It's several years since I was in Syria, but the images that
are filling TV screens at the moment brought back memories, unfortunately not
for the right reasons. Looking through
grainy photos and reading travel journals from that time filled my head with
stories of adventures and happy times.
My overwhelming memory of Syria is that it was a really welcoming place
once we had got through the border. Many
people talked to us, guides were knowledgeable and keen to share stories of
places they loved and people in markets and restaurants laughed at our attempts
to communicate.
Our first stop was in Damascus, we were camping outside the
city but got a mini bus into the centre of this bustling place. Exiting the bus was an assault on the senses,
and wandering around was like being hit with so many smells, sights and sounds that
it was hard to keep up. It was also hot,
very hot. We wandered around the Souk,
it was a massive place selling all sorts of weird and wonderful things, spices,
fabrics, tea making paraphernalia and what seemed like today's special, Stuffed
Eagles. Light rays shone through holes
in the roof apparently a legacy of when the Syrian overran the French, today
they added a glow in the haze. Rejecting
the stuffed Eagles we made our way to the city's main mosque, one of the most
important sites in Islam and splendid in its decoration.
We drove to the ancient city Palmyra, located in the desert. Again we were supposed to be camping but the wind got up and instead we found ourselves welcomed into the garage /home we luckily came across. There was a huge Bedouin style tent in the grounds, complete with colourful rugs and cushions to lounge on and weirdly for such a desert location there was also a pool. The evening was spent with music, hot tea and conversation that continued into the dark of the night.
The next day we explore the Greco Roman ruins of Palmyra. The sand coloured ruins suddenly appeared on
the horizon, something solid in this landscape of moving sand. An landscape of ancient ruins, a temple, many
columns and some engravings. There were
even some remnants of frescos from when the Christians has had control of the
temple. Opposite a road of columns stood
the remains of shops and bath houses. An
amphitheatre also remains although some restoration had taken place here. You could wander freely around and with few
other people there you could begin to imagine past splendours.
Crac des Chevaliers came next. And for me the highlight of the trip. I love castles and this is a damn fine one. Its huge and sits atop of a hill overlooking the ruins of Palmyra below in the valley. The views from and towards the castle are both spectacular. Inside there are the remains of lots of rooms, all added at different periods of time and even the remains of a huge table, once rumoured to be table of the Knights of the round table fame. There's towers to climbs and tunnels to explore. The best part was that you could go anywhere you like, there was only 10 or so people about so of course games of hide and seek were a necessary part of the day. Once we tired of that we all climbed to the top of the tallest tower and sat on the vast walls with our legs hanging over the edge, the drop below us falling away into the side of the valley and just sat in silence admiring the view and thinking about how lucky we were to be here.
We explored other towns on this trip but they are for another time. For now the memories of that great trip remain with me and I just hope one day soon others will get the chance to go and see this beautiful and fascinating country for themselves.
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| Damascus Souk |
We drove to the ancient city Palmyra, located in the desert. Again we were supposed to be camping but the wind got up and instead we found ourselves welcomed into the garage /home we luckily came across. There was a huge Bedouin style tent in the grounds, complete with colourful rugs and cushions to lounge on and weirdly for such a desert location there was also a pool. The evening was spent with music, hot tea and conversation that continued into the dark of the night.
 |
| Palmyra |
Crac des Chevaliers came next. And for me the highlight of the trip. I love castles and this is a damn fine one. Its huge and sits atop of a hill overlooking the ruins of Palmyra below in the valley. The views from and towards the castle are both spectacular. Inside there are the remains of lots of rooms, all added at different periods of time and even the remains of a huge table, once rumoured to be table of the Knights of the round table fame. There's towers to climbs and tunnels to explore. The best part was that you could go anywhere you like, there was only 10 or so people about so of course games of hide and seek were a necessary part of the day. Once we tired of that we all climbed to the top of the tallest tower and sat on the vast walls with our legs hanging over the edge, the drop below us falling away into the side of the valley and just sat in silence admiring the view and thinking about how lucky we were to be here.
We explored other towns on this trip but they are for another time. For now the memories of that great trip remain with me and I just hope one day soon others will get the chance to go and see this beautiful and fascinating country for themselves.
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