Blogs from Palmyra, East, Syria, Middle East

Palmyra On our last day in Damascus almost all signs of the demonstrations the day before were gone and the city seemed to be back to normal. I would find out later that demonstrations and unrest have been continuing in Syria but I never did see anything from the people of Syria that would show any anger towards their president they seemed to be protesting against the security forces and some members of hardliners still in power from when his father was president. After one final morning in Damascus we left in the afternoon for Palmyra and checked out the sunset from the Arab citadel before another excellent dinner where the Mezza (appetizers) are so good that when the main dish came out most of us were fully stuffed. That night we decided to drink at ... read more

It was a serious trek to get from Baalbek to Palmyra: one minibus to Beirut, another one from Beirut to Homs then finally Homs to Palmyra. Also throw in the fun of crossing the Syrian border and the fact the engine of the second minibus effectively exploded so we were towed for a few hours! The bus driver was great though kept loudly shouting in Arabic at the border staff, got me through in no time. Palmyra is Syria’s main tourist attraction, and guess what it’s more Roman ruins! It was an important city on the Silk Route and benefited greatly from rerouted trade routes after Petra was captured by the Romans. The city was left generally abandoned and hidden under a layer or sand for over a thousand years. It wasn’t until the 1920s that ... read more

Z Damaszku do Palmiry wyjechalismy wczoraj rano lokalnym autobusem. Kolo stacji ulokowaly sie warsztaty samochodowe, ktore sprzedawaly tyly badz przody samochodow - cos, co - mam wrazenie - u nas jest nie do pomyslenia i generalnie zabronione. Tutaj natomiast mozna stworzyc hybryde, kupujac tyl peugota i przod nissana. Droga z miasta usiana byla po obydwu stronach tonami smieci, a potem - gdy skonczyly sie zabudowania mieszkalne - zaczela sie bura pustynia. Monotonie przerywaly tylko znaki wskazujace, ile kilometrow do Iraku. Na miejscu rzucaja sie przyjezdnych taksowkarze. Oferuja transport do hotelu za 1 euro ale to tylko przyneta, bo licza, ze jak zlapia takiego turyste, to juz bedzie z nim caly dzien podrozowal, a potem cena zalezy juz tylko od zdolnosci negocjacyjnych stron. Miasto slynie z ogromnych, wspaniale zachowanych wykopalisk, ktore sa ulokowane na tak duzej przestrzeni, ... read more

Syria continued Right, so I left the last entry having just met a fellow biker and his girlfriend looking over my orange crush downstairs. Turns out they're backpacking it this time... but it's pretty obvious he has serious bike withdrawl ;) and I can't blame him considering his pedigree! Veteran of an 8 year round the world solo trip and seemingly countless other biking jaunts here and there. Wow. Great people both of them and we spent the Saturday checking out the town and eating. We were both thinking of leaving the next day, and both going in the same direction so agreed to meet up again here in Palmyra. And what a place Palmyra is! I've seen a few ruined old cities in my time and to date Pompeii has been the most impressive in ... read more

"What time is the bus?...How much?" is pretty much what my life revolves around right now. I was thinking today as i was walking through the desert, i have no clue whats being going on in the outside world! All i care about is .... my next bus trip, what time the bus is coming, where im going to eat, what am i going to eat, do i have enough water for the day ahead, maybe i should buy some more fruit!...Travelling is really a self centered lifestyle ! I LOVE IT! AHAH! Palmyra was in ancient times an important city of Syria and is located in a desert oasis north east of Damascus. In the 1st century Palmyra was wealthy and elegant city located along the caravan routes linking Persia with the Mediterranean ports of ... read more