Tears to my eyes

Looking at the computer screen, I could feel tears slowly building up behind my eyes.

I blinked them away and recomposed myself.

I had just watched as the minaret in the central mosque of Aleppo had been demolished by a tank shell.  It had proved too effective a spot for snipers and so it had clearly been decided that it had to go.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-22283746

It had only been a few years ago that I had walked around its courtyard and had one of my most eye opening experiences of my life.  Guy and I had been walking and chatting, marveling at the beauty of the place.  In one corner of the courtyard, a young Syrian man was seated but looking intently at the both of us.  His eyes clearly followed us as we walked and it was an intense stare that he was giving us.  As we walked past him, I turned, smiled and greeted him with a "salam alaikum".  He immediately pulled back, shook his head, then smiled back and responded with a "wa alaikum salam".  Any hostility that may have been interpreted in his face disappeared and we were given instead his warm welcome.  He clearly hadn't felt any hostility or anger towards us, but had merely been confused as to why a tall Australian man and a Chinese guy had been wandering around in downtown Aleppo.  I couldn't help but wonder how many instances of conflict in history had been caused by simple misunderstandings or situations where people had misinterpreted something said or done by another.

This mosque had survived for centuries.  Now it was gone.  It was the victim of the interaction between extremism, totalitarianism and global power struggles far removed from the place of quiet contemplation it had once been and that it was meant to be.

I will try and remember it as it the beautiful place it once was.

The Streets of Damascus

This city was the target for Lawrence of Arabia and the Arab Revolt.

It really is little wonder.

After wandering the bustling streets and souqs for days, we decided that our original plan of only a few days was too few. We were extending our stay.

There were also a few sites we wanted to see.

The largest and most prominent being the Umayyad Mosque.
The Byzantine past of this building was clearly evident in the columns and the building's style.
From everywhere in the old city, this mosque's mineret is visible whenever there is an unobstructed view. It's a nice point of reference.
Everywhere we walked in Syria, we were also given strange little reminders of their President, Mr Assad.

Apparently, he believes in us.....

And when we were feeling tired, what better way is there to relax than a nice soothing hamman?
Damascus was the third hamman I had been to in a surprisingly short space of time.

It really is true, that you never feel so clean as after a hamman!

Saladin's City

Well, Damascus isn't just all food and markets!

Oh no! This is also the city that Saladin was buried in!
So, we made a short walk over to his tomb. It was alot smaller than we expected, but well placed nonetheless.
And the enormous statue of him outside the city walls probably hints more at how they feel about him anyway!

Touring Taste Buds

The Middle East is a delight for the senses.

No more so than for the taste buds. From the moment we landed in Istanbul, we had all be inundated with a myriad of foods.... most of whose names we were oblivious to.

Our food travels seemed to reach a zenith in Damascus, where the combination of Eastern and Western foods gave us no end of pleasure.

From the humble roadside kebabs to the fine dining in the French restaurant "Elissar", we were treated to good food everytime.
I could honestly say that during the entire trip with the boys, I had not had one bad meal.
In Damascus, we were also provided with a sweet and cool change from the baklava and bakalow which we had been gorging ourselves on.

The famous hand made ice creams of "Bakhdash"! Ultra creamy and smothered in pistachios, these amazing ice creams weren't as sweet as what we were used to at home.
But what it lacked in sweetness, it made up for in texture and flavour.
We all love our baklava, but this was something to be savoured!

DAMASCUS!

This centre of Arabic life, this city of wonder!

Damascus!!!

We were in Damascus, the storied city that had seen wars, invaders, writers and travellers!
After an uneventful bus ride from Palmyra. We found ourselves stumbling through the maze of souqs that made up the Old City of Damascus.

Evidence of everyone from the Romans to the French colonialists could be found everywhere we walked.

We were clearly following Lawrence of Arabia now. Our reverse following of his journey was starting to take us to increasingly amazing sites.
Every turn we took in this city took us to another labyrinth to be explored.
It was bustling, it was crowded and it was full of life.

This was going to fun!

The Desert City

After stumbling/running/sliding/surfing down the side of the citadel, Guy and I went on our exploration of the ruined city itself.

This was Palmyra! Route of the ancient trading routes and home of an empire that annoyed Rome just a little too much!

We started off by heading towards the ancient tower tombs. The sun was only just up and the temperatures were still low.
We walked about a kilometre or so to reach the tombs. By the time we reached them, we were standing in the middle of nowhere.

Spinning around, all we could see was desert as the modern city nearby had receeded off behind the hills and the horizon.

After walking in and around the tombs, we started off towards the ruined city.
The old Roman features were breathtaking.

It was interesting to contrast it to the ruins we had seen in more temperate environments.

While out there, Guy decided to give some effort towards his fitness.

I'm not sure how well it worked out....

After our wanderings, we headed back to our hotel.

We woke up Chris and Oliee who were still snoozing. Guy and I crashed. The 4AM wake up had taken it out of us.

Chris and Oliee went on their own exploration of the ruins.

When they returned, they woke us up and we all headed down to a restaurant nearby.

There, we ate a hearty meal of camel meat.

Nothing special... the meat's a bit too salty if you ask me....

Walking in the dark

We arrived into the town of Palmyra late. Too late to the see the sunset and far too late to wander into the ruined Roman city which was the reason for the stop.

So, we moped around and did very little.
The next morning... in the middle of the night really.... Guy and I woke up.

Oliee and Chris were still asleep. They had decided against the ridiculous idea that Guy and I had concocted.

Wrapping ourselves up in our warmest gear to protect against the cold of the desert night, we trudged off to climb the citadel and watch the sunrise.

It was a hike just to get to the citadel.

Once we reached it, we decided that rather than go around and walk up the road (which would have been sensible) we would go straight up the steep face.

.... in the dark.....

We made it (just) and were able to find a good spot near the top to wait for the sun.

Very slowly it came.
The dust of the desert created some amazing colours.
And finally it appeared.
As we walked down off the citadel's hill after the sun had risen, we realised how dangerous our trek up had been.
The shifting rocks and the ridiculous steepness had nearly killed us....

And yet we thought little of it at the time.

Castle of the Knights

After leaving Aleppo, we headed towards a site that Oliee and I had been keen on seeing for years.

Krak des Chivaliers.

This famous old Templar castle that has withstood the test of time.
Approaching the castle in the car was impressive enough. Perched atop a high hill, the road leading up is a slow wind.

Upon reaching it, we were presented with a castle that was not like the "beautiful" cathederals we had seen in Europe, but rather an imposing and threatening structure.

The smooth walls and sharp points of the structure were clearly made to keep people out.
But that didn't mean that the inside couldn't be nice as well!
It was a cold and wet day (we seemed to have fallen into a habit of encountering such days when we needed to do outdoor sites).

We were happy to retreat into a restaurant afterwards, where we were showered with hot tea and roasted meats and vegetables.

Are you kidding me?

.... sitting on a pole.....

St Simeon.... was sainted.... for sitting on a pole.....

You've got to be kidding me.

Not only that, they built a basilica at the place of one of his pole sittings.

Thankfully it was a magnificent place that he decided to.... sit on a pole...
It's all ruined now.

But the splendour of the place remains.
Across the plains we could see the rockiness of Syria, carefully ploughed fields and plantations of olives.
In such a harsh landscape, it was amazing that so many people managed to make their living. Even more amazing that so many had lived here for so many years.

On the trail of Lawrence

In Aleppo, we reached one of Lawrence's stops.

We were at the Baron Hotel.
After taking Damascus, Lawrence and the Arab Revolt reached the city of Aleppo. Staying in the hotel, Lawrence managed to rack up a bill.... that didn't get paid for!
But if you've just defeated an entire empire, who has time for such triffling matters?

The four of us sat down in this famous watering hole and ordered drinks. We were following in the footsteps of some amazing names and echoes of empire.

So we ordered some nice gin and tonics.

Later in the evening, back in the hostel, the owner decided to show me some of the clothes he had.

He insisted that Chris and I both try these garments on.
We were in Aleppo!!! Following in reverse the path that had been taken by Lawrence of Arabia over 90 years before us!

Into Syria

Turkey was so much fun. None of us wanted to leave. After so much time in the place, we had come to love the place and the people.

However, it was time to move on.

And it was time to move further into the Middle East. While interesting, Turkey was still a very Westernised place. We were now going somewhere far removed from what we were accustomed to.

Syria was our next stop.

After another ridiculously long and uncomfortable bus ride that included stops and layovers in towns that are now drifting into my memory, we arrived at the border.

It was a chaotic place. People everywhere, running to and fro from counter to office and back. We were lost. Thankfully, the bus driver had us covered. With only a small amount of money to help things along, we were through with our passports stamped (something that was to cause me no end of issues later on.... ) and our possessions still in hand.

In Syria, our first destination was Aleppo. Long regarded as a cultural centre of both Syrian and Arabic life.

With it's beautiful and bustling souq, we could see the attraction of the place.

The Central Mosque also caught our collective eyes.
In Syria, I determined to continue my exploration of international cuisines. On recommendation, Guy and I tried the 'mamonia' (sic???). Sickly sweet with cinnamon on top.... it was something that I wasn't accustomed to.
As the days progressed, we found ourselves on top of the beautiful Citadel in the middle of the city. A nice place just to sit, drink tea and smoke a water pipe after a long day of walking and sight seeing.
Even at night, we felt the life in the city!