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Diary - Syria (30th Apr to 6th May)
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| Due to the ridiculously high diesel tax at 100US$ a week we opted for a one week express tour of Syria. Looking at the map this seemed easily possible as it is tiny compared to Turkey, especially as 50% of the country is nothing but desert. It also meant less time for Steve to become more like his dad, by pottering about extremely slowly, making most things take 4 times longer than they should. |
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| The border was an instant wake up call to the Arab ways, especially when trying to get Carnets completed. We went for the true British mentality and would try queuing in an orderly fashion, whilst everyone else shouted and jumped about trying to force themselves to be sorted next. However in this case the official, a stern looking Arab with the standard thick moustache and a cigarette stuck to his lips that would not make him look out of place as an army general, decided he preferred the quite people and we jumped the queue. |
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| Entering another country means the instant quest for new currency, along with trying to work out rough prices. The first town we came to on our way into the rural north gave us a wake up call that not only do they not accept credit cards, but also that many towns don’t have banks and cash machines. Instead we were directed to a resident jewellery shop, with a young boy in tow as our translator. As the place was in the centre of town, Katie stayed with Gweneveer ready for a quick escape. Unfortunately during these crazy few minutes a man opened the passenger door and tried to get in. However, the man was given a rather quick tongue lashing and very quickly ejected from the Land Rover. We are still unsure what his intention was but the shock of a lady driver, very rare in Syria, along with the steering wheel not being where he thought it was probably confused him. |
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| After calming down and visiting the Simeon Citadel, within the Dead City area, we found our first nights wild camp, just by a river and wheat fields. The night was trouble free with our only visitors being a herd of goats and their owner, who kindly pushed them away from Gweneveer. It also gave the local farm workers something to stare at in the morning, most of who were already in the fields before we stirred from our slumber. |
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| We then spent the next two days visiting Crusader castles that are throughout the Syrian West coast. Our first stop was the smaller but impressive Saladin’s Castle. From first glimpse as you drive down into and back out of a steep, hair pinned valley, it looks like it would be tiny and not much left to see, and we were instantly corrected when you enter through the gateway. Unfortunately these castles are not spread that far apart as our next stop was to visit Krak Des Chevelier, camping only 50 metres from the castle walls. We even treated ourselves to some food in the restaurant we were camping in. It was good, though as seems common place in Syria, no menus were present and simply a spread of dishes is placed in front of you, making the value being charged questionable. |
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| Krak Des Chevelier is an incredibly huge and well preserved castle, much more dominating than a lot that England have to offer. We even rose early to get in before the crowds only to find that at 8:30 there were already coach loads of school kids. Walking around the castle was an interesting concept as most of the local sightseers found us more interesting than the castle they were stood on. It ended up with us strolling around with a small entourage of teenagers, even having to pose for photos for them! Of course they do not stay silent, instead practicing their limited English phrases: ‘Hello, How are you?’, ‘Where you from?’, ‘Welcome to Syria’, ‘look, look!’. |
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| Next came the most boring drive to date, getting from the West toward the East and Palmyra, through nothing but dessert. Not really a time to start worrying about where we could get more diesel from, but we do tend to get it low enough to then start panicking! The camp we found was set in a lovely oasis with the temple wall towering above along one side. Unfortunately the manager seem to take a liking to Katie, which made her feel a little awkward, meaning that I got to hold her hands more. We ended up venturing up to the Castle, with Ueli and Esthi (the Swiss couple we met in Turkey), which overlooks the whole of Palmyra, giving you a great perspective of how huge the city and the ruins is. |
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| Being in the desert everything has to be done in the morning or late afternoon so we went strapped on our walking shoes and went walking. After visiting various ruins in Turkey, nothing prepares you for the sheer scale and quantity of what lays before you, simply walking from the gate to the Valley of the Tombs takes most of the morning, or at least it does at our dawdling pace. The beauty of the place is that it is mainly free, apart from a few key buildings, so you can wander around anywhere you like. However after several hours, with the heat increasing, it was time to return to camp and have a cooling swim. |
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| After another long desert drive we arrived in Damascus, only to then spend just as long trying to find the campsite. Unfortunately using a GPS does not always help when the coordinates are not accurate, especially not when the campsites map is incorrect as well. Eventually we called into a Skoda garage, to see if they knew. This led to a phone call and a few minutes later a rather chubby guy on a scooter that had been hidden underneath him turned up to guide us to camp. As always the camp was nothing special, especially not after an Overland Truck turned up. So to avoid them we braved the city again to drive to the very popular view point that overlooks the city. |
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| The Umayyad Mosque is absolutely stunning, though extremely plain on the inside as with most others, we didn’t find Damascus that interesting. The journey in was the most bizarre part in that to catch the taxi you simply walked to the dual carriageway, metres from the camp, stand on the side and wave until one pulls up. Jumping in we were both a little nervous based on seeing how they drive, but it appeared we had climbed aboard the only slow and steady driver in Syria. The city did have a nice buzz about it, but the old city just seemed confusing, with lots of intertwining streets, making it difficult to work out was new, what was old and where the old town boundary is. Taking advantage of being in a capital, we went to a café, drank tea and played backgammon whilst we waited for the start of our girly film at the cinema. |
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| With only one more night permitted we headed close to the south ready for our border day. We arrived in Bosra only ten minutes late for the Tourist Office. Seeing our confusion a local asked us what we were looking for. Two minutes later we were parked outside a restaurant, directly on the town square opposite the Amphitheatre, where we would camp for the night. We had reservations about going to see more ruins, but these were at least a little different in that they are made out of a local black stone. It did give it a bit more of a dirty look but the height and completeness was impressive. After a slow meander around the rest of the town we did feel a little disappointed with the lack of anything else very interesting, so grabbing a book we relaxed in the park. Later we decided to have dinner in the restaurant as they were letting us stay outside, however this just led to Steve having a funny bottom again! |
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| Our journey to the border of Jordon was pain free with Gweneveer speeding along like a silver bullet. We even managed to use up our remaining money on their cheap fuel to fill up our jerry cans. This meant the guy climbed on top of the car to fill them where they sat, moments after chucking away his cigarette. |
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| For more photos please see the Gallery. |
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| Castles are High |
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| Fact Finding |
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| Krak Des Chevaliers |
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| School Kids |
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| Steve at Palmyra |
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| Crazy Statues |
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| Flying Lesson |
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| Katie in Costume |
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| Bosra Statue Head |
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| Bosra Wild Camp |
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