View of Palmyra entrance gate

Well it has been somewhat more difficult to access the internet in Syria, so we apologize for the lack of entries. The government only allowed internet starting in 2000, so the whole country has some catching up to do. Technically hotmail and yahoo are still banned, but internet cafes seem to have a way of getting around the ban.
We had heard many tales of the difficulties travellers have crossing into Syria. If you have visited occupied Palestine/ Israel you cannot enter, and occasionally they have problems with peoples visa's as you are attempting to cross the border. We were expecting some difficulty, but fortunately it was "smooth sailing" at the border.

So after we left our group in Amman we boarded a public bus to take us into Damascus. The bus trip was about about 4 hours, but we were told it could be longer depending on our border crossing. Luckily we had a great border guard who welcomed us to Syria, checked our visa's, stamped our passports and let us through. Our trip leader said it was the fastest border crossing he had ever had with a group.
Into Damascus we went. As soon as you get off the bus you are immediately approached by numerous cab drivers trying to get a fare. (You have to hold onto your bags tightly or you may have to follow them into a cab). Our hotel was actually quite nice, it had AC and television that has the Arab channel #2. This channel shows 24 hours American 80's movies and can be quite entertaining. Damascus itself was great. It is Syria's largest city and claims to be the oldest continually inhabited city in the world (6 Million People). The Souq or market was within walking distance to our hotel, as was the craft market and the museum. After a quick orientation to the city we spent the day wandering the markets. Even though Syria is way cheaper then Jordan we are still hesitant to buy things and have to pack them around for another few weeks. I guess Turkey is going to get the majority of our tourist dollars.
Although we have heard many stories of how difficult the Syrian men can be towards women, and how this is such a difficult place to travel; We have been treated wonderfully. In Damascus on our first day we met this really nice young man who owned a satellite internet cafe in the city. He was very helpful and even went with us to help purchase a phone card so Shawn could phone our new roommate. In the same day we met a very nice Syrian lady who helped me buy some drawing paper.
Again we are finding that what we have read and heard in the media is nothing like the reality of Syria. From Damascus we went on into Palmyra. It is probably the closest we will ever get to Iraq. We actually saw a sign as we were driving in that said Iraq 52km, but we weren't able to stop the bus to take the photo.
Palmyra was huge, way bigger then we expected. It covers over 50 hectars and they say that up to 80% has not yet been excavated. It is situated in a huge oasis in the middle of no where. Unfortunately now all the natural water sources have dried up, but the government is piping in water to try and preserve the oasis. Syria loses huge portions of land each year to desertification and is working hard to prevent this. It was beautiful, majestic and awe inspiring.
We decided to rent a private van to take us from Palmyra to Crac de Chevaliers. Crac is a crusader fortress located within the mountains of Syria. It was great as we left the desert and started into the hills. The countryside was covered in trees, shrubs and grass. It felt like a reprive from the desert. I think we didn't realize how much we like greenery and how important green space is to us until we travelled in an area where it is so scarce. Our hotel was on an opposite hill and we had balcony's off of our room that overlooked Crac. The castle itself was somewhat of a fantasy castle. Shawn actually says that it may be his favorite castle ever. Nothing is blocked off, so you can climb, burrow and explore where ever you want (at your own peril of course). There is actaully a secret passageway that our guide directed us to. Dani and I (she is our travel friend from Australia) went down about 2 minutes but then it got really dark and the stair case seemed to go on forever into blackness (We only had one small flashlight). Dani and I turned around and Shawn and two others decided to venture down into the darkness. The walls were slippery (slimey really) and there were lots of cob webs. In the end they managed to find an alternate exit, but the real secret passageway had been cut off by mud and debris (Syria is really prone to earthquakes).
From Crac we went west to the coast and had our first view of Syria's Meditteranean coastline. I was somewhat disappointed to see how murkey and grey the water was. Apparently most travellers/ visitors don't actually head to the coast for beach vacations in Syria, the beaches are only used by Syrians.
We drove up the coast to a town called Hama which is known for its' ancient water wheels which are still functioning. The people in Hama were very friendly, even giving us free ice cream (because we were Canadian of course).
And then from Hamma we drove and visited the Bee Hive houses, the Dead Cities and ended up in Aleppo.
We have another day in Aleppo and then we are off to Turkey. We will update the site in a few more days.

Crac de Chevalıers from our hotel balcony

Tradıtıonal Syrıan Beehıve Houses

Vıew of the Ancıent covered market ın Allepo Syrıa (12 km long)

Stuffıng sausages ın the Market ın Aleppo