Syria - Bosra & Jerash - Day 21

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Leaving Damascus was no problem and we managed to get all the fuel we needed by queue barging at a filling station where there were several lorries waiting. The buses seemed to have priority, even over us! They swept in and took on 200 litres at a time and the attendants filled us up between the busses. Poor lorry drivers had to wait. What a shambolic way to fuel a road transport system!

Next it was Bosra, just before the border, where we visited the most wonderfully preserved Roman theatre, surrounded by a fort which had been buried under sand for many, many years and it was only restored over the last 60 years. Ian’s poorly toe precluded him seeing it sadly. Next was the border crossing where the exit from Syria was painless but the entry to Jordan somewhat protracted especially at the last check point where it was discovered that Jeremy lacked some particular stamp in his passport which delayed us a while.

We set off for Jerash to seek a campsite we had learned about in the grounds of a hotel. Garmin helped us find it but it was very lacking in facilities and we elected to find our own site. This proved abortive so back we went to the hotel. Washing facilites were very sub-standard and the ground far from level - but at least there were no other campers there. The hotel had a party that night which really disturbed Gail and Jeremy whose tent was pitched on the only level piece of ground which was close to the hotel. The party, dogs and wailing mosques meant that they lacked sleep that night - poor things. (147 miles today)

Note We are left with impressions of Syria that are so contrasting. The place is shabby, buildings often only half completed, litter everywhere - particularly plastic bags - and the problems getting fuel really worried us at times. On the other hand the people were wonderful. We were welcomed everywhere, nothing was too much for them and I have detailed some of the kindnesses we received. We really enjoyed the country and would return again anytime.

More from Gail...
On 4th October we drove down from the Syrian border via Bosra where there is the second largest Roman amphitheatre in the world. It was fortified at one time which probably accounts for the wonderful condition it is in. Then to Deraa and the border with Jordan - once again we got to the last checkpoint only for the Huntingfords to be sent back - we had missed a passport check and had to have our photos and thumb prints taken. Once that was done, we set off for Jerash. We had read about a good campsite nearby - what a disappointment! It was terrible but there was nowhere else to camp in the vicinity so we had to ‘make do’. It was also the most expensive campsite we had stayed at since leaving UK so had to ‘negotiate’ a better price the next morning after a fairly disturbed night.

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Photos

Queing for diesel
This time Jeremy squeezes us into the queue for diesel - Syria

Bosra
Bosra - Roman amphitheatre