Safir Al-Sayedah Zeinab Hotel Damascus

... heads. I commonly saw them cruising around alone in cars or shopping along. That goes against the stereotypes we have for this part of the world. If anyone is expecting Saudi Arabia style oppression, on the surface at least I didn't see it.

In the poorer areas such as the Old City the women were much more traditional and I wish I knew what the various degrees of covering up mean. Some women wore these cloak like jackets that went all the way to their feet ...

... you have patience and time to wait at the border with a cheery disposition I recommend doing it that way. Of course it is possible that you will wait and be rejected but I have heard that this is extremely rare and tends to only happen if you cop an attitude...or of course if you have Israeli stamps in your passport...in that case you can just forget about it. The exit stamp upon leaving Syria cost 500 Syrian pounds which is about 10JDs.]

... the bazaar to the
mosque for example. You enter a huge corridor covered by corrugated
iron and are still enchanted by the spots of light that shine through
the gloom, even after the guide book tells you that they are bullet
holes from the 1978 uprising.




Coming back into full
sunlight you look through a Roman temple's archway at a mosque that
still resembles the church it once was. Inside the mosque courtyard
the ...

... We then had a surprise. Bashar took us to his 'favourite' place in Damascus. It was originally a wealthy family's home (around 5000 sq meters), it then became a school and it was where his mother went to school, and now the government has taken it over and turned it into a national heritage site. It was unexpected but an amazing experience. Today we went to the handicraft souq where Cynthia bought a handmade wooden ...

... and the 30 ºC heat, it was the perfect combination! We then popped to Resafe, a huge glittering marble ancient settlement in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by eerie desert and incredibly hot, before heading to Zenobia/Halabeyya to see the sun setting over the Euphrates from the very top of the settlement made by Queen Zenobia in the 3rd century AD. Stunning! The Euphrates really conjures up thoughts of the bible and feels like what the Nile would appear like. I was forever ...

... shift my frame of mind. I went back to my pricey hotel for a kip then woke up slightly better. I found an off liscence selling 10% Panda beer so got 4 cans of that and a massive picnic and went to my room for a night in. Other than gettin sex eyes and a few kind words off a chick in a full burkha nothing much happened here so i ****** off to Jordan.

Diana's Jordanian friend, Raghad, had arranged a service taxi that would take us to Beirut. 37 JDs a piece. We went into Syria; passed Damascus, and finally arrived at the Lebanese boarder. The Syrians exit-stamped my passport. However, when I gave my passport to the Lebanese policeman, he asked me how I was planning to enter without a visa. My research told me that Turkish citizens could get their visas at the boarder. The policeman told me that that was ...

... consult the guide book to know why I was even in the ditch. Thanks Kamal. By the end of the walk I wanted to return to Damascus. Before returning to the hotel, we drove up to a vista point on Jebel Quassion. In getting there we drove through the more upscale and diplomatic areas of Damascus. The French did a nice job in laying out the new part of the city: broad boulevards, leafy green parks, fountains and distinctive looking ...

... so we had to move. After the souq we went to our chocolate shop and we bought a present for Bashar as well as a 1kg mixed box for us to share. It is great chocolate!!!! After chocolate we quickly raced back to the hotel because I had spent the whole day without sunnies (i know ahhhh). After that we walked to the museum and waited for Bish to arrive cos he is always late. The museum was really good, pity we couldn't take photos though. The entrance to the museum is ...

Successfully bought ticket for the weekly sleeper train to Iran. Failed to get camera fixed in time - left it in Damascus. Hope to have it sent on. Iran not linked to International banking system - spent day traipsing around Syrian banks trying to get hold of enough dollars to last us a month. No point ...