After all the reports I’d heard about Aleppo, most of which were more negative than positive, or at best boiled down to the phrase ‘interesting, not beautiful’, I was not expecting to want to spend a lot of time exploring the city, however I was pleasantly surprised to find Aleppo both interesting and beautiful, and the two days we spent there left me wanting more, and intending to return for a weekend whenever we find the time. Our friend Sam arrived in Aleppo at the same time as us, so on our arrival into the out of town bus station late [View Full Entry]

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When we arrived in Damascus, the tour ended for part of the group. So we all had a little party around the truck to say good-bye. I spent most of my time in cities while in Syria. Damascus is said to be the oldest city in the world. It is very large and the people there are very friendly. I spent most of my time wondering around Old Damascus. I saw one of the largest mosques that I have ever seen. The inside courtyard was very detailed with lots of mosaic work. Simone and I went inside the mosque and for [View Full Entry]

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As I travel through this part of the world, a region that for most people in the West first and foremost stirs up visions of war, instability, and fighting, I have made this question of violence and safety my foremost topic of conversation with local people. But not in the way that you might think. I have not been asking people, “why is your country so turbulent?” or “why do these streets feel so unsafe”, but rather the complete opposite. What I really want to know is, how is it that I can find myself in the core of what is [View Full Entry]

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Ive crossed borders before in Europe on trains where the customs officers come on the train and check passports and then go. But i have never physically left one country and crossed the boarder on land to another. For the first time in doing this, i picked the Turkish / Syrian Boarder. Without a pre organised visa. I thought i would be in for a long day. Ive heard reports of people not getting the visa, or being interrogated, or the process taking hours! Yet, I left Antakaya at 9am and arrived in Allepo by 12pm! AMAZING! There was no one [View Full Entry]

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Hi everybody! We're so sorry for the long delay in updating, but we've been getting our travel on and so internet has been few and far between. Last weekend we went to Palmyra and hung out with some Bedouins and their camels. Last week we finished the Arabic course and ran wild through the souq and restaurants and up Mount Qaysioun to watch the sunset. Then we celebrated our new freedom from Arabic lessons by jumping on a bus with some friends and heading for Hama, where a driver in a 1950s Pontiac took us roaring along the sides of the [View Full Entry]

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I know we have not "blogged" in a while. I hope no one thought we were dead, but it would be nice to know that someone was paying attention! We have had no Internet access, English newspapers, or English television for 5 days. We are feeling a bit disconnected from the world--Dad said it seems so long ago that we were in the USA that he has forgotten what his mother looks like! So, it is nice to get comments from everyone who has sent them. Kyle brought his laptop and in Damascus we were able to access the Internet and [View Full Entry]

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From Tripoli we travelled to Hama. Lebanon was humid and it affected our competency... We milled around the central square looking lost and red-faced, waving postcards and saying the words 'stamps' and 'bus station' to bewildered Arabic strangers. In the end a young man in faded jeans enthusiastically lead us to the door of the unmarked ticket office in the building next to the section of pavement serving as an impromptu bus stop. We alighted the bus which Lizzie may have mistakenly described as 'plush' and muddled our way across yet another border, reminding ourselves that silly little girls [View Full Entry]

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I've got so much to say about Syria...but precious few moments here at the ol' internet cafe (so far, I think, the only one I've found in Aleppo...). I'll be uploading pics, but it may take a few days before I'm not paying by the minute and trying to make travel plans at the same time. It appears *leaving* Syria is a bit more complicated than entering. Syria is inexplicably chaotic and friendly. You seemingly take your life into your hands every time you step on (or, more usually, off) a sidewalk or, God forbid, try to cross a street. And [View Full Entry]

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DAY 49 First thing after breakfast heading on a 10 minute walk down the hill to Krak de Chevaliers. It is the most famous medieval citadel in the world. It is an amazing castle within a castle. The small original castle was built by the Kurds and then enlarged by the Arabs then became the castle it is today when the crusaders occupied it in the 1100's. It has 13 huge towers and could accommodate 5000 soldiers. It was a place where Richard the Lion Hearted fortified himself along with the Knights of the Round table with the parts of the [View Full Entry]

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I couldn’t imagine how tough it would’ve been to attack this place? Surrounded by a forest of trees and sitting atop a ridge that falls away to ravines. This castles prime location is the reason it never changed hands. As I walked up the stairs to the Gate Tower, out of breath I joked. “Shit! Can you imagine trying to attack this place? It would have been like… (Hiding behind a tree, arrows flying past. Wheezing,) “hhhhhhh oh ok ok hhhh hang on fellas! Ohhh hhhhh… just give us a minute. (Hunched over, hands on knees) Hhhh hhhhh oh shit… hhhh [View Full Entry]

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