Sybaris Travel Log

Our last day in Damascus and we want to make the most of it!

We visited the Azem Palace built around 1750 as a private residence for the Govenor of Damascus, As'ad Pasha al-Azem.

Then we hit the Souq for some last minute shopping! Per was after an Iranian painting while I wanted a copper tray/plate. We had fun looking for them while crossing the large Souq area.

We just had time for lunch and one last ice cream before heading to the handicraft Souq where Steve bought a painting.

We were sad to take a taxi away from this lovely city towards the airport.

About our trip:

All entry tickets to museums and sites, all lunches and dinners, all drinks, all train/bus/minivan/taxi rides, plane ticket Damascus-Lattakia, all snacks and ice creams, water/fruit juices/sodas for the duration of the trip came to UK£8 per person per day.

Hotels prices varied. We paid an average of $45 per night for a double room in mid-range hotels including taxes and breakfast. Most expensive hotel cost us 49 euros in Aleppo, and the cheapest in Hama $30.

We used the Lonely Planet and the Bradt (thanks to Mats & Gladys for sending it to us!) guide books and between the two we got a good understanding of each place we visited. Per was an excellent tour guide, knowing (and remembering!) history, names of known figures and his excellent sense of direction brought us to where ever we wanted.

We travelled 9 days and only booked hotels one or two days in advance.

The marina in Lattakia is not more than a fishing port and unfortunately rather pricy. For Sybaris we paid $47 per night and several other fees were charged when we left making it very costly. Any one wanting more info on fees and bakshish please email Per. Contact details are on our websites www.kjellqvist.ch and www.sailsybaris.com

We have loved our trip here and are already planning our next stay in the fall. If you want to join us, let us know!

We strolled in the Souq all day, spending time in the bead section and looking at the beautiful wooden boxes, inlaid with several types of wood as well as mother of pearl.

In the afternoon we strolled through the Umayyed Mosque and found we were there just as afternoon prayer started. We sat quietly in a corner and observed.

The Umayyad Mosque is second (after Mecca and Medina) in the Islamic world, with a grand courtyard and spacious prayer hall. Some of the original mosaics still remain in lush green and gold colours.

It has been a place of worship for over 3000 years, starting as a temple for the Aramaeans, then a Roman temple for their God Jupiter, then a Christian Basillica before becoming a Mosque in 636.

The minarets date from the time of al-Walid with some reconstruction around 1340 and 1488. The minaret in the south-eastern corner is called the Minaret of Jesus, because of a Muslim tradition that says this is where Jesus will appear on the Day of Judgment.

Inside the mosque is the shrine of John the Baptist (Prophet Yahia to the Muslims) which is said to contain his head.

photo from www.sacred-destinations.com

We could have spend more time in Palmyra but decided to move on to the capital of Syria, Damascus.

At breakfast we wished Tony a happy birthday and gave him our gifts. Our backpacks seem to be getting smaller every day as we add things to them, so it was nice to offload some to Tony!

We got to the bus station at 8am hoping to get on an early bus. There we met a friendly Australian lady, Glennis, who filled us in on bus times. We all managed to get on the 10am bus, which took us to the outskirts of Damascus.

A taxi took us to our hotel where we quickly checked in. Before we knew it we were out on the streets in Damascus in time for some lunch! We got a sandwich and a fresh juice and walked over to the National Museum. We saw many treasures there but the main attraction was the Synagogue dating from the 2nd century. It was discovered in Dura Europos and reconstructed here. There are frescoes all over the wall depicting scenes from the bible. As in so many of the sites we have seen here we were not allowed to take any photographs.

We did not have much left of the day but decided to venture to the Souq for an ice cream. We heard of a shop there famous for their semolina ice cream. It tasted of milk which I did not like but Per, Tony and Steve gulped it down in no time!

We walked around part of the Souq and watched the people of Damascus. What a great city and what a great atmosphere!

Tony met a friendly lady at the mobile phone company in Hama who suggested a restaurant here in Damascus. We crossed the old city and had a lovely dinner thanks to her!

Our morning started bad. It was still windy and fairly cold. As we left the hotel to walk around the ruins of Palmyra it even started to rain. Oh no!

Not long after the weather improved but it stayed overcast most of the day.

We walked and marvelled for more than 5 hours, trying to imagine what this town would have been like in its heyday in the 2nd century AD. A group of Belgium archaeologists have erected most of the columns on the main street and have tried to piece some of the buildings together.

We returned to the new town for a late lunch at the pancake house before heading to the tombs of the 3 brothers and another tomb which is open for visiting.

We rented an 1963 Austin A16 Cambridge with driver for the afternoon and had fun drinking tea in the oasis before going up the mountain overlooking the whole Palmyra site to the citadel.

From there we watched the sun set amidst a group of Dutch tourists. What a small world!

some photos courtesy of Tony & Steve

Another day, another van. We could not leave Hama without having seen the last 2 norias so we asked our driver to stop at them as we left Hama.

After we made our way to the Krac de Chevaliers, a old crusader fort on top of a mountain.

Built about 800 years ago it still stands  remarkably well preserved. We took a guide to show us around but unfortunately his English was limited and typical information we got from him was: Horse eat here. Soldier sleep here. 1 room, 3 window, 1 door. Here make bread. Window look brisn (prison) etc but it did give us a good idea of how the castle was used.

Our van driver dropped us off in Homs by the coach station where we took a coach to Palmyra. On the way the green scenery changes slowly into dessert and out of no where a desert storm erupted, so strong that the driver had to stop by the side of the road for a bit until visibility came back!

We easily found our hotel and were surprised at the heat! We stayed sipping tea in the lobby until the storm went down. We left the hotel and found everything covered in layers of sand! The restaurant we chose this evening is the first one in Syria to give us unfair high prices for mediocre food. Everywhere else we have always had fantastic meals for little money.

A minivan was supposed to pick us up at 8am. At 9am he showed up after having looked all over Hama for diesel. There is a diesel shortage in Syria as the price is about to go up and everyone is hoarding diesel, storing up great amounts in their homes. The hotel manager gave our driver some of his private stash and off we went to the Dead Cities. On the way we passed 2 more norias out side of town.

Our first stop was Apamea, a city founded in the 3rd century BC. Originally built by Greeks it was rebuilt after an earthquake by Romans in 115AD. It has been partially excavated by a team of Belgium archaeologists and most 4000 columns of the 2km main avenue have been reconstructed.

Afterwards we also stopped at a small pyramid shaped tomb

and then at a monastery.

Finally we visited Serjilla, which has been deserted for 15 centuries, and stands in its original state, not excavated.

Today was overcast, luckily or we would have fried out there!

We decided to take it easy today. We are all feeling tired and are feet are exhausted!

We walked around Hama admiring 9 (of the in total 17 scattered around the area) water wheels called Noria. The Norias were constructed to scoop water from the river and deposit it into aqua ducts, which then channelled it to nearby fields and gardens. They have been in Hama at least since the 5th century AD. They are quite spectacular! They are noisy as the wet wood groans as it rubs while turning.

By one of them, Per made friends with the workmen who invited us to sit and have a tea with them. Per is remembering more and more Arabic from his childhood and can have very simple conversations. He is especially good at numbers and surprises shopkeepers by asking prices in Arabic and when they answer him in English he will repeat the price to them in Arabic. With the workmen he discussed ages and found they were the around the same age as Per. You think they look the same age?

We also walked through the old town where many artists sold their paintings.

In the old town, we visited the stunning Azem Palace which has been partly renovated. It is the former residence of the Governor Asaad Pasha al Azem who ruled the town from 1742.

There is a heat wave and the temperature has risen to 38C, much much warmer than is usual for this time of year. Luckily we have found an ice cream shop just next to our hotel where we can cool down...yum!

In the evening we ate dinner in a restaurant situated by 4 more Norias

After breakfast the hotel manager told us we could not stay another night as the hotel was fully booked. We packed our bags and changed plans. Tonight we will take the bus to Hama.

Time enough to explore the Citadel of Aleppo. We had seen a postcard of it yesterday and could only see the outer walls and grass in the middle of it. So we were pleasantly surprised to find excavations had taken place in the mean time and there was not a bit of grass in sight! Instead we found definite outlines of houses and communal buildings of this ancient town.

The views from the outer walls were stunning!

We left the citadel and wandered across the Souq to the new city. Why it is called the new city we