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Published: October 29th 2008
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A refreshingly late start to the morning is always a pleasant experience. For the first time in weeks I didn't have to get up at the crack of dawn. Also we got a treat for breakfast this morning - instead of our usual meal of cereal and coffee, we finally got some scrambled eggs. It would have been fabulous if we were able to get some bread with it - but scrambled eggs with left over cold tomato pasta isn't as exciting as I had originally expected...(sigh!!)
Our next destination was the city of Bosra, a black basalt town approx 137kms from Damascus and close to the border of Jordan, our next country.
We reached Bosra just in time for lunch. A few of the group were feeling rather unwell, with some of them opting for a visit to the local doctor for a prescription or two. I was so grateful that I hadn't caught anything and that all of my bodily functions were still operating as normal. I was crossing my fingers everyday to ensure that nothing would happen to me - but you never really know....
After lunch those that were able went for a tour
to the town, the citadel and theatre. According to our guide, most of the ancient city was only discovered approx 50 years ago. People were living in and around the ruins without knowing they were there.
We wandered in and around the old town, stopping for some tea at someone's house in the middle of the old city. We sat in a courtyard centered with a giant fig tree sipping tea that the little old lady prepared for us and taking a rest from the heat of the afternoon sun. It was rather relaxing to just sit there, the old couple just sitting beside us on the old carpet that they had placed on the courtyard floor, grinning at us with their toothless grin, pulling ripe figs off the trees for us to try with our tea.
After tea we continued wandering around the old town - a very different city from the many we had seen so far, mainly because they monuments were in black stone over black sand. On the way back to our accommodation for the night (more on that later) we stopped off at the Theatre. A magnificent 15,000 seat freestanding theatre that is
The Theatre
A band was playing during our visit to the Theaatre beautifully preserved. As you enter - you have to walk through the dark passageways under the theatre. There are no clear directions pointing you to where you have to go - instead you are left to wander around to find your own way. However, when we eventually popped out to the top - the setting was amazing with the clear bright blue sky & sunlight sparkling off the black stone of the theatre.
We sat around watching all the other tourists doing what they do best. However the most intriguing was a group of young Arab men & boys wandering around as a group. They were enthralled with one of our girls - Stephanie (Surely it didn't have anything to do with her brilliant blue eyes & bright blond hair??) asking her for her photo as they made their way around the theatre. They were accompanied by a small boy of around 9 or 10 who was carrying a very real looking, life sized toy machine gun as he ran about. During our time here in Syria - I have noticed that there is an abundance of small boys brandishing toy pistols & machine guns in play scenes along
A bed for the night?
Our accommodation in Bosra - The floor of this restaurant the streets - an innocent game no doubt at that age but surely not the most appropriate of toys.....???
Time to get some sleep After the theatre we made our way back to our accommodation - the 'restaurant' we ate in for lunch. Actually it was going to be one of two options. Firstly the floor outside under an open Bedouin style tent or secondly the floor of the restaurant itself (they were going to move the chairs)...Hmmm!!! Sorry no chance for an upgrade for me that night - so I opted for the restaurant floor to avoid as many bugs & flying things as I could.
We had parked the truck outside the restaurant and soon became the object of curious stares from other tourists (mainly your Trafalgar style tourists), who were in awe of our 'overlanding' style holiday option and the length of our travel time. We were the local tourist activity as many of them spent time taking photos of us and the truck.
My bed for the night consisted of a small mattress on top of which I placed my travel mat & sleeping bag. Not too bad actually - once I
Dark passageways
The Theatre - Bosra booted the cat out of the room. The shower facilities were no existent - so I was reduced to a baby wipe shower - sigh...My favourite way of travelling.
One good thing about sleeping on the floor of a restaurant surely has to be easy access to a good meal!! - And I wasn't wrong there. Our banquet dinner consisted of a traditional Syrian dish called 'Mansif' of mixing chicken with rice. We had had this dish in another place in Palmyra that was rather bland, un-cooked (chicken at that) and tasteless - but this one was faultless. It also included a whole heap of traditional Syrian vegetarian dishes and breads that left us feeling very full and very tired. A fabulous combination to make you forget your surroundings for the night.....Mmmm!!!
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