Aleppo Trip

We dashed to Syria for a quick trip, to take advantage of the visas the school had gotten for us back in May, as an avenue to for a possible emergency exit. The visas cost us $100 and last only three month; it was now or never. We went north this time, to Aleppo, with several stops on the way.

We took a bus from Beirut to the border, where a car and driver named Zacharia were waiting for us. As the places we wanted to see were fairly remote and somewhat difficult to reach by public transportation, we had arranged for the private car for two days.

First was Krak de Chevaliers. The best preserved Crusader castle in the world. It was given up without a fight about 800 years ago,

and hasn’t changed all that much since. Two questions sprang to mind: how did people get up to the castle at the top of the hill (1000 feet or more) with all those building materials (huge stones)? And, how did guys in full armor make it up the steep staircases inside the castle? Glad we had been advised (and remembered) to bring a flashlight; we were able to explore dark passageways and deep pits. It has a great moat, still filled with water.

We skipped Saladin’s Castle, not all that eager for the climb in the afternoon heat.

Our first night’s stop was at Hama, a lovely town known both for it’s wooden waterwheels and also for the massacre of 800 people committed by Hafez Assad’s troops in1982 an effort to stop a rebellion. Let’s talk about the waterwheels! They are huge--20 – 60 yards in diameter—and were formerly used to pump water into an aqueduct system to irrigate crops. Now mostly they provide local color, and some water to a city garden. The technology dates back to the 5th century, but the earliest of the existing ones are merely 14th century… They make an amazing, groaning sound as they turn—really loud! Tom says it reminds him of the sound large wooden ships make. As we walk through this lovely, picturesque city, when I first hear the noise I think “generator”, because this is what we hear in Lebanon each day when the power goes out. But instead it is this other man made sound from another century. Apparently, an expert can diagnose any mechanical issue with the wheel just by listening to the sound it makes as it turns. Reading about them before seeing them, I had pictured scoops or paddles on the end of each beam, but there are none—just 20 or so boards hitting the water, one after the other.

The next day, driving, we see in Syria: brown, a lot of rocks, concrete buildings. Primarily agricultural. Fields ringed with sunflowers. Poor, but not wanting—simple poor. Bedouins herding sheep, living in tents. The ubiquitous poster of Bashir Assad, smiling and waving.

I notice quite a few people with blue and green eyes , and find it arresting. Maybe it’s the contrast between olive-tone skin and light eyes, or maybe it is because they seem to be ringed with a dark outline somehow. Assad has blue eyes.

Afamia (also called Apamea)—ruins of an ancient city. More Western tourists than we’ve seen at any site in Lebanon—kind of stunning to think that they apparently feel safer coming to Syria than to Lebanon.Afamia was founded in early 3rd century by a former general in Alexander the Great’s army. It was supposedly home to 30,000 mares, 3,000 stallions and 500 “war elephants,” in addition to 500,000 people, 380,000 of whom were slaves… Mark Anthony and Cleopatra visited. It was seized by Pompey for the Romans in 64 BC. The site features a 2 km long main street lined with colonnades and remains (mostly cannibalized for local building projects over the centuries) of what was the largest Roman theater in the eastern empire.

On to the Dead Cities. There are 500 towns, all deserted 15 centuries ago—no one knows why. We visit Serjilla, the one with the greatest number of semi-complete buildings. Some buildings are still intact, a few others have been rebuilt. Lots that are standing are two stories tall, with archways supporting the second floor. Here is Tom with an olive press in a Serjilla house.

We end the day in Aleppo. Pulling in to town we see lots of rusty satellite dishes. We stay in a hotel inside the old city, right next to Aleppo’s famed souk (covered market)--see photo.

Next day we visit the Aleppo citadel. Very impressive, perched atop the highest point in the city. Tom says it is reminiscent of Ali Baba where they show the seat of power. Smooth, sloping walls

repelled would-be invaders, along with the moat (now dry) and a zigzag entryway. The Aga Khan Foundation restored the enormous throne room (photos) of the citadel—amazing.

Later, in a pastry shop: Just short of garish, walls lined with beveled glass, ceiling (metal?) with gold painmted outlines. Lights encased in clear plastic baubles strung together in flower shapes. Two veritable trees growing in pots against the windows. They serve a special sweet (halewa) here—soft dough encasing soft, mild cheese, over which sugar syrup is poured and chopped pistachios sprinkled. We tried it yesterday; today we have just tea, unfortunately Lipton’s, when we had been hoping for Syrian chai. Oh well.

Quick trip! We board a cushy air-conditioned bus bound for Beirut. I will get off in Tripoli.

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Choice signs seen from the bus:

Par King
Beachy Eargasm
Pop Lava