Palmyra
Trip Start
Oct 20, 2008
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19
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Trip End
Jan 31, 2009
Palmya,
Syria
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Room 304 at the Citadel Hotel offers really good value for its price, 400 syrian pounds. First of all, the room and the bedsheets are clean. I had to sleap in my sleepingbag at the past two hotels. Plus, the room has a really good view of the town's citadel.
Started touring the ruins... Oh my god! It was a whole Roman city in the middle of the desert. The city lived its golden years during the reign of Zenobia in the 3rd Century. When she decided to rise up against Rome, her city was torched
a Local Transport
.The ancient sites Ephesos and Pergamon are one thing, but this is a completely different story. Those are isolated temples or libraries. This is a city that combines temples and agoras and baths...
As opposed to what the Lonely Planet says, the museum has good English labeling and it's very well organized.
The Temple of Bell gives you the opportunity to observe the mingling of religions and more generally, cultures. Despite being initially built as a Pagan temple, during the Byzantine times, frescoes depicting Christan history were put in place. A tiny bit of these are still visible. However, the frescoes did not vanish because they failed the test of time. As a tour guide was commenting, they were carved out by iconoclassisists.
The ornate flower motifs around the doors felt more Arabic than Greek. Stikingly similar to some of the plant motifs at the Ishak Pasa Palace in Dogubeyazit. Perhaps the evolution of Islamic art is more closely connected to the Arab culture rather than the religion itself.
Palmyra 2
I wondered around the oasis to the east of the ruins. Although it is walled and locked, nobody seems to live there.
There were random houses and tents scattered all over the sight.
The Ethnography museum is being renovated with EU funds.
The Camel men and the boys selling souvenirs are extremely irritating. Keep your distance from them.
Had lunch at my hotel's cafe. 2 grilled cheese sandwiches with tomatoes and a sprite. This is becoming my staple food in Arabia.
Paid 250 for a ride up to the Ummayad-era citadel. Architecturally, the citadel is nothing impressive. However, it is in a perfect high spot to watch the sunset. How beautifully the setting sun lights the ruins... I looked down on Palmyra and realized how small it was. Later, my driver Mohammad told me that the population was about 100,000. Most probably, all feeding off of tourism
Palmyra 3
.As I was watching the ancient city from the citadel, I thought to myself, "In a few millenia, will the skyscrapers of Manhattan be looked up on as I know look up on these ruins?" I believe that they will be regarded as being ancient in much less than a few millenia, because the pace of change only accelerates. The Paleolithic Period took millions of years; the Calcolithic took a couple thousand; the transition from the New Age to the Near Age took a bit over 500. However, since the change is so rapid and the resources scarce, the skyscrapers will not be preserved and will quickly be replaced. Therefore, although they may be considered ancient, they will not be around for us to see.
2 years of military service is mandatory in Syria, similar to Turkey.
There was a small internet cafe right next to my hotel. Facebook and Youtube are banned in Syria.
An Australian solo traveler told me that I had a Philipino-American accent. Never had that before.
A few days ago, in Aleppo, I had met a French guy who had come all the way from France, hitchhiking. He told me that nothing unpleasant happened during his journey. Perhaps the world is not that nasty of a place as I think it is.
One of the temples in Palmyra is devoted to "Allat", the Arab God of War and Peace. Might the name "Allah" root back to this?
