Where Angel George Fears to Tread

From what I’ve read in the media, Syria is an evil, evil place, full of machine-gun wielding suicide bombers waiting on every corner to do me in. As part of Gorgie’s ‘Axis of Evil’, Syria is apparently somewhere that the people are not all that nice, really.

In the 4 days I’ve spent here, I must say that I fully agree with the US; in the way that I don’t agree in the slightest. Egypt is cheap but most of the people you talk to want your money. In Jordan, the people are friendly, but they’ll just take your money in the form of high prices. In Syria there is the perfect combination of people and prices. The locals (except the taxi drivers, which is ubiquitous) are the friendliest I’ve met, always wanting a chat and inviting you back to their place for a snack and tea. They’ll buy you a shisha, and just be happy that you’re in their country and having a good time. Syria is great. In case I needed to tell anyone here, don’t trust the US in the Middle East.

First stop was the souq in Damascus. While not as big or cramped as the one in Cairo, it was well worth the visit just for the atmosphere. It ends at the Umayyad Mosque, which is the biggest in Syria. It is possibly one of the most expensive publicly funded projects in Syrian history, as the interior of its courtyard (which is huge) was inlaid with gold and precious stones and metals. The first photo is a section that’s been restored, and gives you an idea of the intricacy of the designs.

After dinner, I went along with a friend to a hamam (an Arabic bathhouse) for an outrageously relaxing experience. After chilling for a while in sauna-like bathing room, I got a full on, chiropractic-included massage that left me tingling. Somebody should really open one of these in Brisbane (business opportunity, anyone?). Apparently half of the tan I thought I’d developed was just dirt. Either that or I had just had half my skin scraped off. Oh I was clean.

I went for a day-trip to Bosra near the Jordan-Syria border. The main attraction is a fortress surrounding a Roman Theatre that seats 7 000. There weren’t any barriers anywhere, so I got lost for a few hours exploring the entire fortress. There doesn’t really seem much else to say about it, but it’s been a Syrian highlight.

The next day I went to Palmyra, meant to be Syria’s no. 1 tourist spot. They were ruins, and not really that impressive after the ones at Egypt. In all, it’s probably not worth the hassle getting out there, especially in the baking summer heat, it you don’t have your own transport. I spent a while talking to some of the guides, who had learnt their fluent English purely from tourists. Impressive, but a little disturbing.

I think the best part of Syria so far, and a highlight of the trip was my visit to Quneitra yesterday (parents, look away now. Maybe.). Quneitra, more popularly known as the Golan Heights, is a region that sits about 100 meters from Israel. The 100 meters is the UN-imposed international zone. No-one is allowed there but UN soldiers. Go figure. Israel pulled out of the Golan Heights in an agreement with Syria relatively recently, but made sure to leave nothing behind, bulldozing most of the village. Quneitra was the site of a massive Israeli offensive, as it previously belonged to Syria. The most dramatic site in the ex-village is the hospital-come-shooting range. I think the photo is pretty self explanatory.

Now, Syria is great, and I’m going to be spending a week and a bit more here, but I’ve decided to jump the border into Lebanon for a week. I thought, well, I’m in the area. And it’s a completely different type of place from Syria that I want to explore for a while. And they’ve got some fantastic food. So, next post will be a Lebanese expose of the most adventurous kind.

Nick

p.s. Parents, don’t freak out too much. The civil war ended in 1990.