Syria Travel Blogs

Crusader Castles
Nov 7, 2005 (15 photos)

... day it is and it usually doesn't matter! From Hama, we travelled south and west to Crac des Chevalier, one of Syria's premier sights. Our guidebook describes Crac as "the epitome of the dream castle or childhood fantasies" (a quote from Paul Theroux). ...

Idols and Ruins in the Syrian Desert
Mar 9, 2008 (24 photos)

Leaving the Fertile Crescent town of Hama, with its norias and entering into the heart of Syria's limestone desert, I looked out the bus window as the ruins of Palmyra and its oasis appeared, with the Baal Temple as its centerpiece.  Palmyra was thriving at ...

Desert Oasis
Nov 10, 2005 (15 photos)

... help that Western movies and the media portray Western women in the way they do. We've certainly noticed the litter in Syria. Several times Martin has caught people laughing at him when he's been very careful about putting cigarette or a piece of paper ...

Defenders of The Faith
Mar 11, 2008 (12 photos)

... a political group, freely elected in Lebanon.  The conversation was cordial, but not the easiest subject for an American in Syria. Krak des Chevaliers In the morning, I left for the Homs Gap, a break in the coastal mountains that provided easy ...

The Welcoming Monastery
Mar 10, 2008 (5 photos)

Perched high in a canyon in the Syrian desert is a Syriac monastery that opens its doors to all and encourages dialogue between faiths.  I climbed several hundred steps past olive trees and shrublands on steep rocky slopes.  At the top, I met ...

Difficult to see though the haze...
Jul 14, 2007

... ;manage to get the great deal on the scarfs I mentioned above though!  Took a few days to warm up to Syria mostly because I wasn't feeling well in Damascus.  We stayed in a grotto like hotel.  The rooms were mostly underground without ...

Another Day, A Different Country
Nov 6, 2005 (20 photos)

... it's supposed to work. We have heard of some people having difficulty (like New Zealanders who don't have a consulate in Syria). The bus driver collected everyone's passports for customs on both sides of the border and ensured they were processed. Mohsen ...

Syria - Into the 'Axis of Evil'!
Jun 11, 2006 (10 photos)

... welcome. The customs agents even offered us tea and cigarettes (despite the big 'no smoking' sign in the lobby). Syria's location between Israel/Palestine and Iraq hasn't made Syria a popular tourist destination, which became apparent to us quite ...

Layer Cake of Civilization
Mar 12, 2008 (20 photos)

Damascus is a layer cake of history, with thousands of years of iceing.  Of course, in most places, only the top layer is visible, the others buried or destroyed over time.  But even the top layer in Damascus is old, with mosques dating to the ...

Doin' the Pigeon in Syria
Mar 6, 2008 (19 photos)

... cooing of pigeons marks the start of a new day. Keeping pigeons is not for everyone, but it is popular in the rooftops of Syria, something they share with Bert of Bert & Ernie Fame, Sesame Street Style. Like Ray Charles shook his tail feather and did ...

The Oldest City in the World
Nov 12, 2005 (25 photos)

... run off with their carts to another location. I think it was mostly a big game. Damascus (population 6 million), the capital of Syria, is purportedly the oldest continually inhabited city in the world, dating back to 5,000 BC. Much of what there is to ...

To Irbid?
Mar 13, 2008 (4 photos)

When the day began, if someone told me that it would end in Irbid, Jordon, I would have first asked them where Irbid was, then next asked why someone would go there, then wonder how it would all happen. The bus from Damascus stopped at the Roman city ...

Palmyra - decidedly surpassable
Jul 23, 2007 (7 photos)

... for us to stay longer.  Our next destination is Hama, the best town to stop in when you want to see Syria's other prime attraction, the great Crusader-era castle Crac des Chevaliers.    The young Italian guy who we met yesterday joins us ...

Damascus: end of the road
Mar 22, 2006 (17 photos)

Azem's distinctive styling is evident on both the external and internal features of the various builings. The multi-coloured and highly detailed brickwork (ablaq) is particularly distinctive, replicated in buildings across the city and very complimentary ...

Enough of The wake up Calls!!!
Nov 22, 2005 (8 photos)

... Sea... there is just so much we've been doing to write about each individual thing will take forever. So... now we are in Syria, and what a place. They say the Syrian people are some of the friendliest in the world - and they definitely live up to the ...

The Islamic Capital Of Culture..
Aug 25, 2006 (17 photos)

... in hand we made our way to the border crossing by way of an eastern Turkey minibus and simply walked across the border into Syria. After about a week of hearing, 'hello donkey, money money' it was nice to hear all the Syrian border officials saying, ' ...

Palmyran Pimps..
Aug 30, 2006 (22 photos)

... interests. Since then a steady flow of travellers have made the trek out into the desert from Aleppo and other parts of Syria. Palmyra's greatest days were when Zenobia started ruling Palmyra on behalf of her son Vaballath. Zenobia with the help of her ...

Crossing Syria
Apr 26, 2006 (13 photos)

After days of anxiety about whether or not I would be able to get my Syrian visa at the border from Jordan, having heard endless contradictory reports about the possibility of doing so, it ended up being a breeze. A brief exchange in my pidgin Arabic, ...

Ghosts in the desert
Apr 29, 2006 (13 photos)

... days, the desert-clad ruins of the 2nd-century AD city are some of the most evocative in the Mediterranean, and one of Syria's greatest attractions. After feeling underwhelmed by the ruins of Jerash in Jordan, I was champing at the bit to see Palmyra, and ...

Waterwheels and vintage cars
May 1, 2006 (28 photos)

God, this is a fantastic country! Syria is, I think, probably the standout highlight of my trip so far, and one of the best countries I have ever travelled. The ceaseless and all-encompassing friendliness of the Syrians is reason enough alone to come here ...

The world's oldest city
Jul 21, 2007 (4 photos)

... We switch back into the Syrian car and continue on to Damascus.  In terms of wealth, friendliness, infrastructure and organisation, Syria seems at first look to be somewhere between Egypt and Jordan.  The cars are Skodas and Peugots instead of ...

I 'Krak' Myself Up Again..
Aug 29, 2006 (10 photos)

From Hama to Krak and back. Hello from arguably the second most important site in Syria and the best preserved castle in the world. TE Lawrence simply called it, 'the finest castle in the world'. In our eyes he obviously hadn't laid eyes on Ishak Pasa ...

Keeping the status quo
May 6, 2008

· Hama, Syria · GMT +2:00hrs Entry to Follow... soon!

The Road to Damascus
Nov 15, 2008 (3 photos)

A funny thing happened to biblical Saul on the road to Damascus - us to! We found the Bagdad Cafe. Close to the turn off to Iraq (only 152 klms away) we stopped at this little Beduion Enterprise and had a cup of tea and chatted to the brothers who ...

Ebla & Hama - 2 Whistle Stops on way to Palmyra
Nov 14, 2008 (4 photos)

... great significance as the artefacts and parts of buildings found date back to 2,000BC! There is not yet much excavated and Syria has a big job ahead of them. There was a busload of school chldren from Aleppo on excursion there and they practiced there ...

Knights
May 7, 2008

· Hama, Syria · GMT +2:00hrs Entry to Follow... soon!  

The road to Damascus
Mar 20, 2006 (23 photos)

... that a while ago (probably ol' Lawrence again) and I'm happy to follow in their footsteps in 2006. Because Damascus and Syria in general is turning into one pleasant and interesting surprise as I wend my way northwards. Hopefully it continues this way. ...

Water wheels of Hama
Mar 26, 2006 (16 photos)

Hama is a little city on the Orontes River about 60km north of Homs, population about a half million I'd guess, which I'd heard was a bit of alright and a pleasant stop whilst heading to Aleppo. So instead of cruising by on my way from Palmyra, I hopped ...

Early to beer, early to bed
May 5, 2008

· Damascus, Syria · GMT +2:00hrs Entry to follow... soon!

Aleppo: the Islamic Cultural Capital
Mar 28, 2006 (25 photos)

... are not welcome and there's a range of local substitutes that are locally produced to fill the void and satisfy Syria's highly nationalistic streak. There's some interesting options in food and beverage but like most dictatorships the real money is ...