Syrian Cities.

[Benonie]

You're all to kind. I just took ordinary holiday pictures...

Originally Posted by skyline

Such a dry place, was it hot?

Temperatures were perfect. Somewhere in between 25 and 30°C.
After all, it was march. In summer, it can be boiling hot!

[Benonie]

CNN Today:

Syrian TV: Blast kills 17 in south Damascus

(CNN) -- A car bomb has exploded in the Syrian capital Damascus, killing at least 17 people and wounding about a dozen others, according to government official.

Syrian security forces cordoned off the area after Saturday morning's bomb and were investigating, the official said.

The Syrian news agency, citing an official source, said the car was packed with about 200 kilograms (440 pounds) of explosives.

The bombing took place near the Sidi Kadad Intelligence Headquarters, which houses a special unit responsible for Palestinian security and intelligence matters.

Originally Posted by Benonie

[Benonie]

26. On the road again...Today we take a ride to the so called “Dead Cities”

The Dead Cities are a group of 700 abandoned settlements in northwest Syria. They date back to before the fifth century B.C and contain many remains of Christian Byzantine architecture. Important dead cities include Qal'at Sim'an, Serjilla and al Bara.
Chris Wickham argues that these were settlements of prosperous peasants which have few or no specifically urban features. The impressive remains of domestic architecture are the result of the prosperity of peasants who benefited from a strong international trade in olive oil at the end of Antiquity.
The other arguments are that these were prosperous cities that flourished as they were located along major trade routes in the Byzantine Empire, and not merely prosperous peasant settlements. When the area was conquered by the Arabs, the trade routes changed and these towns lost the majority of the business that their economies depended on.
(Wikipedia)

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33. We drive further north. The rocky landscape reminds us of the Irish Burren.


34. We stop at Qasr Mushabbak, a 5th century basilica.


35. The church was a stop for pilgrims on their way to the church of Saint-Simeon.


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37. Most pilgrims stayed at one of the Inns in Deir Semaan where there were souvenirs shops as well....a 1000 years ago!


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Saint Simeon Stylites or Symeon the Stylite (c. 390 – 459) was an Arab Christian ascetic saint who achieved fame because he lived for 37 years on a small platform on top of a pillar in Syria.
(Wikipedia)

40. Non-christians could be baptisted in this chapel first.


41. Like this ones?…


42. The church itselfs.


43. This is what remains of the 18 meter high pillar… But he had nice views!


44. We take another ride 20 km to the north east, near the Turkish border.


45. ... and reach the remains of the temple of Ayn Dara


It was built by the Hittitites, some 3000 years ago!

The Hittites were an ancient Anatolian people who spoke a language of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family, and established a kingdom centered at Hattusa (Hittite URUḪattuša) in north-central Anatolia ca. the 18th century BC. The Hittite empire reached its height ca. the 14th century BCE, encompassing a large part of Anatolia, north-western Syria about as far south as the mouth of the Litani River (a territory known as Amqu), and eastward into upper Mesopotamia. After ca. 1180 BCE, the empire disintegrated into several independent "Neo-Hittite" city-states, some surviving until as late as the 8th century BC. (wikipedia)

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This is the end of our little taxi-ride.
Next time we take a bus to the second Syrian metropolis: Aleppo

[LouisianaRush]

Great thread!

[Benonie]

Originally Posted by LouisianaRush

Great thread!

Thanks Rush. Keep watching. The fantastic city of Aleppo comes next.

[PA Pride]

Nice photos! Damascus looks cool.

[Chelsea Spy]

this thread is so cool - your pics are amazing and the country so fascinating...

[Benonie]

Thanks a lot!

The last city we visit is Aleppo, in the north west of the country.
Like Damscus it seems to be one of the oldest cities in the world..

Aleppo is a city in northern Syria, capital of the Aleppo Governorate; the Governorate extends around the city for over 16,000 km² and has a population of 4,393,000, making it the largest Governorate in Syria.
Aleppo is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world; it knew human settlement since the eleventh millennium B.C. through the residential houses that were discovered in Tell Qaramel.
It occupies a strategic trading point midway between the Mediterranean Sea and the Euphrates. Initially, Aleppo was built on a small group of hills surrounding the prominent hill where the castle is erected.

The main role of the city was as a trading place, as it sat at the crossroads of two trade routes and mediated the trade from India, the Tigris and Euphrates regions and the route coming from Damascus in the South. (Wikipedia)

The city looks even more chaotic than other Syrian cities.
But the people are more open to visitors, welcoming and very friendly.

An impression, starting by the 'modern' and colonial part of town.

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2. Taxi!


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6. The legandary Baron-hotel near the train station where the Oriënt Express had a stop.
Famous people like T.E. Lawrence, Agatha Christie and Charles De Gaulle stayed for the night.


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8. Businnes District...


9....even more taxi's...


10. Sunset.


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13. Christian Churches in the Al-Jdeida-neighbourhood..


14. De Armenian Cathedral.


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16. But the majority is Moslim, of course.
The most important mosque is the Great Umayyad Mosque, built by Caliph Walid I in the 8th Century.


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19. Street scène near the mosque.


Next visit: the fabulous Souqs and the breathtaking Citadel.

[Benonie]

20. Visitors from all over the world don't come to Aleppo for its urban beauty,
but mostly for the atmosphere and one of the finest souks in the Middle east:



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[Chelsea Spy]

such a wonderful thread!

[Echo Park]

I love this thread! The architecture, the landscape, the people, the dead cities. What an awesome place.

[Benonie]

One of the highlights in Aleppo is the impressive Citadel.

The Citadel of Aleppo is a large medieval fortified palace in the centre of the old city of Aleppo, northern Syria. It is considered to be one of the oldest and largest castles in the world. Usage of the Citadel hill dates back at least to the middle of the 3rd millennium BC. Subsequently occupied by many civilizations including the Greeks, Byzantines, Ayyubids and Mamluks, the majority of the construction as it stands today is thought to originate from the Ayyubid period. (Wikipedia)

The views from this castle are stunning!

















Next time: Syrian railways.

[Benonie]

Syrian people and international travel guides advised us NOT to take the train in Syria. Trains should be old, dirty, slow and unreliable...
Of course we DID take the train to return to Damascus from Aleppo. And that was a fantastic experience. The stations were cleaned, the employees friendly, the trains modern, cheap and comfortable and they were very fast at Middle Eastern standards.
It took us only 5 hours to run the 350 km trip in between the biggest Syrian cities and we arrived right on scedule.
We had free tea, television, music and (arab) newspapers.
The whole 350 km, first class trip is.... 4 euro/ 5 USD per person!

All on board!

1. The Aleppo-train station was renovated and clean. It used to be an important stop on the Oriënt Express line.


2. New trains, made in South Korea.


3. Comfortable first and second class interior.


4. Leaving Aleppo.


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6. Almost all windows were crashed by stone-throwing youth.


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8. New power plant near Homs.


9. Older locs at Hama.


10. Through the Syrian desert.


11. A sand storm.


12. Bypass to Palmyra.


13. Arrival at Damascus train station.


14. This little building outside Damascus is thé main station of a metropolis with 6 million inhabitants!...
The fantastic Hejaz Railway Station in the centre of town is sold to built a shopping mall or so....


That's all for Syria, folks. I hope you liked it.

Your comments are still very welcome...

[Fusey]

It's over? Bummer! This was one of the best active threads on the forum. Great photos, man!

[GO_UAE]

again , an amazing thread thanks for your effort !

but i have to say , the guy on the right , looks like a fatter shorter version of that american actor , from american Phsyco ? :o

Edit ! him

[boden]

Excellent post. Lots of charm.

[Border City Boy]

Thanks. Amazing tour.

How come there are so many old American cars?

[mmmatt]

WOW! Excellent collection of photos, thanks

I was considering a trip to the Middle East sometime soon-ish...I was wondering (since you have 1st hand experience) as my girlfriend would most likely come along, would she need to wear headdress all the time? Or is it more relaxed than its made out to be?

[Benonie]

Edit: doublepost. Deleted...

[Benonie]

Originally Posted by Border City Boy

How come there are so many old American cars?

There aren't so many American cars left in the region, but I just liked to photograph them.
But between Amman and Damascus the big "service-taxi's" are all big American seventies-cars. I think some compagnies just imported old cars
in the past.

Originally Posted by stu_pendousmat2

I was considering a trip to the Middle East sometime soon-ish...I was wondering (since you have 1st hand experience) as my girlfriend would most likely come along, would she need to wear headdress all the time? Or is it more relaxed than its made out to be?

No, not at all. In Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt, woman don't have to wear a veil. Only by entering a mosque she has to care a kind of chador. She can get one at the entrances.
Only in Iran and the Golf states it's obligatorily in public places for all women.