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Part one of a trip to the Middle East in 1996: Jordan, Syria and Israel.
Syria - Part one
Dougburnett2003-11-22 12:21:54
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Sunday, May 5, Amman
The taxi I was sharing with three Jordanians abruptly stopped as we were passing through Amman's concrete suburbs. Without a word the driver disappeared into a nondescript shop and quickly returned with a still-warm flat bread, which he then passed around. It was delicious - and a good start for my trip north. I was heading to Syria to visit the Great Mosque in Damascus, the Crusader castle, Carc Des Chevaliers and the ancient desert city of Palmyra. I had been told it would be easy to get from Amman to Damascus: it's only six or seven hours away, depending on how long it took at the border.
I was traveling by service (shared taxi) and had purchased a ticket (5.5 JD) the night before from one of the offices that surround the Abdali Bus Station in central Amman. When I arrived in the morning, I discovered that we were one passenger short - and a service doesn't leave until it's full. Five is considered the optimal load for the aging Chevy Impala, and we only had four. Would I consider paying an extra 1.5 JD so we could leave immediately? Now, we are not talking about big money here, so I quickly agreed.
Amman behind us, the distance between settlements increased and soon Bedouin encampments were the only signs of life on the dry, rocky soil. The day was hot and bright with snow covered mountains in the hazy distance. My traveling companions and I introduced ourselves - I was an American visiting Jordan, Syria and Israel and they were headed to Damascus to catch a plane. "It's cheaper there," they said.
A couple of hours later, close to the border, we started to see lines of buses parked along the road. They were full of pilgrims, I was told, returning from the Hajj - the annual trip to Mecca devout Muslims make at least once in their life. The closer we got to the border, the more buses. My companions became agitated. There might be delays and they might
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See photographs from:
Syria Gallery
