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Published: August 18th 2008
The traumatic start to this weekend’s trip was our own doing! After successfully bartering down a taxi to the bus station to 100 SP for the first time ever, we found we had both forgotten our passports. You need them to buy tickets so we had to get a taxi home again to collect them!!!
Once we got to Hama routine kicked in. We had another chicken shwarma from what we consider to be the best kebab stall in Syria. It didn’t disappoint. Then we took a taxi to the
Riad Hotel where we were very lucky to get a room. They had already turned some people away but for privileged guests (well, we had stayed there once before!) they managed to find a room. This time we even had a balcony which was nice, especially when we found a little off-licence selling beer so we could sit outside and enjoy a drink before bed.
We didn’t really need to see the sights of Hama again so we had an easy time of it. In the old part of town we ate in the
Aspasia Restaurant which was superb. If you go, don’t let the plush surroundings fool you, the prices
Tuk Tuk Trish
It's amazing what you find lurking down dark alleyways at night!are very reasonable indeed. We were so impressed we went back the following night too!
Saturday was our big day of sightseeing. We had booked a full day tour from the hotel and were met promptly at 8.30 by our drivel Abdul. He ferried us around all day pointing out interesting things in his basic English. It was very comfortable and made a pleasant change from buses.
First up was the town of Ma’arat An Nu’man, just under an hour North of Hama. On the way Abdul showed us the orchards of pistachio nuts (Farak Haleb - Aleppo Nuts in Arabic). The market was in full swing when we got there making the streets full of hustle, bustle and colour. The women, although still fully covered, wore every colour you could imagine - a far cry from the traditional black! The museum we went to see was outstanding. Set in Syria’s largest former
caravanserai it houses an amazing collection of mosaics. Whilst photography is banned in the showrooms (a shame as there were some great pictures and we were carefully “supervised”) the ones in the open courtyard give you a taste of what lies inside.
From there
Atmospheric Waterwheels
The norias by night have a certain something about them which means you don't notice the smell so much!! Abdul fought his way through the market crowds and drove for an hour up to the
Dead Cities of Serjilla and Al-Bara. There is some debate about the origins of these abandoned towns and why they were left almost intact. It seems they were from the Byzantine era but their desertion leaves historians stumped. It was interesting to wander amongst the ruins and it didn’t take too much imagination to picture the life here. We even saw a shepherd lead his flock though the site. The pyramid tombs at Al-Bara were unusual and they were beautifully set amidst the trees of olives, cherries and figs.
We then descended into the Orontes valley where a thousand green fields of assorted crops made up the patchwork landscape. The heat was oppressive and Abdul kindly put on the air conditioning! On the other side of the valley we began the steep climb up the Jebal Ansariyeh mountains up to 1500m AMSL. The views were good but the summer haze stopped them from being outstanding. We also passed through the town of Slumfeh, popular with rich European and Saudi tourists and no doubt far too expensive for us!!
Our destination was Salah-Adin,
the fortified ruins of Saladin himself. Having seen his tomb in Damascus, it would have seemed rude not to call in at his home too! The setting for the castle was wonderful and once again the ruins left little to the imagination. We explored the keeps and underground areas for an hour or so before finding Abdul again (snoozing!) and going for a late lunch. We sat at a nice restaurant with a view of the castle and dined on chicken shish and salad.
Afterwards we retraced our steps back to the lush Orontes valley and drove along it to the Roman ruins of Apamea (Afamya). After Palmyra we expected to be disappointed but nothing could be farther from the truth. We were in awe of the colonnaded street, well over a mile long, and sauntered along its length admiring the different types of columns including spiral ones apparently unique to Apamea. Those who followed the blog through South America will recall how we seemed to pick up stray dogs wherever we went. This hadn’t happened in Syria as dogs are not a common sight, but here at Apamea we found a faithful companion who tagged alongside us for
an hour or so! As the sun began to set the colours were gorgeous but it was time to head back to Hama as we were exhausted.
Sunday morning saw an early dash to the bus station and a return to Damascus just in time to shower, lunch and get to work with minutes to spare!! This was a fabulous, tiring, but unforgettable weekend away.
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maggie gordon
non-member comment
great pics
Lovely to keep up with you,realy intresting photos.I wasent expecting fish farms.Keep them coming.xx