Antakya - Latakya - Damascus

  Damascus, Syria
Thursday, November 29, 2007

Itinerary : Antakya - Latakya - Damascus
Dates : 27th to 29th of November 2007
Mileage in Syria : 510 km
Mileage so far : 17470 km

The pub was a real pub! Well I consider it as a real pub because there was beer! Only one type and only us in the pub, but that's still made our day, especially Kevin's...So had a pint of draft and headed to sleep as we knew that the next day would be a difficult one with our third attempt to get out of Turkey!

Do you remember me?

Kevin drinking his glass of water...

I woke up the next day with a headache and Kevin as well. We straight away questioned the quality of the beer as it couldn't be the quantity...But enough time wasting, so after having convinced Kevin to abandon his attempt to set a new world record by going around the world without lubricating his chain, we swallowed a quick panadol and headed for the border which was another 40 km away...And hoping that luck would be on our side this time...Being the biggest border, I thought that surely someone had the power to take a decision and let us go to Syria!

When we arrived at the border, I was surprised by the huge queue of trucks waiting to cross into Syria. I quickly glanced at my odometer to measure the length of this queues and it was a 3 km waiting line! As we were passing beside those trucks I told myself that this is going to be a hard day...And maybe the travel guide was right to mention that it could take 16 hours to cross this border...But when we overtook the long queue of truck to arrive at the car section, I was pleasantly surprise to discover that it was relatively quiet. I later understood that it was quiet because the immigration officer, that works in this "open 24 hours" border, was taking his lunch break and just left his desk unattended! So we sat on the pavement waiting without really knowing when he would decide to come back...Hopefully he won't do a "two-in-one" and go pray at the same time! Not too bad as we waited only for 45 minutes.

When he came back, we were the first in line and he started to look for us in the computer...With no real surprise, he couldn't find us anywhere and so he decided to put our documents aside and do the rest of the cars first before coming back to our case...Argh...Didn't say anything as I didn't want to get him upset...Nevertheless, after having settled all the other cars in the queue, he came back to try to find us somewhere it the bloody computer...Although we tried to explain him that we were not in the computer because the other border didn't enter us as the computer was down...But he still insisted on his computer until he took the brilliant decision to call his superior that finally gave him the green light to just redo a fake entry into turkey and then do an exit...It was still a hassle but it was moving forward. I spare the details but it still took us 2 hours just to get out of the Turkey side of the border...

When we headed out of the Turkish side of the border, we had a 4 km ride to the Syrian side where another challenge was waiting for us. Only half of the job was done and I know that the Syrian crossing can be difficult...I had no Visa and apparently French people need to have a visa in advance...As I was "kicking out" my side stand a Syrian guy jumped on me and introduced himself has being from the ministry of tourism, and I hesitated to reply that I was from the fraud section of the French ministry of tourism...But the guy looked very descent, was very nice and looked to be an honest liar with a good face...So I gave him a chance, especially when he started to talk to me in French with almost a perfect accent! So Kevin, stayed at the bikes to look out and left me to do all the paper work again which I am glad to do as I get to live the administrative hassle of each country and that I consider entirely part of the trip...I would be actually disappointed not to go trough it...So off I went with this guy to do all the paperwork and I have to say that it was great to have him. I went to about 4 different offices and did maybe 8 different process without having to do anything! The only thing I really did was to pay this guy at the beginning. It was a fair amount of money but I thought it was worth it. I cannot imagine doing what we did by myself and I would take this guy back anytime. He basically asked for a lump sum that included everything and he settled the visa fee, the express telegram for the visa, the under table money to everyone, the insurance for a month, road tax, and of course he surely didn't forget to pay himself. The whole thing cost me about 100 usd.


He thought that I would believe in his pure generosity in helping me until everything was done and he asked me for a tip because of the help he provided, to which I replied that it was a real pleasure to do business with him and that I hope the money he deservedly took for each process he settled for me was good enough (I paid attention to all the little details and could see what was going on and how his system worked). my reply was in a nice tone, without any aggressiveness (I was really delighted and I thought he was good in how he dealt with me) but he still turned red with a little corner smile. So I added that, in appreciation for his impeccable work I am delighted to give an extra bonus and handed 10 usd. Haha...I like those type of guys...Smart, clever and on top of that genuinely nice...He's just doing a living and trying to run a business...And I thought his business was very well setup. The only way for him to have his system work and get some business was to fake his identity and hide his "system" otherwise no one would use him but I think he is actually a must when you are not aware on how the Syrian border crossing works. But trust me, this saved me a lot of time and he knows which strings to pull in the immigration...I don't really know how much of the cake he took for himself and the only thing I know is I paid in total 100 usd. When I see what I went trough in this immigration, I wouldn't understand why people would be stubborn enough to not use this guy. I guess it's a choice, meaning do you want to do a little business transaction with this guy and how much you're time is worth, because at the end of the day it's just time that you buy.

So managed to get 2 guys without any visa and with 2 bikes into Syria in an hour and a half! Can't imagine the time it would have took me had I been by myself...

Welcome to Syria!

Great feeling to be in Syria, and the people are very nice in this country. You can straight away feel the difference with Turkey. Not that the Turkish are not nice but there's something really welcoming in the people here. I think they only learn the word "welcome" because they seem to reply everything you say by "Welcome to Syria!". My feeling about the guy helping me at the border was straight away confirmed at our first stop at the petrol station where everyone was just so nice, polite, respectful and not aggressive at all. Then we did another stop at a little shop along the road in the middle of nowhere and once again it was a great moment. Kevin doesn't feel very comfortable when in those situations where you melt with the crowd and get to transact with them, es[ecially when it gets too long. They are not exposed to tourist so they are extremely curious that they want to talk to get to know the "outside world" and how we think. So when you decide to play that game in this type of countries, you cannot avoid the political and religious topics which they always put on the table (after football of course). It can get difficult when you abort certain topics or subjects but I love the feeling of having managed to get out of it and when it finally ends by a good laugh. Kevin hates the discomfort and hates having to get involved in those topics that he disappears! And leaves me to deal with it by myself! Usually, when I decide to stop (when he allows me), I am limited to 10 minutes per stop before I hear his bike start! Like I said in one of my entries, the people make the country so it's important to meet them! Meeting a well off Syrian in a nice hotel in a big town like Damascus is not Syria! So you have to take the opportunity and provoke the moment by stopping in the middle of nowhere and melt in the scenery. Anyway, to come back to the stop, it was fun and people are fun here. I have a 45 minute footage of just that stop. Priceless...The whole village entered the 2 m2 shop and I got to talk to almost everyone!

Great stop along the road!

After this exciting stop, we headed for Latakya which is a coastal town and a holiday getaway for Syrians. Nice city which is apparently different from the other cities as it is very liberal (the women don't have scarves and wear tight fit jeans).

The next day was a ride to the capital of Syria Damascus with a quick stop at the "crac de Chevalier". They call it "crac" which actually means citadel but to please my good friend Rahan, I will continue to call it "crac" in this entry. It's a castle that has been invaded time and time again and it has been occupied by the Kurds, the Arabs, the Ottomans and the French! When I arrived, I immediately put my tourist hat on, bough the little guide book and opted to have a guide bring me around the castle. Kevin was pissed off at me as he just wanted to take 2 pictures from the outside and leave! Explaining me that it was just a citadel and that he has hundreds of them in Ireland...So I replied that I lived 3 years in a town that had its own citadel as well and although all citadels look alike, I'm still curious to learn the story behind it! So an hour visit with a guide for 2 usd was non-negotiable! Kevin finally came back and gave in so we did the tour together which ended up to being really fun! And the guide was entertaining as well...It's a very nice castle where each one of the invaders left their imprint that you can see in the architectural styles of the building. It was without a doubt worth it, especially when he explained that it was the nicest crac of Syria and the most visited one...

View from the crac...

Standing on the french part of the crac

My guide mahmoud...

Gothic style alley outside the church in the crac

To get the feel on how they use to do it...

the crac...Sorry Rahan I know you're disappointed

sitting on my crac...

Good to be the king...

We arrived in Damascus quite early that day and so we straight away went to the "Souk" (more commonly called the market) which is for me one of the highlight when you stop in a new city. Kevin doesn't agree and says that I'm a woman! The market for me is the heart of the city where you can see how a lot of things work...You see how people live, interact, see what people sell or buy, how they negotiate, the living cost,...It's a bit the life of a city and going to the market when you are limited in time is great because it gives you an idea of the people relatively quickly.

The souk!

Mosque at the end of the market...

More souk!

Once back to the hotel, we bumped into 2 guys riding their bikes from London to Cape town! Quite a trip as well...So we decided to all head for a tea shop in the old city to exchange all the bike stories...Walking to the tea shop and discovering Damascus by night is just amazing...It's such a nice and cool city. I don't know how to describe it...It's modern but at the same time it has a lot of charm because they knew how to preserve their historical buildings and heritage. The teashops with people having their tea and smoking their narguile is just great to watch...No wonder the French invaded this place!

Narguile time in a teahouse...

The next day, we were suppose to head for Amman but for some reason I couldn't resist staying one more day just to see a bit more of this place. So I woke up early to take full advantage of this day and I left at 9 am from my room without knowing where I was going. I just left with my camera and decided to walk and try to interact with people. Fantastic day and felt like I did everything! I walked in the main roads of the old city and went in the back streets as well to see how people live...Then went to the mosque where I didn't pay when I entered! I didn't know that you had to pay until I overheard the guard asking a tourist to go and pay at the counter...I realized that he took me for a "good" Muslim just coming to pray! Once the tour of the mosque done, I couldn't avoid going back to the market which is just in front of the mosque exit! I wanted to buy a "safe" scarf and couldn't resist buying the Iraq and Syria football jerseys.

The square inside the mosque...

The exit of the mosque is straight into the souk!

Souk entrance! ready to look for a safe scarf...

back alleys of Damascus...

After half a day of walking around Damascus, I was starting to get tired so I looked for a teahouse where I could sit down and relax. The one I went last night was too high class and I was looking for a really local teahouse...Something equivalent to our PMU in France...As I was searching the teahouse, I noticed what looked like a laboratory of a big cosmetic company...So I had to go in to understand...Apparently it's a perfume shop where you choose your perfume and the guy does the mix on the spot in front of you...I didn't take any perfume with me for this trip so decided to have my own perfume done for 4 usd...Funny encounter.

a bit of chemistry in the perfume shop...

emptying the seringe on me to sample the perfume!

Then my search for a teahouse got even more interesting when I went into a back alley and saw a "hammam" signboard in front of a closed door. I couldn't just pass without having a go! So off I went for an hour and half of beating! When you see a huge guy on TV beating the hell out of a guy in a hamman, it's not fiction and it's true! I got this huge guy on my case...So huge that I thought that it was a joke at first! Great invention the "hammam" because it was really good and relaxing...Will do it again on my way back from Jordan and will bring the Irishman with me this time...

The beater! but still as gentle as a teddy bear...

Finally, after my perfume purchase and hammam beating, I found the perfect teahouse that I was looking for. Super local, no foreigners, only old guys playing cards and smoking their narguile, the ever welcoming white neon lights, and foggy smoke lurking. Perfect I thought! So hanged out in there by myself for an hour drinking my tea and smoking my narguile. Had a couple of stares but no problem, the Syrians are incredibly nice people and didn't feel uncomfortable at all. I actually feel even more comfortable in Syria than in Iran. I don't know why Bush wants to blow up this place?

me and my narguile...

exactly where I wanted to have my tea!

And the americans don't believe in Syria!

No alcohol in Syria? not true...

Finally when I went back to the hotel after my 10-hour day getting lost on Damascus, I saw this 1950 Cadillac which I thought was fantastic and in perfect shape. When the owner saw me take a picture of his car, he popped out of excitement and started talking without inhaling about his car! Not to show off but by pure excitement that someone was actually interested! Nice old guy and when I told him I was French, he started speaking to me in French as well! The older generation still speaks French in Syria.

1950 cadillac...a Beauty...

Today was one of the best days of the trip. I am glad to have made this detour to Syria and get the opportunity to meet the people.

Tomorrow off to Jordan where I will meet Celine, an old friend that lives in Amman and that kindly offered me to stay in her appartment. Really cool and can't wait...Especially when she mentioned that the beer was in the fridge already!