Syria lightning visit
Trip Start
Apr 27, 2008
1
5
8
Trip End
May 24, 2008
Aleppo,
Aleppo,
Syria
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
We left the bus station in an unofficial taxi wondering if we were being kidnapped. Our fears were alayed a little when we awere transfered to a bus. However this was not a bus run by any recognisable bus company. The other passengers on board were people who regularly travelled accross the border. When we got to the Syrian border we found that the process of getting a visa into Syria at the border (even for a Kiwi) was not simple. After a lot of discussion the process was hassened with a financial handshake ffom a 'helpful' person on the bus
Aleppo Hotel
. He obviously requested a 'consideration' afterwards. So we were on our way to Aleppo - or so we thought. Next the bus dropped us at a crossroads and told us to hail a ride into Aleppo. The next ride along was an old van which was obviously the local transport. We made it into Aleppo and were dropped at the town centre. This was a market of at least 10,000 people. We then had to find our way to some accomodation. The lonely planet middle east guide was invaluable. We located a place in the guide - found a taxi to take us there (100 metres down the road) and managed to get the last room they had for the night.
We found Syria to be very sketchy. I'm not sure how to describe it but the people don't seem to have a lot of national pride and live for the day. They are not very welcoming to visitors - only granting us a 3 day transit visa. We found the hotel we stayed in at Aleppo to be clean. it was 'quaint' and good for getting us out of our already extended comfort zone. The hotel is in the middle of a souk which is a market of small shops, narrow alleys, and distinct smells.
We decided to travel through Syria quickly to ensure we got two days in Petra
Aleppo Market
. So the next day we travelled to Damascus and on to Amman in Jordan. Our road to Damascus experience was not the same as Paul's but....The bus we travelled on was a local bus (not tourist) most of the other passengers were asleep, the curtains were all pulled and the driver had 2 or 3 friends riding up front. Every now and then we would stop to pick up other passengers. This got more interesting when we stopped to pick up some sheep which were loaded under the bus with our bags. (Lynn's bag was fertilised). To ensure all the sleepy passengers enjoyed their journey the bus boy played a music video loudly. The video was a Syrian version of ' american idol'.We will continue this story in the next update
Comments
from amanda
sounds like you are having fun and experiencing a different culture. i miss you. im so used to been able to ring you and chat lol. what date do you get back? you should buy me a present even if its cheap and small.