Blogs from West, Syria, Middle East - page 5

Today I checked out the Crac des Chevaliers, which is an old (1000 AD) castle/fortress. It was really amazing--incredibly well preserved, but getting there and back to Hama was the real adventure- a knight in shining armor out have been useful! So Camilla (British roommate at the hotel) and I decide to set out around 9:00- 9:30, but first I had to exchange some Turkish lyra into Syrian pound. I didnt do this (well I changed a small amount at the bus station so I would have some, but the rate seemed bad so only a little) when I arrived and was kicking myself for it when I had to walk up an down the street mumbling "money exchange" because all the banks were closed yesterday (Friday= holy day- duhh!) and then follow an old man ... read more

Drove to the Syrian border. After many smoke filled rooms, paper work and questioning we were given permission to enter Syria. It got dark during our hour drive to Hama Syria. The roads were rough, the traffic was insane and the signs were all in aerobic. It’s worth mentioning that the maps for this trip are in Al’s lost bag. There for we had to buy new maps in Italy. So… we are three people who combined speak English and Farsi trying to read aerobic street signs in the dark using an Italian map. Wow. Eventually, believe it or not, we did find a pretty neat old place. They tell us Agatha Christy once stayed in the room Lisa slept in which seems just random enough to be true. Mo and Al hit the streets for ... read more

Do you remember the time when you were a little kid and loved listening to fairy-tales or reading books full of adventures from places somewhere beyond the horizon and far far away. Tales of powerful kings and queens and beautiful princesses? Tales of brave heroes and conquerors, tales of unbeatable armies in their shining armors, tales of the everlasting battle between good and evil? Do you remember the time...? The time when one side was good and the other side was evil? But as time does not stand still and as everything changes, even the good and the evil will change...! Like back the time when mankind was still living in caves, it was pretty clear who was evil... - the mighty Saber Tooth Tiger, it could bite a man's head off with just a single ... read more

Okay, ich bin schon verrueckt. Warum komme ich auch nach Syrien, um mit einem uraltem russichen Flugzeug zu fliegen, dass in der EU laengst Einflugverbot hat. Naja, schoen wars trotzdem. Nur kompliziert. Zuerst wollte naemlich der Flughafenbus gefunden werden. Keine leichte sache am riesigen Baramke-Busbahnhof. Und dort, wo er laut Lonely Planet abfahren sollte, fuhr gar nix mehr, weil die staatliche Busgesellschaft Karnak seit letztem Jahr Geschichte ist. Ich hab dann einen der ueberall rumstehenden Soldaten/Polizisten gefragt. Die sind hier ausnahmslos nett und haben mir verraten, wo der Bus fuhr. Am Flughafen ist es dann ein unheimliches Gewusel, aber irgendwann findet man sich zurrecht. Am Nachbargate sollte ein Flug in den Sudan gehen und an unserem standen schon Leute (genaugenommen eine Armada schwarz verschleierter Frauen - da kriegt man echt Angst :) ) Schlange um ... read more

Krak des Chevaliers -Part I Middle East » Syria » Hama By leilaroundaworldMay 5th 2007Leila Heyyyyy, This is only to say I'm down good, it is the 12th of May today (Happy 30th B-Day Paul), and I'm heading to Beyrouth finally (after changing my plans every day for the past 3 days " I'm going...ok, no tomorrow, ok, today, heu ok, I'll stay and visit that monastery...") Beyrouth where I'll be betting on some fine horses down at the Hippodrome ( Yes, it is legal to place bet in Lebanon, sometimes), I will stroll on the corniche in the evening, wearing some strappy sandals, and finally being able to wear some shorts and skirts... show off a li... read more