Syria on the Mediterranean

Syria has about 100 miles of coastline on the Mediterranean and Latakia is its biggest port town. It's close to Cyprus and I've heard there is ferry service connecting the two places. It seems, however, that Latakia has a need for better city planning. Someone had the bright idea of building the port directly in front of the town. What this means is that unlike Alexandria, Egypt, and Beirut and Tripoli in Lebanon, Latakia has no corniche (boardwalk) along the Mediterranean where people can stroll or enjoy seaside outdoor cafes. In any case, while Palmyra is Syria's famous city of ruins, Hama the town of wooden water wheels, and Aleppo the city of ancient bazaars, Latakia is the most urbane and "outward looking" of Syria's towns, and its fashion center.

Aleppo

Whenever I stop in at a cyber cafe in Syria to work on this blog I keep expecting the workers to tell me I'm not allowed on the Blogspot site because it's censored. Instead it's always the same. Just mention Facebook, or Blogspot, or whatever and they'll access the blocked site within minutes. From Hama I took a train north to Aleppo (Halab in Arabic) near the Turkish border. Like Damascus, Aleppo is very old, and the two cities vie for the title of "the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world." In his book In the Steps of Saint Paul, HV Morton wrote of Aleppo, "No Eastern city has impressed me with a greater sense of its mystery. To drift with the crowds in the bazaars, those vaulted avenues cool and dim as cathedral naves, is to enter another world ..." Aleppo used to be a part of the Silk Road that linked China to the Middle East and Europe, and today it's a good jumping off point for traveling by train to either Turkey (and then on to Europe if you like) or to Iran.

The Norias of Hama

Various places around the world have their famous landmarks. Cairo has its pyramids, New York City the Empire State Building, and Paris the Eiffel Tower. Here in the city of Hama in central Syria it's the norias that tourists come to see (and hear). These huge wooden water wheels, as large as 60 feet in diameter, have been used in Hama for centuries to scoop water from the Orontes River and dump it into aqueducts which channel it to gardens and crop fields. There used to be thirty norias along the river but only seventeen are left. These huge wooden wheels are surprisingly noisy due to the friction as they turn, and you can hear the loud groaning and creaking as you walk along the Orontes River in Hama.

Central Syria

The bus ride from Palmyra to Homs in central Syria wasn't too bad, until for some reason the other passengers in the rear of the bus where I was sitting decided they didn't like the breeze and closed up all the windows. It quickly became so hot and stuffy that I couldn't wait to arrive at Homs so I could get off the bus and get some fresh air. I can remember this same thing happening on buses in Turkey, except passengers would be smoking, which would add to the hot, airless feeling inside the bus. Homs is one of those towns not recommended by guide books that I like to visit for no particular purpose other than to simply wander around, relax in the parks, drink tea at the outdoor cafes, and basically just get a sense of the day to day life in the town. In 1959, Seyrig, the French historian, wrote of Homs, "The history of Emera [Homs] amounts to no more than a long career of obscurity from the middle of which emerges three centuries of remarkable opulence." And my Lonely Planet guide has this to say about the city: "There's little of interest in Homs, although it does have an interesting old souq and an agreeable atmosphere." That's true enough. The old market is well worth a couple of visits, and overall Homs is a pleasant place to explore for a couple of days.

The City of Palms

Since arriving in Syria last week I've found several websites blocked, including Amazon.com, Facebook, and this Blogspot.com site. I've heard that in China people are adept at getting around these cyber blocks and that appears to be the case here in Syria as well. When I asked for assistance at a Syrian cyber cafe, the worker there easily navigated around the Blogspot.com block within minutes. Currently I'm in Palmyra ("Tadmor" in Arabic), three hours northeast of Damascus by bus. As my guidebook states, "An elusive and highly romanticised goal of European travelers over the centuries, even today a visit to Palmyra is an experience which alone makes the trip to Syria worthwhile." Two reasons why Palmyra flourished were because it's an oasis city (i.e., plenty of water around even though it's a desert region) and it was a convenient stopping point for caravans taking the shortest route from the Arab Gulf to the Mediterranean. Today instead of caravans you see large buses full of camera-wielding tourists who flock here to see the fantastic ruins.

Damascus

The flight from Abu Dhabi to Damascus takes only a few hours, but the climate is quite different. It's 80F in Damascus while still well above 100F in Abu Dhabi. Also, culturally the cities are vastly different. It appears that people in Damascus strive to hold on to old Middle Eastern traditions while in Abu Dhabi it often seems they can't shed them fast enough. Damascus, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, is associated with the earliest phase of the spread of Christianity. Also, regarding the above photo, this is the first time during my travels I've seen fresh pomegranate juice sold on the street and I take full advantage by drinking it every day.

Back to Abu Dhabi

When I left Pittsburgh the other day it was about 60F and rainy, while here in Abu Dhabi it's about 105F. The nights are cooling down to around 80F, however, so there are more people out walking, jogging, biking, skateboarding, playing cricket, etc.In the uppermost photo above you can see I've slipped into my everyday Emirati garb, which is great for kicking back at my mansion.