Retro Syria

Syria
What to say about a country that all you had envisaged turned out to be incorrect. Only, I guess, that Syria is a marvel, and don’t believe the press.

To be honest, the sights in Syria are a little limited if you’re going in for the ‘old stuff’ tour. Palmyra in the East is OK, but as I said in my last post on Syria, not really worth the hassle unless you’ve got your own car and speak Arabic pretty fluently. Even then, when you’ve come from further south and seen the ruins in Jordan and Egypt, it’s a bit of a let-down. The Roman Theatre at Bosra was interesting, but I think this may have been due in part to it being the first castle-esque structure I’d fully explored.

Of far more interest is Krak des Chevaliers, the majestic crusader castle built by the French on their way to the Holy Land. The castle is epic. That’s a perfect world to describe it. From its turrets to its tunnels, this is the castle you’ve thought about when imagining knights riding into the yonder. I had the fortune of visiting on my birthday, figuring it was a suitable present, though my leg hated me for it afterwards.

But the reason you’ll enjoy Syria is not the buildings, but the people and the experiences. Far from being AK47 slinging Middle Eastern freedom haters, the people I met in Syria have been the nicest yet. When you ask them where something is, they don’t point you in the general direction; they’ll take you by the hand and walk/drive you there, all the while finding out your life story. Syria perfectly blends the friendliness of Jordan and Lebanon with the austerity of Egypt. Such a mix of genuine warmth and cheap food/transport/shopping/everything will make you want to change your trip to stay here longer.

I think the two highlights of my Syrian sojourn happened in the first half, in the south. The first was going to the hammam in Damascus, where I found out just how white I still was. I swear there would be a market for this in Australia. It’s not only a great place to go and get clean or have a massage or sauna or whatever, it’s also a really social place to just chat with people here. Nobody has their shields up, and nobody’s posing. It’s a nice change from the street, where everyone is trying to look their trendiest.

The second highlight was definitely going to Quneitra in the Golan Heights. Going to a place like this, that has been the cause of so much anger and nationalistic aggression was a little overwhelming. Everyone in Australia has heard of the Golan Heights, and its infamy follows you when you go there. It’s so easy to imagine this now deserted shell of a town as a battlefield for a conflict that’s gone on for generations. History is alive here.

As for the north, I feel a little cheated. Following doctors orders, I tried to rest as much as possible when I returned to Syria (excluding the trip to the Krak, but it was my birthday). As a result, I saw very little of Hama and Homs, two of the big cities in the north. Though from what I saw, Hama seems a relaxing place to spend a day or two. Nor did I get to go on the day trips I had planned. In Aleppo, I didn’t even go to the ‘sights’, as I was trying ridiculously hard to stay in bed resting. And for all my self-deprivation, I’m still in pain, and a little bit grumpy about it. However, it does leave me with a good excuse to come back, which I very much hope to do in the near future. It’s an amazing place, all the more so because it’s so underrated in the West.