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After leaving Bcharre in Lebanon. we headed back to Tripoli then took the only transport option available to Lattakia in Syria – a service taxi with a couple of local chaps. The border crossing out of Lebanon was straightforward and easy but we were the only westerners crossing at the time and our passports were examined closely, but more out of curiosity than anything else. It was a tiny border crossing with mainly local folk passing through and it was nice to have the two border posts so close together, a matter of a few hundred meters rather than the 3km between Jordan and Israel for eg.
Just before the border crossing there was a town by the sea that had been completely bombed out. A mass of tangled ugly twisted concrete was all that was left. We were unable to find out what it was or why it was devastated as no-one around spoke English (and obviously our Arabic is minimal).
We stayed the night in Lattakia which was an OK place but nothing of particular note to see although we highly recommend checking out some of the fantastic chocolate shops around. The one we went to had some great stuff on offer. Dates ½ dipped in chocolate and stuffed with almonds or walnuts; whole apricots ½ dipped in chocolate and stuffed with nuts; balls of orange pulp dipped in chocolate with almonds on top and many many others.
You can see these in the photo above on the middle right. They’re moulds of carrot pulp studded with whole pistachios and ½ walnuts. It looked a bit like coarse quince or apricot paste and I got a surprise when I tasted it. They looked pretty and very edible but not for me thanks.
Early the next morning we caught a bus from Lattakia to Antakya in Turkey and had an eight hour wait there before hopping on an overnight bus to Antalya on the coast. We spent the time looking round and had a few locals just bowl on up wanting to practice their English. Some were very forward and caught us by surprise, moving in quickly and closely, saying hello, asking us our names, how we were, where we were from. We visited the Antakya Archaeological Museum which is famous for its collection of mosaics. If you like that sort of thing, it is well worth a look as they had rooms and rooms full of these huge mosaics.
This is my favourite mosaic of all I’ve seen even though it was largely ruined and somewhat stupidly, I didn’t take a photo of the whole thing so its difficult now to show the size of it and enable you imagine how it must have looked when it was complete. The first one I’ve seen with fish – there was a dolphin, eel, lobster, grouper, squid and many others. It was huge - about 4m high and 3m wide and was called “Mosaic of the calendar with Oceanus and Thetis” and dated from 2nd century AD. I stood for a long long time looking at this.
This isn’t a very good photo but shows the fat-tailed sheep I mentioned in another posting. Others have been difficult to photograph as they’re usually far away grazing but these ones were standing outside where we were catching a bus, sheltering behind a rubbish bin (it was about to pelt it down with rain) and you can see the massive amount of fat that they carry around their tails. It all wobbles about from side to side when they walk – looks very strange and quite disgusting on the carcass once slaughtered
The bus journey from Antakya to Antalya took 15 hours and was the longest bus trip we’ve done yet and I’m not that keen on doing anything longer unless absolutely necessary. It took us 17 ½ hours in total to get to Olympos, a very chilled out spot on the coast about two hours from Antalya. The bus trip was eventful in itself and I was woken at around 0300 by this massive bang and huge shudder. It turned out that we’d been hit by another bus on roads not designed for these huge buses and it made sense why the trip took that long. Narrow roads, no shoulder, hairpin bends and sleepy drivers are not good combinations.
We’re looking forward to chilling out for a few days in Olympos with its lovely beach and sprawling wild ruins.
Travelling across two borders in a day and using four different currencies (Syrian pound, Israeli shekel, Jordanian dinar and the US dollar) makes for tired (and at times confused) travellers. By chance, we met up with a couple we’d met previously in Akko and they were heading to the Israeli border that morning also, so we spent the day with them and made the most of dividing taxi costs by four instead of two. The Israeli border crossing was no more pleasant and the border guards no less surly than when we went in.
We skipped through Jordan but on our way to the Syrian border crossing we visited Jerash which I was really pleased about as it would have been a shame to have left Jordan without seeing what is said to be one of the best sites to visit. While it is also said that Jerash is one of the largest and most well preserved sites of Roman architecture in the world outside Italy, it isn’t a patch on Palmyra in my view but perhaps there are larger structures still to be found (I read somewhere that only 10% of Jerash has been excavated). What makes Palmyra stand out is the desert setting along with the fact the ruins appear much larger and grander, where Jerash is right bang smack on the edge of a city. Regardless, I still get a thrill from walking around ruins that are nearly 2000 years old and it is still impressive.
Oval Plaza and Colonnaded Street (stretches 800m) – both dated around 1st-2nd century
Colonnade
The very grand public water fountain built in 191 AD
Amphitheatre built in 165 AD (doubled in size in 235 AD to hold 1600 people)
View from the northern end of the Jerash site
This was just bizarre and something we didn’t expect to see but he was actually quite good and when a little girl got scared of the drummer playing next to him, he switched from some Scottish tune to Yankee Doodle.
Euan didn’t go into the site as he’d been before so stayed minding all our bags and drinking tea with various stall holders at the entrance to the site. We came back to find about 5 of them engrossed in conversation. He got talking with one chap who was a police helicopter pilot (trained in Cheltenham!) and asked if he could give us a lift to Damascus but got told the helicopter would get shot down as soon as they crossed the Syrian border. Random fact - Jordan has seven police helicopters. Why we don’t know and the pilot didn’t seem to know why they have that many either but he did say that most of the time they’re just used for traffic control. Bizarre.
From Jerash it was off to the next border crossing from Jordan into Syria, only a 35min and a totally different experience (but if we’d had Israeli stamps in our passports it would be a whole different story and we would have been refused entry outright). There had to be no, and I mean NO, evidence that we’d been in Israel or we wouldn’t be allowed in. We’d thus far managed OK – we’d got the guys on the Jordanian border to stamp exit stamps on a small bit of paper and the very sullen Israeli border guards (all very hard-core looking young women) actually obliged when we asked for no Israeli stamps in our passports both going in and out of the country. All Israeli-related items (pamphlets, water bottles, old tickets etc) got thrown out, anything with Israeli packaging either got unpacked or the labels ripped off, memory cards with photos were swapped with fresh cards and hidden (I hid my spare memory cards in the middle of a roll of loo paper which I thought was quite smart, Euan wasn’t so convinced). Its crazy but unfortunately necessary. The Jordan/Syrian border crossing was incredibly quiet, presumably because its not the main crossing (it was a different border point to the one we exited Syria through 10 days previously). The guards were clearly bored and instead of searching our bags, waved us over for a cup of tea. So, with nowhere to stay, an hour plus drive from Damascus and no way of getting there, we were sitting drinking tea making small-talk with border guards at 1930hrs. It was the best thing we could have done. Our packs stayed in the car unopened and we headed on through with no problems, negotiated a taxi fare (minibuses had packed it in for the night) and we were off. Job done, next job was finding somewhere to sleep.
We spent a decent amount of time in Damascus but also visited Bosra, a small town 80km south of the City that was originally built of black basalt. The ruins of the old town really were ruins and it was difficult to decipher what was what.
Bosra old city ruins
The amphitheatre was incredibly well preserved thanks to the Arabs who turned it into a citadel and build a wall around it, thus protecting it from the elements and attacks. It was huge (seated 15,00 apparently) and worth a visit if passing.
Amphitheatre (2nd century AD)
Me standing at the bottom of the amphitheatre taken from ½ way up
From the top of the amphitheatre
Men returning from prayer through the ruins
Bosra itself was “without culture” (to quote a Syrian man we met in Damascus). We weren’t impressed with the people or the town and had another unpleasant incident with stones and also glass being thrown. It’s the young kids who do this and who knows what they’re being taught. We were a bit torn as to how to react or what to do. Reprimand would guarantee us trouble (can you imagine two Westerners reprimanding an Arab child?) and would undoubtedly have had half the town at us in a split second.
Despite the incident above, the days we spent in Damascus were wonderful. It’s a truly amazing city. We both had a hammam (Turkish Bath) and that was very very enjoyable. The Hammams for men and woman are different establishments (men pay less but get less pampered!) and the one I went to was very authentic and used by many Syrian women who were there at the same time as I. The bath house itself was made of very old stone dating from 13th century and the interior was both marble and stone. The combination of steam, hot water, massages, oils, scrubbing, bubbly baths, sauna and thorough washing with hand-made Syrian olive oil soap was just bliss and felt very decadent. Needless to say, I was there for hours. Euans experience was slightly different. Seemed a bit more basic but included a steam, soak, scrubbing and washing then finished off by being wrapped in many thick white cloths and settling down for a nagileh (water pipe) and tea.
We visited the Umayyad Mosque which was huge and surprisingly peaceful despite the 100s of people and the kids running round. The mosaics were most impressive and unweathered given the mosque was built in 705 AD (it was converted from a Byzantine Cathedral).
Mosaic near the main entrance
Interior of Mosque
Huge mosaic in mosque
More detail of above
What I had to wear (I quite liked it - especially the headscarf that kept my damn hair out of my eyes!)
Not sure what this was and we couldn't find out but it looked pretty cool (the patterns on the sides are more mosaics)
Mosque entrance (you can see the tree on the top right in more detail below)
Tree mosaic in more detail
....and even more detail!
Inside the Mosque
We also spent a lot of time wandering the souqs and the Christian part of the Old City as there is just so much to look at and you never know what was going to be around the next corner.
Souq Hamidyya
We also got very lost which is the best thing to do I think. In one remote part of the Old City we heard this roaring noise that sounded like powerful fans but when we poked our heads through the door, we found it was a number of copper drums used like concrete mixers but full of sugared almonds that were being smoothed! The roar was deafening and it hurt to take my hands off my ears to take this picture.
This guy had a load of garlic and watermelons and his cart took up the whole road in places. In a very narrow part of the road, I was walking behind a kid who he thwacked really hard across the back with the end of his reins as he went past. I was working out what to do if I got the same treatment but thankfully I didn’t.
The offal on offer in loads of shops is eye-opening (and I'm used to that kind of stuff!). This is a typical butchers shop in Damascus. I’m not sure where they actually kill the sheep but suspect its in the shop or just outside but early in the morning. We came across more blow torches (like that being used to brown those trotters in Aleppo) but this time being used to brown whole sheep intestines. Niiiice.
Butchers shop in Damascus
We also visited the Azem Palace which was OK but not worth going out of your way for if you’ve limited time.
We're quite sorry to leave Damascus. We loved the culture, the friendly people and delightful kids (oh, and also the amazing fruit smoothies for a minimal price). I got hooked on fuul (a Middle Eastern dish) in particular. Fuul is a dish of slow-cooked fava beans (ladled out of this massive cauldron-type thing positioned over low heat), whole cooked chickpeas, some broth, chopped fresh tomatoes and parsley, cumin, paprika, lemon juice and olive oil then eaten with freshly baked Syrian flat-bread. YUM. For equivalent of £0.70 it made a great meal whether it be dinner or breakfast. I wasn’t fussy and had it for both.
We were in two minds whether to go to Lebanon but the trouble there seems to have died down in the last week so we decided to give it a go. Hopefully Beirut will be the next posting.
Damascus is a three hour bus ride in the other direction across the desert from Hama but this was a bit more expensive at £1.90 each. We weren’t sad to leave Palmyra and our extremist host behind and nor were we sad to leave behind the somewhat desperate taxi drivers who just hounded us and drove us (me in particular) to distraction. We got chatting to a chap from Oregon, Tucker (I asked straight away if that was his real name – he must get that a lot I think from the look he gave me!) and ended up sticking together for the night in a dorm room which seemed to be the best available option. A lovely old house with a big old courtyard in the middle.
We didn’t see that much of Damascus this time as we’re heading on down to Jordan and will have to come back through on our way up. We visited the old souks that seemed even more myriad-like than those in Aleppo and came across some marvellous stalls selling all sorts of Syrian sweet – we went to town in that ‘street’! Ate a marvellous meal of ‘faal’ which is a basic mix of whole chickpeas and fava beans with chopped parsley, chilli, olive oil, a bit of stock and some spices. So good!
We had an incredibly frustrating time trying to find a bus to Jordan. Well, it was finding the bus station really. We turned up to where it was two years ago and then got pointed in all directions by locals, had taxi drivers telling us it was 16km out of town, then 4km out of town and we were just going spare. Finally decided to take a taxi who then tried to charge us more than agreed and that was when I nearly lost it and refused to get out. I think Euan feels sorry for the taxi drivers who incur the quietly seething wrath but man, I just can’t stand being ripped off. Fair is fair. Ten deep breaths. We found our bus to Jordan but it did take a long long time.
Oh, if any of you are travelling into Syria, you can get a visa at the border. We spent a lot of money getting visas in London then the Japanese guy (plus others) just rocked up and bought theirs at the border for ½ of what we paid. We were a bit miffed but they were running a slight risk of being refused.
We arrived in Hama in the afternoon and stayed two days. It’s a small town, much quieter than Aleppo and seemed to be wee kids absolutely everywhere. Less conservative than Aleppo and while there wasn’t too much to do in Hama, there was plenty around the area to keep us busy. If any of you are in Hama, Ali Baba does the most wicked falafel sandwich for the S£20 which is about 20p. We just about lived on them while we were there. Hama is famous for its water wheels, or norias as they’re called. They’re incredible structures and, because they’re completely made of (absolutely water-soaked) wood the sound they make when they turn is a constant groaning sound that is so loud you almost have to yell to get yourself heard. The largest was 20m in diameter so quite a sight. I was fascinated by them and insisted on getting right up close but the power with which they pushed through the water would have meant I didn’t last long if I fell in! Some were in pairs, others on their own and there were heaps of them along the riverside.
The biggest noria at about 20m diameter
We bumped into one of the chaps we’d met previously and caught up with him (and someone else he’d bumped into) for a few drinks (and a smiling competition which they won hands down. For those of you that know Euan, you’ll realise that he is trying really really hard :-)
Following day we headed off to see a few castle, the famous Crac de Chevalier being one. Crap day – pouring with rain but it stopped while we were there thankfully. We stopped off in Musyaf to check out the citadel – check out the view of a concrete jungle.
Crac de Chevalier was pretty amazing – built in the 12th century its perched high on a hilltop and impossible (it would seem) to conquer. The crusader knights gave up after a month when they had five years of supplies!! What were they thinking? Its pretty cool to explore as you’re free to scramble literally all over, through, under and down. We took our head lamps so we could explore the dark alleyways under the castle but didn’t spend too long as they seemed to have morphed from exciting places where cool things happened into toilets. It was incredibly windy while we were there and it was getting difficult to walk and stand when up high. There were these cool goats grazing around the base with big long Basset Hound-type ears that were whipping them in the face as they ate.
That evening in Hama, this chap was doing some juggling with a tennis racket to some incredibly loud music and he was very clever but so out of place with all the families, ladies wearing burka and the kids… and check out his get-up. What a dag!
From Hama to Palmyra via bus the next morning.
