Home » Syria » Aleppo, Holms, Palmyra, Damascus

Middle East - part II

Aleppo, Holms, Palmyra, Damascus

Hector Yague
2005-10-07 16:20:54

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There is a great and friendly atmosphere in the air, very hippy'ish.

We spent the night in the monastery, and the next morning over I bowed my good-byes with the crazy french couple. They are traveling eastwards going through Pakistan, India and Nepal this summer all the way till China, so I might meet them again at one future point in my journey. (posterior note: I would indeed meet them again over three months later in Shanghai , China!). (Even more so posterior note: I saw them again in Paris, over a year later, after finishing my journey around the world! small world this is...)

So, without anything left to do in Syria, I picked up a bus that would carry me right into what was in the 1980's the hottest war-spot in the planet: Beirut, capital of Lebanon...

Country's high light!

Without a doubt, Francois and Guillermo were the highlight in Syria: fun, merry, alive, generous and all around excellent people. Way to go guys. It was a real pleasure!

Country's thumbs up!

* The Temple of Baal in Palmyra kicks butt: massive and overwhelming as it gets!

* It was great to get to know the arab people, and how wrongly regarded they have been by western world. Friendly and welcoming would be two suitable adjectives.

* Very cheap country. Your budget will stretch out biiiiig time here.

* Terrific discounts for student card holders.

* Souqs -bazaars- in Syria are best among the Arab world. I just love them!

Country's thumbs down!

* Other than Damascus Old City, the Syrian cities are plagued by pollution, noise, traffic and dirt. That is what I disliked the most in here.

* Accommodation is filthy as it gets, and bed bugs come included in the package.

* Food: I do not get it; Arab cuisine is excellent, and their pastry is world-class. But for whatever reason it was a hell of difficult to find a decent restaurant. Kebabs, chicken and humus was all you could get.

* Not many other travelers to meet here. Seems like Syria is not a popular backpackers destination.