Blogs from Aleppo, North, Syria, Middle East - page 6

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Middle East » Syria » North » Aleppo September 2nd 2008

Tag 3 der Reise ausserhalb der bekannten Zivilisation Aleppo wurde erkundet mit all seinen Facetten. Vom eher Reichen Teil mit recht modern dreinblickendem Stadtbild bis hin zur hintersten Gasse. Das Wichtigste jedoch: Der Markt! Nachdem wir uns - angepasst an den Strassenverkehr - bis zum Markt bewegt hatten, begann das Staunen. Erst stellte sich uns die Frage: Lieber Hirn oder doch die leckeren Innereien? - Ich glaube ich nehme da doch lieber den Schafskopf. Der Ekel wurde ueberwunden und der Brechreiz runtergeschluckt, da erlebten wir neue Geruchseindruecke von Gewuerzen, Farbeindruecke von Stoffen und Kein-Geld-mehr-Eindruecke von Kaeufen. Na gut, im Endeffekt wurde Joschka wegen eines der Souks angequatscht. Da ich jedoch einen wollte und der Kaeufer in der Richtung recht findig war, wechselte das Verkaufsgespraech von Joschka auf mich ueber. Ok, ich wollte so ein... read more
Ein gutes Geschaeft...

Middle East » Syria » North » Aleppo September 2nd 2008

Die Drei Fragezeichen waren gestern, die drei Fs sind heute! Fahrer, Fuehrer, Fotograph. Die Verteilung brauch ich wohl nicht zu erklaeren, da die Staerken von uns drei in diesem Urlaub und manche auch darueber hinaus, *zu den beiden anderen guck* ja schon bekannt sind. So sollte es heute zum Steine gucken gehen. Der Weg aus der Stadt war schnell gefunden und irgendwie haben wir auch das erste Ziel, die Stelle, an der Simon laut Bibel auf dem Stein saك recht schnell gefunden. (Dort kann man eine alte Basilika und die Pilgerstaetten sehen - Anm. d. Zensurbehoerde). Hier hat Step uns bewiesen was er alles in 5 Jahren Franzoesisch gelernt hat. Nahezu nichts oder zumindest weniger als Joschka ohne Franzoesischunterricht! ;-) Die Zitadelle war noch recht gut erhalten und Step und ich haben Joschka bewiesen was ... read more
Den roten...
8 Ecken

Middle East » Syria » North » Aleppo September 1st 2008

Wie man den türkisch-syrischen Grenzübergang mit einem deutschen Auto überquert Nunja (irgendwie beginne ich ziemlich viele Blogeintrنge mit dieser Phrase, aber es passt irgendwie), das der Moment kommen müsste, war ja klar, aber ein bisschen mulmig war mir in Kilis, dem letzten türkischen Ort schon. Wider erwarten gestaltete sich das Gefriemel an der Grenze dann aber doch verhنltnismنكig einfach und wir waren binnen 90 Minuten durch, was freilich auch an dem relativ wenig benutztem Grenzübergang liegen kann, denn ich hِrte im Vorhinein schon von Leuten, die bei Antakya (der „Haupteinmarschroute“) 3-4 Stunden brauchten. Zunنchst mussten wir die Türkei verlassen, dazu holten wir uns als erstes einen anerkennenden Blick am ersten Checkpoint und einen Ausreisestempel am zweiten. Da die Grenzbeamten teilweise etwas wortkarg waren, dachte ich schon das wنr’s und wir fuhren weit... read more

Middle East » Syria » North » Aleppo August 30th 2008

I LOVE SYRIA,LET ME TELL YOU, I HAD WONDERFUL TIME IN ALEPPO LAST YEAR WITH MY WIFE AND FRIENDS FROM ENGLAND EVERYTHING IS GREAT ABOUT SYRIA,IT'S ONE OF THE BEST PLACES IN THE WORLD THE ONLY THING THAT NEARLY RUINED OUR HOLIDAY AND WE NEARLY DIED WHEN WE JUST REALISED THAT THE SWEATS WE BOUGHT TO TAKE BACK HOME WERE ROTTEN AND POISONED,I SENT THEN BACK WITH A PERSON FROM THE HOTEL TO THE SHOP WERE WE GOT THEM THAT WAS AYMAN MAHROUSE AL- KHALDIYE DON'T BE MISTAKEN WITH THE OTHER MAHROUSE SHOPS,THEY BELONG TO OTHER PEOPLE I ASKED HIM TO TELL THE OWNER TO FIND OUT WHAT WENT WRONG ONLY TO PREVENT THIS FROM HAPPENING IN THE FUTURE AS THEY SEND A LOT OF GOOD ABROAD AND SOME PEOPLE COULD GET SICK,YOU ARE NOT GOING ... read more

Middle East » Syria » North » Aleppo July 19th 2008

ok, here's the entry on the actuall Aleppo, Syria (as opposed to the drive to/from there). I was consering going to Syria soon after finding out that my friend's wedding is close to Syria on the Turkish side. A visa, however, was $175 in Syrian Embassy Washington, which was too high for a one day excursion. In Antakya (a city I was staying in), I accidentally found out that there will be a one day tour to Aleppo, Syria for $30 and that 16 Americans have already signed up. I decided to join as well. This wasn't actually a tour. We would be dropped off and picked up, but were on our own in Aleppo. We ended up spending about 8hours in Aleppo and 8 on the border (separate blog entry: http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Syria/North/Aleppo/blog-302737.html). I didn't particulary wish ... read more
Street
Restaurant Ambiance
Car maneuvering through traffic. (the red one)

Middle East » Syria » North » Aleppo July 19th 2008

There are two separate parts to this trip, both of equal amount of time of satisfaction. Border Crossing and City exploration. I will talk only about the border crossing here and Aleppo in another entry. On the way to Syria, Syrians asked all the Americans, and no one else, to go with them. Turned out they wanted nothing more than our parents' names. What surprised me at the border is that the Duty Free shop priced everything in US Dollars, but the exchange rate board did not list the exchange rate for the US Dollar. Also, I was advised by our tour guide that my being born in Russia is a problem and that I shouldn't tell anyone that information. Other than that, after we passed the border, all our passports were collected by the tour ... read more
Syrian duty free shop.
Showers in the public bathroom on the border.

Middle East » Syria » North » Aleppo June 29th 2008

Middle East » Syria » North » Aleppo June 15th 2008

"30 SECOND RULE! 30 SECOND RULE!" I shouted as Jen and I scrambled to rescue the Goldfish crackers that had spilled all over the floor... We arrived at the Syrian border around 11:00 in the morning, Friday the 13th, unsure of how the day would play out. Technically, US passport holders are supposed to jump through a lot of hoops (and spend a lot of money in the process) in order to get tourist visas for Syria. We decided to skip all the red tape and formalities and to rely instead on our charm and good looks. The ride to the border, courtesy of Kadir's father (thanks so much!), took us through a landscape of fields decorated with occasional rocky mountains under a hot morning sun. We were promptly stamped out of Turkey and away from ... read more
Norias
Musyaf
Church of St. George

Middle East » Syria » North » Aleppo May 26th 2008

Woke up on Sunday reasonably early as I was meeting Thomas and Kate (couple) at 9 so we could go to Qalaat Simeon. On arrival at the microbus station numerous people told us we needed to get a taxi but persistance paid off and we found the right bus that went to the village close to St Simeons luckily we didnt have long to wait before we set off and the bus was very popular with frequent stops to let peope on and off. The bus driver then agreed to take us up to the ruins for 200 SYP which we agreed as there didnt appear to be any taxi's around it seemed a fair price! The ruins are of a church that was built following St Simeon's death and it is on top of hill ... read more

Middle East » Syria » North » Aleppo May 25th 2008

So after moving hotels I eventually set off to explore Aleppo and got lost which was a fab start and my morning descended downhill from there! Aleppo appears to be a city that does not eat or drink and as I was desperately in need of water it was not much fun. Anyhow I finally found a coffee shop and bought some water and rehydrated I walked towards the citadel. Outside the citadel is a nice row of cafes but so I went into one to have a late breakfast early lunch - spying a cupcake I thought ooh yummy and was most disappointed to be given a cup of whipped cream with one of two cakey bits floating in it! Anyhow went into the citadel which was pretty awesome as I waited for all the ... read more




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