Back in Damascus with the lemon tree

All good things come to an end. So thank you Alissar and Roula for your beautiful hotel and your kindness http://www.almamlouka.com/

And finally thank you to Bashir driver and friend.

We loved your country and your people.

Palmyra - the jewel in the Syrian crown

The archaeological site of Palmyra was a trading link between the Roman empire and India and Pakistan. The site is located between Damascus and the Euphrates rivers, and was first occupied during paleolithic times, but is probably best known for its Roman occupation in the first century AD; and it was the site of the revolt of Queen Zenobia, between AD 268-270. Palmyra was at an oasis, and between the first century BC and 3rd century AD, it was a stopping point for caravans on the shortest route of the Silk Road between Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean.


Palmyra became of true importance only after Roman control was established (c.AD.30). Local tribes vied for control, which fell to the Septimii by the 3rd century AD. Odenathus, Septimius built Palmyra into a strong autonomous state that practically embraced the Eastern Empire, including Syria, NW Mesopotamia, and West Armenia. After his death his widow, Zenobia Queen of Palmyra briefly expanded the territory, but her ambition brought on an attack by Aurelian, who was victorious and partly destroyed the city. In decline, Palmyra was taken by the Arabs and sacked by Tamur. It fell into ruins, and even the ruins were forgotten until the 17th century. The great temple dedicated to Baal and other remains show the ancient splendor of Palmyra at its prime.

The Temple of Bel

Bel is identified by the Greeks as Zeus and as Jupiter by the Romans, and is lord and master of the universe, creator of the world and leader of the gods. He was originally a Babylonian god, and was often mentioned in a triad with the inferior Yarhibol, god of Sun, and god of the moon Aglibol.

The temple is set on an artificial mound that dates back to the 2nd millennium BC and it is almost sure that this site has always been the site of a shrine. This sanctuary is walled and has a courtyard in the center of it, and in the center of the courtyard the cella, which is the original place of worship.

Inside the cella are the altar where sacrifices were made and a sacred pool. There are two chambers; North and South, both have carved monolithic ceilings. The Northern one is exceptionally known for the seven planets surrounded by the 12 signs of the Zodiac carving, and a procession of camels and veiled women, and the god of Fertility Makkabel. The walls of the courtyard are 205 meters in length and are surrounded by Corinthian headed columns on the outside and porticos with a double row of columns along the inside wall except on the west side where there is one row.

There are three monumental gateways, of which the entry is through the west gate. These were modified by the Arabs in 1132 when the Arabs erected a bastion, and the temple was converted into a mosque. The base of a statue mentions the date 45 AD and the temple was originally dedicated during the reign of Tiberius in 32 AD.

Burial in Palmyra

Palmyra's burials are unique. Situated outside the city walls, they show the changes in burial practice over the city's history and reflect Palmyran beliefs in life after death.

The cemeteries of Palmyra are a unique and noticeable feature of the city. Lying outside the city walls, they consist of two different types of tomb. Tower Tombs are the most visible, appearing to stand guard over the city. The later, underground hypogeum burials are more discretely.

Many of these tombs date from the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Yet both types are more Semitic rather than classical, representing in their design and decor Palmyran beliefs in life after death.

The cemeteries of Palmyra encircle the city of Palmyra just outside the city walls. They consist of two main sites: the main necropolis to the south west of the city and the Valley of the Tombs to the West. Each cemetery is dominated by a particular type of burial.

The oldest types of burial at Palmyra were tower tombs. The most visually prominent types of burial in the city, tower tombs began as exclusively above ground structures. Later they evolved to include a single underground crypt. This laid the foundation for Palmyra’s final type of tomb, the underground hypogeum tomb which was completely hidden from view.

The earliest type of Palmyran burial, the multi story towers can be found in the Valley of the Tombs. Built of solid stone, they are square based and interred the dead above ground. They probably accommodated family groups.

More of Palmyra

The Norias of Hama

The Orontes River (Al Assi) was of great importance to the growth and development of Hama through history. Like all other rivers in the world, it played a part in the irrigation of the fields surrounding it.

The Norias of Hama, which are some of the oldest waterwheels in the world, were first built by the Byzantines, as a system of irrigation. The Orontes walls were too deep for water to be transferred directly from the river, so gigantic waterwheels were designed and built in order to raise water from the river and drop it into ducts and canals that lead to the fields waiting to be irrigated.

There are 17 surviving Norias along the Orontes, and most of the existing Norias were rebuilt after the Byzantines by the Ayyubids.

Today, most of the Norias, although not in practical use, can be seen turning at a slow droning pace, from restaurants and cafes on the riverside

The Copper Souk - Aleppo

Market shopping is excellent in Syria, but the experience in Aleppo's souks stands out, owing to its 14 kilometers of narrow, covered bazaars.

Unlike Damascus with its tall, corrugated iron ceilings, Aleppo's souks have lower brick ceilings that produce a pleasing tunnel effect. The souks open out to the old city at intervals through busy gateways that feel like rabbit holes. Visitors disappear into and resurface somewhere entirely different, laden down with spices, leather goods, fabric or fine metal crafts purchased on the way.

The Citadel - Aleppo

The Citadel of Aleppo is the most prominent historic architectural site in Aleppo. It was recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986. Its majestic stature forms the center of the city; in fact the city wraps around it extending a spider-like infrastructural web of streets forming the city's organic urban form.

The Citadel has an elliptical base with a length of 450m and width of 325m, at the top this ellipse measures 285m by 160m with the height of this slanting foundation measuring 50m. The entire mound was covered with large blocks of gleaming limestone that unified the built structure with the hill thus increasing its visual scale. It was also surrounded by a moat filled with water to protect against intruders. The Citadel hovers over the city in a uniqueness that rivals the larger Citadel of Cairo and the more massive Citadel of Damascus.

Although the Citadel is an Islamic landmark, archeological digs have uncovered Roman and Byzantine ruins dating back to the 9th century BC. The Citadel was originally a Neo-Hittite acropolis built on a natural hill; this provided a strategic site for a military fortress to guard and protect the surrounding agricultural areas.

Up the pole: St Simeon Stylites

St. Simeon was the first and probably the most famous of the long succession of stylitoe, or "pillar-hermits", who during more than six centuries acquired by their strange form of asceticism a great reputation for holiness throughout eastern Christendom.

Simeon the Elder, was born about 388 at Sisan, near the northern border of Syria. After beginning life as a shepherd boy, he entered a monastery before the age of sixteen, and from the first gave himself up to the practice of an austerity so extreme and to all appearance so extravagant, that his brethren judged him, perhaps not unwisely, to be unsuited to any form of community life.

Being forced to quit them he shut himself up for three years in a hut at Tell-Neschin, where for the first time he passed the whole of Lent without eating or drinking. This afterwards became his regular practice, and he combined it with the mortification of standing continually upright so long as his limbs would sustain him. In his later days he was able to stand thus on his column without support for the whole period of the fast.

After three years in his hut, Simeon sought a rocky eminence in the desert and compelled himself to remain a prisoner within a narrow space less than twenty yards in diameter. But crowds of pilgrims invaded the desert to seek him out, asking his counsel or his prayers, and leaving him insufficient time for his own devotions. This at last determined him to adopt a new way of life.

Simeon had a pillar erected with a small platform at the top (see remains of base in photo on top) and upon this he determined to take up his abode until death released him. At first the pillar was little more than nine feet high, but it was subsequently replaced by others, the last in the series being apparently over fifty feet from the ground.

Around the tiny platform which surmounted the capital of the pillar there was probably something in the nature of a balustrade, but the whole was exposed to the open air, and Simeon seems never to have permitted himself any sort of cabin or shelter. During his earlier years upon the column there was on the summit a stake to which he bound himself in order to maintain the upright position throughout Lent, but this was an alleviation with which he afterwards dispensed.

Dead cities

The drive from Krak to Aleppo in northern Syria is a first view of the "Dead Cities" — abandoned ruins of some 700 Byzantine towns, villages and monastic settlements. These ruins are among the greatest treasuries of Byzantine architecture to be found anywhere in the ancient world. The photos are of Sergila, probably the most intact of the cities.

It is difficult to relate the impact on first citing; the cities are eerie (may be even more so when shrouded in winter mist) yet at the same time awe-inspiring. I have not experienced anything like it in my travels.

Deserted and desolate today, the region of the Dead Cities once supported an immense and prosperous population, for it was rich in olive groves and was the hinterland of the great Christian city of Antioch. The towns and villages ("cities" is a misnomer but sounds more dramatic) lack the grid plan of ancient cities; the "Dead Cities" instead seem to be settlements that developed organically in the countryside.

After the Islamic conquest of the Byzantine world, the political and demographical center moved from Antioch to Damascus and this region, which depended on Antioch for its prosperity, went into decline. Its inhabitants moved away, leaving behind ghost towns. In the absence of invasions or natural disasters, these towns and villages remained remarkably well-preserved over the centuries.

Grazing among the ruins

Shepherd - 10 years old. Stonework - 2000 years

Apamea

Apamea is located on the right bank of the Orontes river about 55 km to the north west of Hama. It overlooks the Ghab valley and was built by Seleucus Nicator, the first king of the Seleucids in Syria in 300 BC. He named it after his Parisian wife, Afamea.

The city flourished to an extent that its population numbered half a million. As an Eastern crossroads, it received many distinguished visitors: Cleopetra, Septimus Severus and the Emperor Caracalla. In the Christian era, Apamea became a center of philosophy and thought, especially of Monophostism.

Most of the uncovered ruins in it date back to the Roman and Byzantine ages. It is distinguished for its high walls and the main thoroughfare surrounded by columns with twisted fluting. The street is 1850 meters long and 87 meters wide. The ruins of the Roman theater which have been frequently disturbed, are now a great mass of stone.

Its colonnade (The Cardo Maximus) is 145 meters long. Erected in the 2nd century, it was destroyed in the 12th century by two violent earthquakes; some columns are still standing nevertheless.

Perfect pita

Simple but scrumptious. On the road from Krak.

Krak: now that's a castle

The original fortress at this location had been built in 1031 for the emir of Aleppo.

During the First Crusade in 1099 it was captured by Raymond IV of Toulouse, but then abandoned when the Crusaders continued their march towards Jerusalem. It was reoccupied again by Tancred, Prince of Galilee in 1110. In 1142 it was given by Raymond II, count of Tripoli, to the Hospitallers, contemporaries of the Knights Templar.

Krak des Chevaliers was the headquarters of the Knights Hospitaller during the Crusades. It was expanded between 1150 and 1250 and eventually housed a garrison of 2,000. The inner curtain wall is up to 100 feet thick at the base on the south side, with seven guard towers 30 feet in diameter.

Artist rendering of Krak des Chevaliers.The Hospitallers rebuilt it and expanded it into the largest Crusader fortress in the Holy Land, adding an outer wall three meters thick with seven guard towers eight to ten meters thick to create a concentric castle. The fortress may have held about 50-60 Hospitallers and up to 2,000 other foot soldiers; the Grand Master of the Hospitallers lived in one of the towers. In the 12th century the fortress had a moat which was covered by a drawbridge leading to postern gates.

Between the inner and outer gates a courtyard led to the inner buildings, which were rebuilt by the Hospitallers in a Gothic style. These buildings included a meeting hall, a chapel, a 120-meter-long storage facility, and two vaulted stone stables which could have held up to a thousand horses. Other storage facilities were dug into the cliff below the fortress; it is estimated that the Hospitallers could have withstood a siege for five years.

In 1163 the fortress was unsuccessfully besieged by Nur ad-Din Zengi, after which the Hospitallers became an essentially independent force on the Tripolitanian frontier. By 1170 the Hospitallers' modifications were complete. In the late 12th and early 13th century numerous earthquakes caused some damage and required further rebuilding.

Saladin unsuccessfully besieged the castle in 1188. During the siege the castellan was captured and taken by Saladin's men to the castle gates where he was told to order the gates opened. He reportedly told his men in Arabic, the language of his captors, to surrender the castle, but then told them in French to hold the castle to the last man.[citation needed]

In 1217, during the Fifth Crusade, King Andrew II of Hungary strengthened the outer walls and financed the guarding troops.

In 1271 the fortress was captured by Mamluk Sultan Baibars on April 8 with the aid of heavy trebuchets and mangonels, at least one of which was later used to attack Acre in 1291. However, to conquer the castle, Baibars used a trick, by presenting a forged letter from the Crusader Commander in Tripoli, ordering the defenders to surrender the castle. Otherwise, this immensely strong castle would probably never have fallen. Baibars refortified the castle and used it as a base against Tripoli. He also converted the Hospitaller chapel to a mosque.

King Edward I of England, while on the Ninth Crusade in 1272, saw the fortress and used it as a model for his own castles in England and Wales.

The fortress was described as “perhaps the best preserved and most wholly admirable castle in the world” by T. E. Lawrence. This fortress was made a World Heritage Site, along with Qal’at Salah El-Din, in 2006,[5] and is owned by the Syrian government. The fortress is one of the few sites where Crusader art (in the form of frescoes) has been preserved.

Syrian faces

A Taste Sensation

Syrian food is rich in vegetables, grains, fruit, nuts, beans and aromatic spices. The same ingedients are used in different ways in different dishes and blended into an assortment of dishes. Lemons, onion and garlic, as well as mint and parsley are used in vast quantities. Syrian bread (known as pita) is served at most meals and is used to dip into pastes and salads.

In Syrian foods, presentation is everything. Individual hor d’oeurves are stuffed with vegetables, and vegetables are stuffed with meats. Even the most basic dishes are garnished.

A typical Syrian meal begins with mezze, a spread of hor d’oeurves, salads and appetizers, as well as an assortment of nuts and pickles. Main meals include meat, chicken or fish, with a vegetable, salad and rice dish, followed by tea of coffee, platters of fruit and home made pastries filled with nuts and sweetened with sugar syrup. The famous Mansaf, see photo, is a must.

The most highly recommended restaurent in Damascus? Without doubt Narjenj. And don't forget the cherry kebabs. Unbelievable.

Magnificant Mosque

The Great Mosque of Damascus is the first monumental work of architecture in Islamic history; the building served as a central gathering point after Mecca to consolidate the Muslims in their faith and conquest to rule the surrounding territories under the Umayyad Caliphate.

The Umayyad mosque's religious significance was reinforced by its renowned medieval manuscripts and ranking as one of the wonders of the world due to is beauty and scale of construction.

The Umayyad Mosque site has housed sacred buildings for thousands of years, in each incarnation transformed to accommodate the faith of the time. An ancient Aramaic temple dedicated to the god Hadad is the oldest layer of architectural use to be uncovered on archeological expeditions.

During the Roman period, the Temple of Jupiter occupied the space.

This edifice was transformed to a church in the fourth century. This church was expanded to form the Cathedral of St. John, situated on the western side of the older temple. After the Islamic conquest of Damascus in 661, during the reign of the first Umayyad caliph Mu'awiya Ibn Abi Sufyan, the Muslims shared the church with the Christians. The Muslims prayed in the eastern section of the ancient temple structure and the Christians in the western side.

This collective use continued until Walid bin Abdul Malek's reign, when the prayer space became inadequate both in terms of capacity and the need for an architectural monument to represent the new religion. The caliph negotiated with Christian leaders to take over the space, and in return al-Walid promised that all the other churches around the city would be safe, with the addition of a new church dedicated to the Virgin granted to the Christians as compensation.

Saul, Paul and Ananias

You know the story, if you don’t I will leave it to Acts 9 and 10.

As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"

"Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked.

"I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."

The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

'The Lord called to him in a vision, "Ananias!" He answered, "Here I am, Lord." The Lord said to him, "Get up and go to the street called Straight [see photo] and ask at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul.

He is there praying, and (in a vision) he has seen a man named Ananias come in and lay (his) hands on him, that he may regain his sight." But Ananias replied, "Lord, I have heard from many sources about this man, what evil things he has done to your holy ones in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to imprison all who call upon your name."

But the Lord said to him, "Go, for this man is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before Gentiles, kings, and Israelites, and I will show him what he will have to suffer for my name." So Ananias went and entered the house; laying his hands on him, he said, "Saul, my brother, the Lord has sent me, Jesus who appeared to you on the way by which you came, that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." Immediately things like scales fell from his eyes and he regained his sight.' [ See - inside the house of Saint Ananias.]

&10

Beit Al Mamlouka Damascus

What a wonderful start. A stuuning piece of Damascus history - they call it a boutique hotel but that does not do it justice, even though it was a first for Damascus. This luxury 17th century 8 bedroom hotel is built around a central courtyard (see photo) with citrus trees and a fountain and is located in the Christian quarter of Damascus' old city. Step outside and you will be within minutes walk from the rambling souks and the ancient culture that the old city has to offer. Alissar and Roula were just fantastic as the hosts. The stay was so good we re-booked for another (our last night) in Syria. Highly recommended if you can get a booking! http://www.almamlouka.com/