Palmyra,
Syria
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Today we got up and now Terry isn't well, this horrible stomach bug has gone through most of the group now!Today we had this shocking bus from the 1950s that was falling apart take us to the necropolis of Palmyra. This bus doesn't really have enough seats - it is lucky that there are so many people not feeling well, there are metal spikes under some of the chairs and if you put your leg too far under the seat it scratches the back of your leg, there is a massive crack in the windscreen, the steering wheel is held in place with a screwdriver and the horn only works if you hold the wires together - but we love it!!! The necropolis we went to is supposed to be the largest burial site of the Graeco-Roman era and comprises of 2 different styles of tombs - the above ground tower tombs and the underground tombs. We first went to the tower tombs and the one we went into had about 6 levels but wasn't overly impressive as there was not much to see inside the tomb. There were a few broken frescoes lying on the ground but that was about it. The 2nd tomb we went into was below ground and was called the Tomb of the 3 Brothers. There were some great paintings in this tomb even though one was a strange option for a tomb in my opinion - it depicted Achilles dressing as a women to avoid a prophecy of his death coming true. We were all slightly disappointed with this tomb as well because the burial vaults are supposed to have the bust of the deceased on the outside and so far none of the tombs have had any intact. However, Bashar then said that he had arranged a surprise for us and it turned out to be that he had arranged for us to go into a locked tomb that we would be able to take photos in. The tomb was awesome!!!! Guy (pronounced Ghee) was asked to open the orginal door to the tomb, the door was huge and when he pushed on it, it made a loud groaning sound like it would have the first time it was opened. We walked into the tomb and I think everyone let out a collective "wow". The carvings on the walls were amazing and the busts were still on some of the tombs, the busts were very lifelike and were all individual designs, it was also great because it meant that with the busts still on, the tomb hadn't been opened. We also got to see some bones from one of the tombs that were behind glass - very creepy. After this we drove back to the main Palmyra site and wandered through the public access areas. We walked through the great colonnade and the monumental arch, we saw where Queen Zenobia had her baths - one for hot water and one for cold, we also saw her name engraved on one of the columns. We then went back to the hotel and I tried to go on the internet but it is sooooo slow. We then had lunch - at the same place we ate at yesterday. It was a good lunch and after it was good because I finally got to have a chat with some of the group - well Bashar and George anyway. George is great - a woggy Londoner who is hilarious and loves to give Bashar heaps. George also has a huge booming laugh and kept reminding me of someone, but I couldn't place where until he said to me "what are you like eh" and I realised it was the tv chef Ainnesley Harriot.
After lunch we went back to the hotel to get ready for the races - camel races that is. While we are in Palmyra there is a festival and they were going to be staging camel races so we all begged Bashar to see if he could organise for us to go. We took our same crappy bus and drove to the track which was full of very nice cars owned by some rich Kuwaities. The building for the grandstand at the track is stunning - not the type of thing you expect to find in the middle of the desert. We were very excited and wanted to get good seats because we were told the Syrian President (also called Bashar) was going to be there and we all wanted to see him. However, this also meant that there were very stringent security checks - including making us take out our cameras and turn them on and show that they worked. We were shown to our seats and it was very interesting to watch the men from various Arab countries in their different outfits. The camels then came out and just as they were about to start the President was announced and as we all turned to try and see him the camels started racing. The track was very long and all these very nice 4WDs drive alongside the track to film them, the camels don't have human jockies either - they are foot tall mechanical boxes that hold a whip. There were guys playing music near the track and the race caller was hilarious, he kept saying something over and over agian and we had no idea what he was saying but it sounded great. The race itself is quite boring except for the starts and finishes. We got bored pretty quickly, especially as betting is illegal in Syria, so we couldn't even have a flutter. We left after about 5 races.
Our group meeting and info session was on arranged marriages tonight and Bashar used the example of if he married me what would happen. It was quite funny cos later that night as we went to tea (Heliopolis Hotel, somewhere different) Bashar looked at me and I looked back at him and said "which way husband" he laughed and said he was going to say something similar. I think that will be a running joke from now on. Tea that night was a bit of a disaster as there wasn't a table big enough for us all, so after waiting for a while a table opened up to fit four, and then a table for 6 and then finally I was able to sit down to eat.
It is a shame that we are leaving Palmyra tomorrow cos I really like this town. Oh well, we arrive in Damascus and Bish ensures us that Damascus is the best since that is where he is from. And it means the good chocolate shop!!!!! Bye
