Mirage Aleppo

... ve observed on more than a few occassions; a pity considering how otherwise beautiful the countryside is. Still, back in our seats we were spared the blighted sight and proceeded to demolish our meal of kebabs, mezes and the same salad from last night, this time with a tangy dressing of pomegranite juice. I'm so glad I hooked up with fellow foodies.

Aside from a few uncomfortably close calls in the outskirts of town which prompted me to retract my right arm back ...

... we cannot convince him otherwise. He tries to
teach us a little Arabic and in between correcting my pronunciation
he asks me repeatedly whether or not he is going the right way!!!
This is the way with many of the taxi drivers so keep an eye on the
road that you may know where he needs to go. As in Turkey, people see
a foreigner, assume you are lost and immediately offer you help! Our
hotel is stunning, one of the old Ottoman houses in Aleppo (what they ...

... noise- the excruciatingly annoying whine of a mosquito. That noise which was about to end in a bloody mess...

Profanations are rife as a spout of slapping, spraying and flailing arms achieve little against the unseen enemy. Exhausted and embittered I lie there, forced to retreat to my oven-like sleeping bag yearning for the blissful ignorance of sleep...

Despite the lack of sleep it was not hard to stay awake in Aleppo. Everything was so different ...

... at 2.35pm and drove into Jordan at 7.30p.m. That was 2 hours with the Saudis and then 2 hours and 55 minutes with the Jordanians. If you want to get through the borders there's no point in arguing too much with anybody about anything, just keep patient and go with the flow. We finally arrived at the InterContinental Hotel in Amman at 9.40p.m. on Sunday night, to find that we had been upgraded to a suite, so all's ...

... interpretar-lo, i 2/ no intenteu pronunciar el nom del carrer en arab que surt a la guia perque aixo acostuma a donar resultats d'allo mes decebedors). El viatge que hauria de durar 5 minuts, n'acaba durant mes de 15, malgrat tot el preu es ridicul, forca menys del que ens havien demanat als demes taxistes a l'estacio. Quan recollim les motxilles, ens adonem que els carrers son buits. Provem en un parell d'hotels. Res, tot ple. En el tercer ens hi quedem ni que ...

... After some shouting with another driver for a few minutes and running off with our passports (Lee made a mad dash just following the passports which the guy took into a tourist office) and about 20 minutes later we were on our way to Aleppo. No problems at the border although we had to get out a few times and they checked our bags and the car and had to show our passports to about 5 different people, but we made it though and got to Aleppo about 20 hours after leaving Goreme, only about 6 ...

Hey People I am in Syria right now and what a time I had getting into the country. I left Goreme at 8:30pm after a day of horseback riding and a Turkish bath and went to Kayseri where I got onto a midnight bus headed to Antakya, a town close to the Syrian boarder. I was planning to spend a night in Antakya and find out what I needed in order to get a visa into Syria but that was not to be. I got there early in the morning and while I was waiting to get my luggage ...

... colline dans la campagne d'Alep, elle attire du monde ! J'en fis la douloureuse expérience, arrivé à 9h30 sur le site déjà plein ; le monde n'en gâcha absolument pas la visite, merveilleusement ensoleillée. Le nombre de photos parle pour lui même : avec les auto-stops que j'expérimentai en route, ce fut une expédition tout à fait magnifique, assez semblable en sa ...

... behind the wheel. We arrived at the citadel almost in one piece, losing a section of the upper awning rail to a passing tree. The wires and banners across the streets are worryingly low. We nearly gained some pretty dangly lighting, or nearly lost some garotted team members depending on how strong the wiring was. A helpful chap, we never learnt his name, offered to take us to a bank to get cash. This involved a taxi ride ...

... It wasn't. I also walked to the Christian Quarter to see what was so Christian about it. One good thing I found in the Christian Quarter that I couldn't find anywhere else was BEER! God answered my prayers. I was looking for a beer ever since I left Iran. I didn't find any in south east Turkey and didn't see any in Aleppo until I walked through the Christian Quarter. I asked the vendor if it was ok that I drink the beer outside on a park bench and he said ...