resist). it was hot when we arrived at mid-afternoon, and inevitably we got lost trying to find a guesthouse in the sprawling city, with its push and shove traffic, flyovers and one-way systems. a hopeful (and hasty) left turn took us onto 'straight street' - one of the cities main sights. 'straight street', is (apparantly) mentioned in the bible and is where st. paul's sight was restored. today it is a covered souq, with all the associated hustle and bustle, spices, metalwear and clothing. it's just wide enough for the land rover to sqeeze between the stalls, at a crawl. in my still weakened state i couldn't help but think this was a great way to see the sights. the traders looked as though they wanted to give us the normal banter, but were a little confused and unsure to approach us, enthroaned as we were.
things became even more surreal when my mobile rang. it was my friend matt, calling from london. in my mind i could picture his surroundings, it felt like he was calling from another planet. i couldn't begin to describe the scene to him. damascus - 20th junewe had found the guest houses in the end and they had been full. we'd ended up sleeping on the roof of one of them. surprisingly, we slept soundly, but the sun got up early and hence, so did we.
this time we saw the sights on foot. thankfully there weren't too many. we visited the great mosque, and claire had to wear a cloak in the interests of modesty. this was hot for her, but fun for me, as she looked like obi wan kenobi. it's nice to be able to see inside though, as often mosques are prohibited to non-muslims. we didn't even feel too conspicuous taking photos, as muslims and westerners alike were viewing everything though the screens of their camcorders.
we were still ill though, so in the afternoon we cheered ourselves up going to a pizza restaurant, followed by the cinema to see 'troy'. damascus to jordan - 21st juneon the roof again. up with the sun again. this gave us a good, early start to get on our way to jordan. whilst leaving damascus, we witnessed by far the worst piece of driving i've ever seen (and i've seen some bad driving - particularly in the last month) as someone turned the side of their car into the front of the land rover. they didn't even stop at the sound of bending metal as they dragged the length of their car accross our front bumper. the bumper didn't move. crazy!
after that, we felt like we wanted to get out of syria, but we did stop on the way at the amphitheatre of bosra. unlike most of the many other amphitheatres we've seen, this one is almost completely intact, right to the top, including all the corridors, stairs and backstage areas. so much so that they were, in fact, setting up the lighting for an opera that night. unfortunately it seems to be the case in the middle east that wherever there is the slightest hint of a dark corner or covered area, people piss there. for this reason bosra's greatest asset - its intact corridors and stairways - are also its downfall. the whole place stank. lovely as the people were, it was definitely time to get out of syria. |
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syria: accomodation
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syria: other infoentry checks: a visa is a must and should be attained in advance from the syrian embassy in london (takes a week to process and costs about £33). very expensive to take a diesel vehicle in at a cost of c £130 for one week and increases by £60 for each additional week (this charge doesn't apply to petrol vehicles). a carnet is required so the usual car paperwork is necessary - make sure it has all the right stamps. because of the high costs, we paid for one week only. be warned, the person sorting the paperwork out will advise that the day of entry is not included in the week so you have 7 full days. we double-checked our departure date as overstaying incurs a fine of £100. it wasn't too much of a surprise when the official on exit waved his hand and explained that we had overstayed. at our insistence we were allowed through without paying the fine but be careful of this. an international driving license is also required but no-one asked to see it. costs: with the exception of the diesel charge on entry, syria is very cheap. diesel is so so cheap. the tank could be filled for about £8 (10 pence a litre); beer is available and costs just under a £1 a bottle, not too many campsites but hotels are good for the price (£8 for a room with private bathroom, a mattress on the rooftop is cheaper at £1.30 per person); tasty kebabs to be had for less than a £1 and a bottle of water is about 25 pence. entry to the sights is pretty consistent at c.£1.30. must sees: souks of aleppo and without a doubt palmyra (particularly sunset from the castle). try to find the swimming pool at palmyra that we have since heard about. any deserted ruins that you can find (north of aleppo is a good place to look). when in aleppo try the banana milkshakes - delicious (they could make you ill though). |
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| kusafiri: the swahili verb "to travel" |
