http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Syria/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Middle East , Syria en-us Wed, 02 Dec 09 11:24:47 +0000 Wed, 02 Dec 09 11:24:47 +0000 CyprusLeaking water pumps motorbike crashes. hospitals and dental surgery behind me I hope I finally set off from Nicosia on Sunday 22nd November for a short first leg over to Northern Cyprus planning to stay with friends and try and chill out a bit before catching the ferry to Turkey on Monday morning. I wasn't only leaving all that negative trip delaying crap behind either... 5 years of l http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Syria/West/Hama/blog-456533.html Palmyra Time now for some Roman ruins and a history lesson. After leaving our desert camp in Wadi Rum we drove further North into Syria until we arrived at the ruins of Palmyra which is also the name of the adjacent town. Palmyra dates to before the 1st century BC with many of the ruins and monuments having been built during the reign of the Nabateans and eventually the Romans invaded and conquer http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Syria/East/Palmyra/blog-453449.html 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 goodbye. 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Syria/North/Aleppo/blog-451174.html HELLO FOR ALLFor those who like to travel to Syria I advise you to Company ALNAJWAI know of this company And this information on the companyALNAJWATravel tourism Has always respond to the sophististicated needs of public tourism by providing full services including 5 countries Syria Lebanon Jordan Turkey and Egypt Our services Meet and assist travelers.Hotels reservation .Historical http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Syria/South/Damascus/blog-450439.html After all the reports Irsquod heard about Aleppo most of which were more negative than positive or at best boiled down to the phrase lsquointeresting not beautifulrsquo 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Syria/North/Aleppo/blog-450188.html Finally the Middle East after a few weeks galivanting around Europe in an erratic expensive and unblogged sort of way I had finally arrived in the destination I had planned to come to for months and had done no planning for beyond the rough outline of a route. Isn't travel funAleppo HalepI'll admit it I wasn't much of a fan of Aleppo. For reasons unknown to me it could actually have been a http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Syria/blog-449701.html Met Mike from airport late Friday night. Nothing pretty about Damascus Airport in fact it was particularly unpleasant. As the great Douglas Adams noted it can hardly be a coincidence that no language on Earth has ever produced the phrase 'as pretty as an airport.' Airports are ugly. Some are very ugly. Some attain a degree of ugliness that can only be the result of a special effort. Damasc http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/blog-449203.html After living in Syria for over six weeks we finally got round to exploring some more of the country in our holidays last week when Becka Everitte and I set off all alone to travel to Palmyra and up the Euphrates to Aleppo. We had had rather a late night the evening before our departure due to meeting up with a couple of English guys we met in Lattakia who turned out to be great company and one o http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Syria/East/Palmyra/blog-448178.html Hi Everyone.No Interent WiFi access so I cant transfer Image and notes frommy PC. This is just a quicktext note to give you a short update.We are in Damascus for 1 more night and then we drive to Palmyra tosee the Roman Ruins and complexwe will camp somewhere near Palmyra. Following that we have 2 nights in Allepoand hopefully I will be able to updatethe Blog then.Cheers and Kisses from David T http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Syria/South/Damascus/blog-447738.html qsFDsdffltsdf http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Syria/blog-446445.html Since getting back from Jordan three weeks ago I have been too busy to blog which presents a dilemma because it of course means that I have an awful lot to blog about so will have to try and resist the unnecessary level of detail I usually feel the need to include and go for a lovely brief overview.We arrived back in Damascus after our week in Jordan on Saturday night and on Monday evening our http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Syria/South/Damascus/blog-445463.html Hmmm... bit lost for words maybe because its before dinner time and i know i shouldnt blog before dinner as all im thinking about is shish towuk and garlic and fatoush.... YYYUUUMMMMI hate to say it but Damascus didn't impress me all that much. I dont know where these travellers get the idea that Syrians are so welcoming and that Syria is a fantastic place to visit. Perhaps its luck of the pot a http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Syria/South/Damascus/blog-444695.html On our wedding day I said that I considered myself the luckiest man in the world as in my opinion I was marrying the most beautiful woman in the world.Now it just so happens that having arrived in Syria there are at least 20 million other people that are also of the same opinion. At first I think Dee enjoyed the celebrity status to which she had escalated on receiving her rightful title of the http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Syria/blog-444347.html 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 fru http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Syria/East/Palmyra/blog-443546.html Hmm thought it prudent to visit the consulate on the way out to the border got there half an hour to early so took tea with the cops guarding outside this seems to be a recurring theme maybe its like donuts in the states. got in to a better reception this time and my forged docs from work helped he took passport and papers and said return in an hour another cup of tea later this guy who i ke http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Syria/blog-443521.html 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 ldquowhy is your country so turbulentrdquo or ldquowhy do thes http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Syria/North/Aleppo/blog-443293.html 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 th http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Syria/North/Aleppo/blog-442940.html ALNAJWATravel tourismHas always respond to the sophististicated needs of public tourism by providing full services including 5 countries Syria Lebanon Jordan Turkey and EgyptSYRIA 4 DAYS 3 NIGHTS Day 1 Arrival to Damascus International Airport. Meet assist transfer to hotel in the city for dinner overnight. Day 2 After breakfast at the hotel proceed to a full day sightseeing http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Syria/South/Damascus/blog-440734.html ALNAJWATravel tourismHas always respond to the sophististicated needs of public tourism by providing full services including 5 countries Syria Lebanon Jordan Turkey and EgyptAleppo 2 Days 1 NightThis is the second capital of Syria 350 km north of Damascus and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in history. Abraham is said to have camped on the acropolis which long b http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Syria/South/Damascus/blog-440731.html A Long weekend awayDamascus and Palmyra Why not we thought What a blast great fun and can really recommend it to anyone fancying something a little different... If your going to go you must stay in the four seasons though. Location not bad facilities great http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Syria/South/Damascus/blog-439366.html