Road Trip

Taking a local bus, we travelled for four hours from Aleppo back to Damascus.

Monastery? or Monstrosity?

Driving out of Aleppo into the surrounding countryside, patches of olive groves appeared in the rocky countryside. At times, a herd of sheep camoflagued in the rocks and the hills could be made out as the lone shepherd sat on a rock keeping an eye out (or resting his eyes).

We arrived at St Simeon's Monastery which had been built in the fifth century.  The ruins give an indication of how massive this building really was - the size of at least four large cathedrals.  The rock blocks, archways and design gave us plenty of different places to explore.

Returning to Aleppo, I took the brave step of shopping in the longest undercover bazaar in the world with two women, armed with their wallets.  The merchants, while still skilled salesman certainly are not as agressive as those in Egypt.  Similar to Turkey, they do actually allow you to leave the shop if you haven't made a purchase - unlike Egypt where they become rude, pushy and may actually continue perstering and chasing you down the street!

Round and round in circles, attack of the next castle!

Looking out from our hotel window in the morning, we had a great view of the Castle with the sun shining over it.  A sudden fog drifted over the mountain covering the castle *Dramatic music* I cursed at it and shook my fist at it.  Then went down to breakfast....  bread, cucumber, tomatoes, boiled eggs, olives, yogurt - the staple morning foods, I had become used to on this trip.  Road trip heading to Aleppo - On the way, we stopped at Hama where we walked around town and on the banks of the Orontes River we saw the town's water wheels which have been used for hundreds of years. 

Arriving in Aleppo, we walked through the Old City reaching the citadol, probably the biggest castle we have seen so far.  Next a visit to the local mosque which required the women to dress appropriately in flattering outfits.  Once inside, my mother was told off for revealing a small patch of skin on her chest. Here in the mosque was also the head of John the Baptist's father. 

The front gate, horses shoe pointed down = bad luck, pointed up = good luck giving their enemies 1000 bad luck and 1 good luck

The day ended at the internet cafe logging on to all the blocked websites in Syria, including this one, Facebook and YouTube. 

Attack the Castle!

Leaving early in the morning to get a good view over the ruins of Palmyra from a nearby hill, we visited the tomb area where the dead were bured in family crypts in underground tombs which had beautiful paintings, carvings and statues.

Back on the road, we headed for the Castle Krak Des Chevaliers  This would have to be one of the highlights of Syria as there were so many different regions and crevices to explore.  The two hours, we had was not enough time - a full day would have been more like it. My consulation was that our hotel was on the next hill and our room had a great view overlooking the castle.

View from our room

Mum had been sick for a few days with a cold or flu and she took a turn for the worse after walking around the castle in the cold.  Eventually, a local doctor was called - her health deteroriated further, when she saw the instruments he pulled out of his briefcase - unsanitised.  Eventually, with the consulation of a nurse who was travelling in our group, she agreed for him to give her two injections in her buttocks and a prescription of about 20 different medications.