Jdayde Hotel Aleppo

... the station, immediately a guy with an orange tie asked for my passport. I was hesistant at first but he looked like somebody who worked for the bus company. Besides, I read a blog somewhere that it is common for the bus people to hold our passports when crossing the border into Syria. He then told me to wait at a nea by teahouse. As I waited for the bus near a teahouse, all the time keeping an eye on the guy in tie (and praying that I wun have to go to the toilet), someone ...

... in the downtown Aleppo region where I stayed, gave me somewhat of a negative first impression which the admittedly impressive and remarkably intact Citadel failed to fully ameliorate.<br><br>But in any case, Cath and Reuben invited me to join them for dinner based on Ahmed's recommendation, and we proceeded to order about half the menu. Waiting for the food, I found that we had traced nearly parallel paths through the souk and citadel of Aleppo already, although ...

... terrace for whiling away a balmy evening. We finally got round to drinking the bottle of wine I'd been carrying since Lebanon up here and it was a pretty magic experience, sitting under the canopy of vines and listening to the evening call to prayer from the many minarets scattered about the old centre. Because of the restrictions on development in the old city there are very few hotels available inside the city walls. Ours was in a ...

After my brief stay in Antakya, Turkey, I booked a coach bus from Turkey to Aleppo. The border crossing into Syria was far easier than I expected, and after a few questions and about 30 minutes we were on our way to Aleppo (Haleb)... or so I thought. About 10 minutes past the Syrian-Turkish border our bus stopped and the driver screamed "Aleppo off!" and I was more or less thrown off the bus. Apparently, as everyone else on the coach was heading straight through to Damascus, they ...

... scruffier place and had more of an edge to it. I've felt completely comfortable wandering around in Damascus on my own but didn't feel quite as much at ease in Aleppo. I did manage to stop into the Baron Hotel for a drink. This is the hotel that T.E. Lawrence - i.e., "Lawrence of Arabia", made famous, and they have a copy of one of his bar bills on display. Very cool. The hotel manager has been working there for 40 years and he ...

... ng coffee &gt;(and havýng my coffee grounds read) then wanderýng through the souqs (markets) of Allepo týll nýght fall. The next day at the museum, I met a lovely old lady..The museum was closed because ýt was monday (I KNOW!!) and the woman told me I could go to the souqs ýnstead..ý told her ýd already done that, but because ýt was monday and all of the tourýsty thýngs would be closed decýded to walk wýth her towards the souqs (Fate ýmposed shoppýng..who am ý to quest ...

... became infertile and rocky; stone houses replaced concrete ones; and men began to wear long dresses. Oil here is less than a third the price in Turkey. Stopped by the Qala'at Samaan. This is the twin of the St. Simone Monestary in Antakya. However, it is in significantly better shape. When you look at the building from certain angels, it looks as if it is still in use. I could not learn when exactly the monestary was converted into a citadel. My ...

... plaisir assez permanent, moins parce que la vieille ville est belle mais parce que son atmosphère est d'une sérénité et d'une bienveillance (si cela s'écrit) très sympathiques. Quelque chose de plus humain qu'au coeur de la capitale syrienne dont le caractère solennel a quelque peu tendance à écraser le modeste visiteur. Mais le plus beau d'Alep n'est pas son plus ...

... bus station? Well, that's exactly what happened in Aleppo. In a world that seems locked out from the rest of the world, seeing such kindness is overwhelming. The short Arab, with wrinkles of a harsh life and piercing green eyes, put me on the taxi bound for the bus station...with mixed feelings, a killer thirst and scorching heat, I watched the outer rings of Aleppo go by. This trip had just taken a distinctly unexpected turn.

... retained here because of Syria's relative isolation. The imposing stairway leads from a downstairs bar and reception to a host of simple rooms upstairs. There is an outside veranda where it is enjoyable to drink beer while exercising polite self control. Drinking alcohol is fine in Syria, but drunkenness is not. <br><br>When I arrived I enquired about the customs and asked about the precise expectations the public would have regarding ...