There are over 2 million people who live in Aleppo, Syria (just south of the border with Turkey) but you would never think this unless someone told you. Aleppo was our last stop in Syria and we were rewarded with an incredible ancient yet still bustling souq and a special evening of traditional Syrian hospitality.
We arrived in Homs from Hama a few hours before the Syria v Iran soccer game to try to find a way to buy tickets as we had been told it was a very important match and tickets were probably sold out. We were a bit shocked when our taxi arrived a few blocks from the stadium and several guys approached us with handfulls of tickets asking for $2 per ticket. Our taxi driver assured us the tickets were not fake so we each bought one and proceeded to follow the throngs of people dressed in the local team colors and waving flags as they walked to the stadium.
As we prepared to leave Palmyra we met 3 other Americans with a similar itinerary so together we hired a driver and mini-bus to take us from Palmyra to Krak des Chevaliers, one of the most famous Crusader castles in the world, and then to Hama to stay a couple nights there. More importantly, we were all on a mission to attend Asia Champions League soccer match between the local Homs teamand Saba from Iran (but you’ll have to read the next blog entry for that)….
We visited the ancient city of Palmyra, which used to be a commercial center in Syria hundreds of years ago, a place where travelers and traders who were crossing the desert would stop to rest their weary feet and trade and sell their goods. For us, it was truly an oasis in the middle of the desert with the best milkshakes in Middle East and home to one of the craziest characters we’ve met on our trip thus far.
We didn´t know quite what to expect as we took a taxi with our American travel friend from the Lebanon-Syria border into Damascus. On one hand, you expect something dark and sinister and lawless as Syria is part of the “axis of evil, state sponsor of terrorism, etc, etc”; and their government sure makes it a big pain in the rump for Americans to get a visa to enter. On the other hand, we were expecting an oasis of calm, hospitality, friendliness, and surviving traditions as compared to other more modern and hectic parts of the Middle East because we had heard so many wonderful stories from fellow travelers who said Syria was their favorite country in the Middle East. [read on]
Between the numerous stories other travelers have shared about how difficult it is to get a visa to get in, particularly for Americans right now, and getting denied a few times ourselves, we had embraced the idea that we wouldn’t be able to make it to Syria on this trip….Surprise!
[read on]
Given that Lebanon is such a small country, it was easy for us to use Beirut as our homebase and to take day trips outside of the city to see the various sites and cities. We visited Sidon and Tyre in the South; Baalbek, home of some of the best preserved temples in the world; Byblos, a charming little port town; Tripoli, famous for it’s sweets, and the beautiful Cedars. [read on]
We arrived into Beirut, thrilled to get a taste of city life with some Western-flare, something we haven’t experienced since leaving Taipei months ago. Upon arriving in Beirut, I was thrilled to find that the airport bathrooms were pristine, smelled like roses and had toilet paper - not just one but TWO rolls for me to choose from! They were heaven on earth after months of having to making sure to always have tissue or TP with me and learning the art of deactivating my sense of smell without asphyxiateing myself every time I entered a public toilet. Not only were the city’s public bathrooms clean, but we also basked in some of the simple pleasure’s that we’ve been missing while being on the road. [read on]
Between Petra and Amman, we made a few stops that were well worthwhile. We spent a day hiking at the Dana Nature Reserve, wandered around Karak castle, floated in the Dead Sea and went up to Mount Nebu before arriving in Amman, our last stop in Jordan.
Though the bus to Petra never showed up, we were lucky enough to hitch a ride from 2 Americans who drove by and decided to take pity on us. Needless to say, thanks to their hearts-of-gold, we finally made it to Petra which turned out to be even more fabulous than we expected. [read on]
