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Middle East - part II
Aleppo, Holms, Palmyra, Damascus
Hector Yague2005-10-07 16:20:54
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Aleppo
The 2nd of April I crossed the Syrian border on my way to Aleppo, the longest continuously inhabited city in the world (over 5 thousand years). The first thing that struck me was the traffic: incredibly messy. There are no rules both for cars and pedestrians. Drivers respect no lane, no red lights. The horn is beeped CONSTANTLY as a greeting sign, turning sign and emergency brake. There is no passing 10 seconds without hearing a car hammering the horn. Pedestrian deal with the chaotic traffic like a bull fighter deals with the incoming bull. Scary stuff. On the other hand, taxis are very cheap, and with as little as one euro you can get across the whole town, so they are very convenient. No wonder there are hundreds of yellow taxis flooding the streets everywhere you go.
Anyway, my first destination in Syria was Aleppo, in the northern end of the country. This is a very large city (pop. over 3 million). Three million worth of dirt, mess, stink and confusion. Yup, I am afraid I did not like Aleppo very much at all. There is something about arab cities that drive me nuts. I guess it is the over dose of "humanity", for the lack of a better word. Accommodation there did not get any better, and I enjoyed a roman-alike orgy in my hostel: me, myself, and a horde of bed-bugs that'd sucked the bejesus outta me nightly. Food and restaurants were on the downies too unfortunately. In spite of the excellent arab cuisine, it was very very difficult indeed to find a decent restaurant that would serve anything else than chicken, lamb or humus. Do not get me wrong, I love humus and chicken and stuff, but after 2 weeks eating the same mother fucking shit twice a day, I found myself crying over a plate of fresh fish or grilled vegetables, or hell even a plate of spaghetti would do it.
Anyway, you get the point, Aleppo was sort of a letdown. The Souq (bazaar or market) was extremely appealing
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See photographs from:
Syria Gallery
