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The ampitheatre
the Middle East look... So I got up at 5:30 so that I could be out the door to the bus station at 6:00, so I could make it for a 40 minute bus ride to the next city, to get to a 7:30am bus to Palmyra. So I arrived in Palmyra at 9:30am and checked out the ruins before it got too hot out.
Like all tourist sites, I was getting harrassed to take tours, motorcycle rides, camel rides, etc... But I had already decided to just do it on my own. Finally a man on a camel came along and I told him that I wasn't interested/couldnt afford his price. He finally said I will take you all around in one hour and even show you the tombs (which were far away and required a ticket purchased in town at the museum.) all for 300 Syrian pounds ($6), and before I knew it I was on a camel.
The camel was fun, but I didnt like it because it was too bumpy to take good pictures. I began to think about it and had second thoughts about his offer. How did I know where he was taking me? Also, my legs were getting
Camel man
sketchy? or nice? Ill never know: Im not taking the risk.. scratched from the rough camel blanket. I rode for about 2 minutes around the main site and then I had a feeling it was a bad idea, and asked him to let me off. He did, and suggested I sit at the front, etc...but I had already made up my mind--no ride. I then got confirmation that I was right to follow my gut instinct--he offered to do the tour for free. NOTHING IS FREE IN THIS WORLD! I turned and continued on my own, happy to be safely on the ground. Maybe he was just a nice Bedouin man, and the tour could have been good, but it could also have been very bad, and judging by his offer to do it for nothing, he was looking to get something else, and I am just glad Im over-cautious. Touring on a camel in full view of other tourists is one thing, but going through the desert to a tomb is another.
The rest of the my time at Palmyra was great. The ruins were really beautiful. I was supposed to pay 150 SP to get into both the amphitheatre and the temple, or 10 SP for students. I
The desert
motorcycles are everywhere...I've seen a whole family-5 people on a motorcycle!! No helmets. don't have an ISIC (International Student Card), but I always try with my drivers license and sometimes it works. Well these Syrians were well informed and said that they only accept ISIC, so I tried "please, please, please accept it. Im a poor student" and they just let me walk in for free!! Even better than student card price! So obviously I tried this again at the next place and it worked again!! HAHA being a girl does have its advantages sometimes.
I had a very interesting taxi driver who drove me back to the bus station, and sang Bedoiun songs all the way. He was quite charming, except he was adament that I sing too, and loved my rendition of "Mary had a little lamb"...oh my. Now there's an image for you: riding in an ancient crap car through the desert singing...
At the bus station I was approached by a woman (late 70s, I thought) who spoke English. We chatted while waiting for the bus, which was nice but then I got seated beside her, which wasnt I wasnt thrilled about, considering that she was a large lady who kept digging in her purse the whole 2 hours
singing cabbie
nice teeth...haha better voice and consequently elbowing me constantly. She was nice and was very interested in why I would be travelling alone etc. I was not in the mood to be quizzed, and not overly comfortable revealing that I was truly alone, so I made up some story about my husband being in Turkey on business, and meeting a friend in Damascus... and she questioned me the whole time, which was tiresome, as I had to make more and more stories, and she usually couldnt understand as her English was not great, so I would have to repeat it loudly numerous times, which sort of takes the fun out of it. Anyway, she wished that Allah would bring me a child soon, which I suppose is nice...haha.
She also told me that her daughter was born in 1986 and that she was 22 when she had her...which would mean that this woman, who I thought was in her late 70s, was actually only 44!!! I don't believe it! She looked ancient and had to put her cell phone almost IN her eye in order to see it. Nice lady though.
Once I arrived in Damascus and got a hotel room, I set out to exchange the Turkish money that I had been unable to exchange so far. The banks here wont exchange it, so this young guy led me to an exchange place, where I was ripped off! ARGH! Makes me so angry but what can you do?! When we exited the building and I was thanking the guy for his help and about to say goodbye when a man walked up to him and punched him in the face for no apparent reason. An all-out brawl broke out with more men joining in. He was yelling something and I don't know if it had anything to do with me (maybe he shouldnt have helped me ? ), but I just kept walking, and didnt look back. I certainly didnt need to be caught up in that mess! Really shocking!
All in all, I'm more comfortable here than I was initially. The people are really nice, and everyone says "welcome" to me...I think I get "welcomed"about 100 times a day, which is nice, but they always check to see where I'm from first- I guess to make sure I'm not American, who I assume would not be so welcomed...Axis of Evil and all...
Then I had dinner at a quite sketchy place where a self-conscious cook checked to see if I was enjoying it every 2 seconds, and telling me what every chunk was and reassuring me that it was edible, etc... After I picked out a chunk of cat fur...it wasnt bad...haha I didnt tell him about this, it would have been too much for him to handle. He had just opened.
Everyday is truly an adventure!
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markandshelbywhipp
non-member comment
Every adventure gets so much better, what a quick mind you have.
Hi Erin, I really enjoyed this adventure you had, each one gets better ever time. Good thing you have a smart Whipp brain and good looks to get you through things. I like your Middle east look and I am so glad you have a quick brain to get you out of situations like the camel driver. The ampitheatre looks great, many nice sites you see. Take care. Love you. Dad and Mom XXXOOO