Dallal House Hotel Aleppo

... told me that I look like an Afghan, which I find interesting. <br><br>In the end a service van came at 8am to pick me and some other people up and the guy in the tie handed over the passports to the driver. We were brought to this otogar on the outskirts of town and the driver in turn handed over the passports to the person behind the bus counter. The confusing part was that there was a bus to 'Halep" was already waiting and some went onboard while some did not. Also some ...

... saw more of the very different feeling Christian quarter and took a closer look at the facade of the national museum, which was guarded by 4 giant statues that would have been imposing but for their white painted eyes which gave them a distinct air of South Park animation.<br><br>Once the food arrived, the conversation fell dead as every single dish was a delight, with surprisingly good veggie meze dishes from tabuleh, fuul, hummous, aubergine spread, and a funky salad ...

... cul-de-sac right off the main souq &#8211; well worth the few extra Syrian Pounds for the convenience alone.<br> <br><br>We spent most of our time in Aleppo wandering the souq and sampling the local food. There is another impressive Umuyyad mosque (built 10 years after the one in Damascus), as well as a citidel on a raised tell at the east end of town. The views from the top of the citidel were spectacular, back over the old town to ...

... t feel the need to honor my ticket. So I'm literally standing alone in the middle of the Syrian countryside.. but before I can really react I spot a microbus in the distance and walk up to the driver. Yes, he's going to Aleppo! But he needs to fill at least half his car before we can go at the standard minibus rate of about $2. So we wait. And we wait. And we try to communicate using my Arabic phrase book and we share some pumpkin seeds. A few of his friends stop by and he takes ...

... great to talk to, lots of stories as you can imagine. I also had a funny experience arriving in Aleppo from Damascus. According to my guidebook, the bus station was walking distance to the hotel I had booked. However, when the bus pulled into the station and everyone got off, it was clear that we were nowhere near anything that resembled a downtown area and I had no idea where I was. Of course, I was the only foreigner there and ...

From central Turkey i travelled for 18 hours to the city of Aleppo in norther Syria. The journey shouldnt of taken so long but the turks conned me into buyin tickets that just dumped me at the border crossing so me and a jap lad had to pay for a 1 hour taxi into the city. it only cost a fiver so it was no big deal but its not what you need after all night on a bus. As soon as id checked in i set out to find a bank, id gone about 100 metres before some ...

... t..?) She ended up, however, ýnvýtýng me for dýnner wýth herself and her husband at theýr place. We had a lovelt týme together and they taught me so so much..they answered all of my questýons and ýt was an amazýng týme and scrummy food! That nýght the guy ý stayed wýth took me to the traýn statýon to book my týcket to lattakýa, where we had a very ýnterestýng ýnterogatýon from the secret polýce.. Everythýng turned out fýne, but the experýence dýd ýnclude beýng taken out ...

... is that the Umayyads did it around 8th Century. Aleppo is a city of stone. Even the tall apartments and the Sheraton are made of stone. One of the main reasons why I had liked Mardin so much was because of the stone structures. This city is a much bigger version of that. Had lunch at Beit al-Wakil, a hotel-restaurant in an old Syrian building. The menu offered nothing that you would not be able to find in Turkey, but the food was good. There ...

... puisqu'il s'agit bel et bien du quartier "neuf", développé par les Ottomans et surtout boosté par la très motivée et bientôt puissante minorité chrétienne. Les rues de l'est d'Alep, ainsi, se parcourent avec un enchantement assez immense ; parce que les églises et cathédrales cachées au coin des rues sont autant d'havres de paix, parce que le quartier est très ...

... and appearance. I was told this was Syria, not Afghanistan, women do not require head scarves or long dresses. Holding hands, et c is fine and getting a drink when one is required is not difficult. <br><br>Walking around the city is an orgy of sensation. There is no crime. There is little harassment. The population is incredibly welcoming and friendly. Young men would stop us in the street and simply say "welcome". The souk is quite incredible ...