Apamea 2km colonnaded street
Friday, October 1, 2010
More beautifully stacked rocks
Day 38 29 September 2010 Friday
Apamea 2km colonnaded street
Serjilla a very well preserved and reconstructed dead city.
Apamea 2km colonnaded street
Water wheels and Aqueducts
Day 37 29 September 2010 Thursday
Hama is known as a base for reaching the many sights surrounding area and for its waterwheels and aqueducts.
Hama is known as a base for reaching the many sights surrounding area and for its waterwheels and aqueducts.
Citadels and Souqs
Day 36 29 September 2010 Wednesday
The people of Aleppo were very welcoming, but it is a big noisy city. Here are two of the people who asked to have their picture taken.
The Citadel
Doors of the Souq
View over the city
These nice folks welcomed us to Syria with two nights of free falafel. It is a very popular falafel stand near The Baron Hotel.
Byzantine bypass
Day 35 28 September 2010 Tuesday
Along the way we visited the ruins of the temple of Ishtar, the Semitic goddess of fertility at Ain Dara, built in the 10th to 8th century BC. The temple has lion and sphinx decoration of black basalt which is unique to this mostly limestone area.
Some of the popular sights in Syria are the “Dead Cities.” These are ruins of Byzantine cities that had vibrant populations and were rich olive oil and wine producing areas. These cites were abandoned between 800 and 1100, due to changing trade routes after the expansion of Islam into the region. The large stony masonry work was impressive.
Basilica of St. Simeon (Qala’at Samaan) completed in 491, was the largest Christian church in the world at the time. St. Simeon was famous for spending 40 years atop of pillars up to 18m . After his death the church was erected around his pillar. Today the pillar is little more than a large boulder after being chipped away by pilgrims wanting keep sakes.
Along the way we visited the ruins of the temple of Ishtar, the Semitic goddess of fertility at Ain Dara, built in the 10th to 8th century BC. The temple has lion and sphinx decoration of black basalt which is unique to this mostly limestone area.
Welcome to Syria
Day 34 27 September 2010 Monday
On this day we crossed the boarder into Syria, which explains why our blog activity has been infrequent. We decided to take a less used but more direct route border crossing at Akcakale. We were dropped by the minibus right at the gate, where we walked into Syria amongst the transport trucks. We had purchased our visas at the Syrian embassy in DC before we left, only $131. It was a quick and painless process. The rest of the day we spent changing busses and taxies to get to Aleppo.
On this day we crossed the boarder into Syria, which explains why our blog activity has been infrequent. We decided to take a less used but more direct route border crossing at Akcakale. We were dropped by the minibus right at the gate, where we walked into Syria amongst the transport trucks. We had purchased our visas at the Syrian embassy in DC before we left, only $131. It was a quick and painless process. The rest of the day we spent changing busses and taxies to get to Aleppo.
"Hello, What is your name?"
Day 32 25 September 2010 Saturday
Day 33 26 September 2010 Sunday
Children and adults all know the English phrase “Hello, What is your name?” Even the mulberry tree knows the proper response.
Famous Ice Cream
Day 31 24 September 2010 Friday
We spent a quick overnight in Maras (famous around Turkey for its ice cream, so firm you can cut it with a knife.) As backpacking tourists we were definitely a novelty in Maras.
We enjoyed walking through the old Bazaar, where metal working and other handicrafts are still performed on site.
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