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Published: February 26th 2009
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Being that I've really grown fond of Lebanon and Syria, it was dispiriting to leave Lebanon, while at the same time exciting to head back to the wonderland of old city Damascus. On the morning of the 6th, Chi and I woke up in Beirut toying with the thought of finding our way to a Palestinian camp in northern Lebanon. But after much contemplation regarding time, we ended up walking to a bus station and boarding a bus headed to the Lebanon/Syria border.
At the border, I stopped by the pizza stand (the one I went to on my way from Syria to Lebannon), only to find that the twins were closing.. they saw how bummed I was and they were nice enough to reopen their store for me!
Leaving Lebanon posed a bit of a problem because of my overstayed visa; however, the officials were very nice and accommodating. After paying a small fine, Chi and I hitched a ride with a local man through the mile-stretch of "no man's land" between the two countries.
Oh... the border waiiiiiiit into Syria. Since Chi is German, he was processed instantly, whereas I, with my American stigma, had to
Visa victory!
You'd look like this too if you got your visa after 5 hours! do the customary four to five-hour wait. However, this waiting makes it all the more exciting when the officer calls your name and hands you your passport. Triumph!! Regardless of the waiting hours, I would do this a thousand times over to get into Syria... from what I have experienced, I looooove this country!
We waited and waited in a large, sparse immigration room with President Bashar al-Assad's half-smiling portrait looking down at us. Thankfully, it was not as dreadfully hot and stuffy as it was when we came from Jordan, so we sat on benches listening to our ipods, reading books and drinking eating treats we had bought at the small duty free shop.
Up to now, I've talked nonstop to Chi about the delectable Syrian restaurant that Yousef, Omar and I had gone to in old city Damascus. It's a restaurant so fitting for me that it comes up in my dreams.
In Damascus, we hopped into a cab to head over to the old city. I wanted to stay at Al-Rabie Hotel (231-8374) again and pitched the place to Chi. Unfortunately, we got lost and ended up at some souq (bazaar). We walked and
walked in the scorching heat, with my $20 knockoff Northface pack digging unrelentlessly into my shoulders. Chi took the stereotypical male role of, "Oh, I know where we are. We just have to go this way," and NEVER asking for directions. Doesn't matter if you're a guy from the U.S. or Germany, but when it comes to asking for directions... forgetaboutit! Although I am pretty good with directions, I truly am a lover of asking for it-- and I've done it possibly a thousand times since I've started my trip... sometimes walking 20 meters and asking another passerby just to make sure. I started getting veeeeerrrrrrrrry irritated of aimlessly walking around, as heat, hunger, a heavy ass backpack and being lost can add up to a temperamental, explosive self. During the 30 minute lost-tour, I snapped once or twice at Chi, and he loves to imitate how I responded when he asked, "Want me to carry your bag?"... something along the lines of, "Nooo-roaaaarrrr"
We finally found our way when I remembered some landmarks. We happily walked into the little cobblestone alley and into the welcoming doors of Al-Rabie Hotel. Unfortunately for us, there were no rooms left so
we had to opt for the roof top... which means that they supply us with a foam mattress and clean sheets. Arty (American I met in Syria and went to Lebanon with) had done this last time and it looked okay, so I didn't really care. However, when Chi and I made our way to the roof, it looked something like a backpackers refugee camp! There were mattresses lined up one after the next, towels and clothes hanging all across the clothes line, and heaps of bags and belongings strewn on the floor. There was no room anywhere, so Chi and I had to split, with me taking the only spot left under the awning, and Chi being the bigger person and taking the higher roof top area with no covering. Might not sound special and sacrificial, but at dawn when the sun is rising and shining, it's NOT a place you'd want to be, especially while in the middle of REM!
After a few nights in Damascus, Chi peeled me away from Damascus and we hopped on a large bus to the town of Tadmor (also known as Palmyra). Long ago, around first century AD, it flourished in
wealth and prosperity thanks to their vital location: it was located along two important caravan routes that linked the Far East with the Mediterranean ports of Roman Syria.
Palmyra has a tie with a scandalous 200-year old true story that I love! It's about a beautiful, rebellious aristocratic English woman named Lady Jane Digby. After she divorced at age 22 in 1830, she began a promiscuous life filled with love affairs, divorces and adventures (with princes, lords and even a distant cousin) for the next three decades, spanning around Europe, and eventually to Palmyra. While she was here, she met, fell in love and married a Bedouin tribal leader twenty years her junior, whom she lived with for 6 months of the year in the traditional nomadic Bedouin lifestyle, and 6 months in a palace built in Damascus. This continued on for the rest of her life until her death at the age of 74. This is the stuff that soap operas are made of!
There was no direct bus to the town, so we got dropped off nearby on an empty dirt lot. We were the only souls there, and eventually, a pickup truck came and we
negotiated a fare to Palmyra. He was a pseudo tout, meaning he took us to a guesthouse with the hopes of collecting a commission off of us.
The place that Chi and I had planned on sleeping at happened to be four buildings down from where the driver took us... so once the red-headed owner realized that we had another potential guesthouse in mind, he got really aggressive and started knocking down the price like crazy. We got an amazing price on the place, which was pretty sweet bc I never experienced such an upper hand during a negotiation! I heard that locals are pretty aggressive to get your business since tourism has plummeted following 9/11. The town has a stale vibe to it.. and although we were lucky enough to met some friendly locals, Chi and I wanted to leave asap.
Late afternoon, we walked over to the ruins, which are Palmyra's claim to tourism-fame, which is a magnificent overload of whole, broken, and chips of columns, that are scattered over a square kilometer of desert. We walked through an impressive monumental arch, which is the entrance to the remains of the long, colonnaded walkway. Midway through
the walkway is tetrapylon, which is a reconstructed quad-set of colonnades-- very impressive stuff. After walking to the end of the walkway, we reached the bottom of the steps of the Camp of Diocletian ruins. After climbing the steps to the top, we had the luxury of viewing a panoramic view of the ruins during sunset! There was an agressive Bedouin family who was trying to sell jewelery and shawls (and I'm sure their children if we bidded high enough), but we just played with the kids a bit and headed back to town.
We weren't really feeling Palmyra so we packed our bags to head out later that afternoon. The obvious lack of tourism created an aggressive atmosphere in this small town completely dependent on this industry, which is understandable, but something I don't want to be around. The next morning, we checked our bags into the front desk and walked the fairly short distance to the other part of the ruins to check out the two centuries-old Temple of Bel. This is an enclosed area with more column ruins and a huge temple, whose interior is engraved with beautiful Arabic scripture. The whole walled in complex had
broken columns scattered all around the compound, including a heart-shaped one! 😊
We were pretty stoked to head over to Hama, a town famed for its huge water wheels.. which is supposed to have just as friendly vibe as Damascus!
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kyoung sik jang
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Hi grace
hi grace long time no see. today i visit yur blogs how'd live well you got a job ? if you ok Let's exchange mail Have a nice day