Blogs from South, Syria, Middle East - page 16

We’re bolting through traffic on our way into Damascus, the driver fidgeting with his radio and his cigarettes and occasionally looking up to dodge the minibuses that come shooting across four lanes in one quick jerk of the wheel. My eyes are still smarting from the infection that left them bloodshot in Baalbek, and the flat sunlight sifting through the haze has me squinting toward the valley when Damascus comes into view. From a distance the ancient city looks like any other modern Arab metropolis: a low gray sprawl of concrete houses, broken by the thin columns of hundreds of minarets. We drive past rows of apartment blocks with their flapping laundry, the satellite dishes clustered on the roofs like wild mushrooms. This isn’t exactly what I had in mind. In fact, barreling through the ... read more

Via a short side trip to Jerash, a city of Roman ruins, we headed up to the Syrian border and after a couple of minor prblems, we were in our 3rd country in a week. We were dropping accomodation standards and were camping here, so we put up our tents and settled in for the night with our excessively cheap duty free alcohol. I mean $8 for a 1.125L bottle of Vodka? They are really asking for trouble. We managed to get both the tour leader and driver fairly hammered so Mission Complete. :) Our first full day in Damascus was spent in the markets, and anyone who thinks you could spend less than a day here, not a chance. The first purchase I made was 7 DVD's for $12. Hooray for Syria! The next ... read more

Well it was surely a good sign when told by the border gaurds in Jordan that I wasnt allowed to walk across the border, and was instead given a lift over in a canary yellow Mustang Charger. Mohammed Didnt go but I did My First day in Damascus unfortunatly happened to be a Friday, so almost everything was shut! I did manage to check out the Al Azeem Palace - after getting lost for at least an hour beforehand. Enjoyed the most amazing fresh mint Lemonade at the Leila Terrace restaurant. I checked out the Umayyad mosque - which used to be a byzantine cathedral, which was in turn a temple to Jupiter. Felt very uncomfertable, even in my Jedi Knight grey robe (tourists have to wear them) really, really shouldn't go into mosque on friday. ... read more

Well to say that Damascus was a small revelation would be an understatement. I had been told by friends about this amazing city and was ready to explore all it had to offer. Damascus had a lot to live up to. The city is thought to be the oldest continuably inhabited city on the planet. Its 12000 or so years of habitation a touch longer than Sydney's 220 years (since colonisation). The city is now home to about 4.5 million humans and possibly more cats. The city has seen the passing of possibly all the major civilisations and conquerers the earth has know, invluding those crazy cats the crusaders! It has been on the path of the Romans, was the capital of the formidable Ummayyads (thus making it a Muslim city), and over the next several ... read more

Travelled cross-country to Palmyra which used to be an important trade destination being located at the crossroads of the Silk Route (east-west) and the Incense & Spices route (north-south) and having the most important water source (oasis). Those Romans sure got around. Saw the Bel Temple and the ruins of the Old Walled City. Haven't put too many ruin photos on the blog this time. Not that they weren't magnificent, but feeling a bit "ruined" out at the moment. Bush-camp that night was in the Valley of the Tombs, which was silent and a little eerie. Next stop was Crac des Chevaliers (Fort of the knights) which was a Crusader castle in the time of Richard the Lionheart. Enormous castle which held 400 knights and 4000 soldiers. In 1271 the Mamluks came and surrounded it and ... read more