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Published: November 23rd 2007
Aleppo
CitadelSyria? Aren't all those Arabs lecherous terrorists with a bomb in each pocket? All those people guilty of having even remotely such notions, get yourself into the kitchen for a big steaming hot cup of REALITY. Better still, get yourself over here and experience these people for yourself.
The Turks are welcoming, the Syrians equally so but on a more "energetic" level. A couple of brief examples.
* Meandering around the Aleppo Citadel, we stumbled across a group of about 100 school children at the citadel's open theatre. When the teachers spotted us they roused up a 100 strong chant -
YOU...ARE...WELCOME...TO...SYRIA...YAHHHHHHHHHHHH
* The 16 year old boy who probably earns in the vicinity of $2 per day but ran off to spend pretty much all of that on 4 soft drinks for us and two other Aussies we were hanging with. Because (pointing to us) "I love you 1..2..3..4.." That's the extent of his english, but it didn't matter, the message was received and understood.
Just two examples of these most gracious of people. Brought a tear to this man's glass eye.
Apart from the people, what else? The entire nation is bursting at the seams with historical sites, from
Aleppo
Giddyup mule the Dead Cities (and they really are DEAD), to 1500 year old monastaries, crusader forts and Roman ruins, Palmyra being the big daddy of those.
The souqs, particularly in Aleppo and Damascus, are manic. If you can't get it in these joints, it doesn't exist. The passageways are a golf club wide but somehow donkeys, motorbikes, carts and zillions of people squeeze through them. The vendors can be overwhelming but one thing they aren't is boring. We actually met two Aussies/Syrians running a stall in one such souq. They work in Syria and then would come back to Asutralia for a few months holiday. That seemed a tad back to front but they appeared awfully chauffed with the arrangement.
Then there is the food. Without too many details, our night out with the Aussie couple previously mentioned was near enough to the culinary highlight of the year. The Sissi House Restaurant (not so convinced about the name) was as chic as anything we came across in Europe. The magnificant food was washed down with a couple of bottles of Lebanese red that wouldn't be out of place in the cellars of Margaret River's finest.
On top of all that, the
Dead Cities
and we do mean dead tourist trail is mightily social. Every day seems to ressemble a UN ensemble only with more genuine PR effect than the real version. One day we would be shaking and moving with Koreans, Japanese and Malaysians, the next French, Dutch, German, Poms, Slovenians, Danish etc. The multi cultural blend of fellow crusauders augmenting the fun factor.
Syria. Still don't like the sound of it? You cannot be SYRIOUS.
Yeatesy
Syria. It's been fabulous. Why? Because they don't make Carpets in Syria so consequently they don't sell Carpets, and you can walk through the souqs having conversations with the store holders without being worried you will be dragged off to some Carpet shop out the back. There are plenty of carpets on the floors and the walls of every hotel and restaurant but these all come from Iran.
Syria has also been very easy to get around. With a choice of luxury buses, taxis and camels.
Aleppo, our first stop over the border from Turkey was colourful, noisy and above all quite social. The Muslim souq sits under the citadel in pretty much its original condition with the odd donkey carrying its load through the aisles, men sitting on their
Dead Cities
Quick lunch stop - Pizza maker - closest we could get to a smile even though she charged us double the going Syrian rate - 50c haunches separating wool and the tea sellers clanking their cups. Every second person asking us where we are from followed by "welcome."
The Christian quarter is a complete contrast with very sedate souqs and men selling pastries out of their carts along with nuts and dried fruits. Each alleyway leading to a different denomination church. All very welcoming. It does feel odd walking though the Christian quarter when the call to prayer is echoing in the background.
And then there are the kids... Most kids can be annoying when they get together, however in the main square in the Christian quarter the kids love to get together and kick their half-inflated soccer ball, dodging passersby and showing off their skills. They loved to perform and were so grateful of us taking a few photos. As we sat under the fig tree sipping tea they would rush to take our empty cups back to the cafe.
From Aleppo we headed to Hama, central to a number of ancient sites and Dead Cities and also home to some very unusual semolina desserts and pistachio ice cream. It was in Hama Gary and the Japanese crew discoverd beer (non-alcoholic beer of course), which
Hama
Camel and noria / water wheel was unanimously voted the worst beer in the history of mankind. Charged at the same rate as regular beer, maybe the price and taste is to discourage those infidels who stray.
From Hama to Palmyra I opted for a camel ride for sunrise through the ruins. Well worth the 5am rise for the view, the noisy camels' vocals and and early morning tea with some really nice Bedouin locals. My ride for the day was Casanova who was not shy in attempting to take a bite out of my arm but left a mushy saliva stain instead. Apparently our camel driver had recently won a prestigious camel race and scored a quick US$60,000.
Finally to Damascus. A hustling, bustling city with even more colourful souqs, extensive filafel shops and delicious baclava stalls right beside our hotel.
Syria has been a social hub for us after having been starved of a lot of tourist company thoughout Europe. Syria has certainly made up for it. With its culinary delights at night shared with a group of fellow travellers, exchanging information including identifying the hidden bottle shops, it really has been a lot of fun. Now I know why so many people walk
Hama
More sheep around with black plastic bags under their arms.
I am getting ready for our last night in Syria. Shame Gary has a case of the runs - I'll have to eat his portion tonight.
Penny
More images at:
www.colvinyeates.zenfolio.com
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Ioana
non-member comment
:) Beautiful,
...just beautiful review! I was planning to make a quick dash to Damascus for 24 hours at the end of this month, but now I wonder if it's the best idea. Completely forgot about Crac des chevaliers, I know it's a must see. Not to mention Palmyra. In any case, whether it is for 24 hours now, or several days next month, I know it will be great. Thank you for your presentation:)