Pullman Alshahba Hotel Aleppo

... catch a bus at the town near the Syrian side of the border. Finally the guy went back to his booth and stamped my passport and I was free to go. I walked further inside and I saw my bus was already at the end of the complex, next to a duty free shop. When I got there apparently I wasnt the only one the bus was waiting for, the ladies in the bus were still busy shopping! We travelled about another kilometre so in this sort of hilly pass with many military outposts. <br><br ...

... as we were that this is the taxi of choice in Syria. Frankly not only can you not get any luggage in one, they buzz around the city like demented wasps making crossing the street a seriously time consuming and hazardous task. <br><br>Aleppo is a genuinely fascinating city, built around a stunning citadel and with the most amazing souk, a maze of alleys that in total covers over 16 kilometres. <br><br>The locals are forever ...

... was not a column but a large egg-shaped stone sitting on one end. As with the first site, it was the most random things that proved the most engaging: Reuben and I found tucked away in the shade of a remote corner chamber a dog nursing and playing with its two pups. A freshly squeezed OJ later (juicers are a delightful ubiquity in Syria), we were back on the road.<br><br>Ain Dara, our final site, was the ruins of an 8th century BC Hittite temple. Not that we knew this ...

... bus to Antakya and hope there was a connecting bus to Aleppo. The bus to Antalya departed at 4.45pm (the guy that sold us the ticket had said 4.30) and the bus from there to Antakya departed at 9pm. Shona was then reading that it takes at least 4hrs to get from Fethiye to Antalya, but the guy selling the tickets tried to reassure us that the bus should be there by 8.15pm leaving plenty of time.<br>As usual a pleasant journey with snacks, beverages and children throwing up. <br>8 ...

... loads of fun- it's very much a part of Syrian culture, or at least people do it everywhere. Most of the time we would all load up on the back of a mini-truck hauling fruits or Veggies, and on occasion we even squeezed into cars. That evening we had a phenomenal party on the roof listening to Arabic music and Celine Dion, the local favorite. The following day - my last in Aleppo - I set out with Alex and Emi to see the Citadel, Mosque, Souk and other attractions within the central ...

... not luxurious - feels more like a summer camp - but it's got a very family feel to it and it's been easy to meet other travellers of all ages. Tomorrow I leave for Jordan for the last leg of my trip, about a 5 hour drive from Damascus. Looking forward to floating around in the Dead Sea and riding a camel out in the desert to spend the night at a Bedouin camp, so Sabine you'll get to see those pictures of me on a camel at long last!

... eyelid. Aleppos is famous for its souqs, which is arabic for market or bazaar. Winding little passageways snake through a large part of the old city selling all sorts of **** from apricots to pink thongs. I was mildly suprised to see the thongs to be honest as i can hardly believe a woman in full length burkha can be to concerned about her knicker line showing? Anyway, i minced through there enjoying the sights and getting the usual "hello, alemagne ...

... all men (the women usually stay at home in the evening) watch an Arabic soap opera and chat amongst themselves. It's probably a good thing that I did not eat all day because then I would have had to use the bathroom and that is not a lot of fun in most third world countries. The public toilets are nothing but a hole in the ground that you squat over. They don't even have toilet ...

... tiquement peu recommandé mais fort jouissif. Enfin, épisode relativement discret mais tout aussi réussi, ce dimanche matin, mon expédition à la citadelle de Saint Simeon. Un type, au IVè siècle avant notre ère, qui se retira de son monastère pour s'installer à la campagne, genre "tous pourris" retrouver l'harmonie divine au sein de la nature etc. Sauf que son ...

... to take the castle by seige however all attempts have been defended. Incidentally the first time it was taken was by three guys dressed as goats who tricked the watchmen into thinking they were animals?? The simple approach huh?? After spending a good few hours up at the Citadel, half of the crew went back to our hostel while the other half of us went to the mosque. Once the girls had covered up we went ...