"We, in Syria, our point of view stems from our experience".
-Bashar al-Assad (President of Syria)
As we prepared for this trip and told people we’d be traveling to Syria we got two very different responses. Those that have been there told us how much they wish they could return. Those that hadn’t asked, “Why”?!? If, for nothing else our anticipation was peaked by the unknown. Leaving Jordan we wondered what the next few weeks would have for us. (Tina for the most part was wondering if there would be heat in the rooms or hot water?
Crossing the border from Jordan by bus immediately brought us back to the time we spent in Russia. At the border the toilets were filled with large women washing their stockings in the sinks, the men smoking like chimneys and the border guards sorting through stack and stacks of old passports. We crossed the border behind a truck that the guards revealed to be carrying loads of people under canvass sheets. As they got waved through we were fairly sure that we too could enter.
On New Years Eve we arrived in the Old city in Damascus. The city lays claim to being the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. It is a center of Islamic culture and a wonderfully charming location. We spent the next few days wandering through the walled town and soaking in the thick atmosphere of the old souk. It had been a very long time since I felt that a city had such an incredible air about it. But Damascus truly is special. After a relatively sober New Years we pushed on to the interior and the desert ruins of Palmyra.
Palmyra is an ancient ruined city that was the major site of Roman influence in the region. At one point the female leader turned on Rome and defeated the empire’s armies several times before the Emperor himself was forced to drive her from the city. There are very few tourists and you walk onto the site for free and can wander around as you like. The atmosphere is remarkable as you stand in the desert at the edge of the palm fringed oasis (hence the name “Palmyra”). It really had the feel of a far flung Roman outpost. We were tempted to head north east to the sparsely populated region dominated by the Kurds but as time was an issue we turned instead to the interior city of Hama.
Hama is well known through the Middle East as many claim that the moaning sounds of the wooden wheels echo through the region. The wheels are used to help scoop water from a painfully low river to the irrigation system above. The city is also well known for being destroyed in the 80’s by the government troops for sympathizing with rebel groups. We trudged into town in the pouring rain, slightly lost and getting cold. Thankfully we found our way and in the next few days enjoyed the town and a trip through the rolling country side that included an Ismaili castle and a giant castle the Crusaders left behind. Having played “hide and seek” for hours we carried on to our final stop, Aleppo.
Aleppo remains a more traditional city and the souk (market) is still alive with day to day shoppers. The atmosphere of the covered souk is unreal. We strolled by stores selling meat from a camel carcass, intricate rugs, thick incense, gold, silver, and all items of daily use. Brilliant.
Leaving Syria we felt that the sites of Jordan were very impressive but that the atmosphere of Syria and the kindness of the Syrian people was truly special. It was not uncommon for one of to hear a passerby murmur a ‘Welcome’ that only could have been directed to us. Our journey to another section of the Middle East has increased our knowledge and understanding of many of the people of the area. No longer I feel, will we solely associate these wonderful areas and peoples with the newspaper headlines they have come to be ‘known’ by. We were tired and cold but immensely impressed with both counties as we headed back to Oman and life in Muscat.
As we missed a New Years edition blog entry, we’d like to wish you all a very Happy New Year.
