Aleppo, a city with 2 faces

In the early morning after a good night sleep in the dessert town of Palmyra, we head out to Aleppo. Because Thursday is a holiday we had to take a detour to see Cracs des Chevaliers. If you are a crusaders fan and you like history, this should be it. Well, .... it almost is. The Crac lies on the top of a hill (defence fort) in the middle of a incredible not interesting town. The old fort is embedded in new houses, which are (like in southern europe) not finished or just square blocks. In this area, in Syria overall by the way, the people are Christian or Muslim and do not have much trouble with eachothers faith. Of course you can find more mosques then churches but non the less there are numerous churches to be found.

I will not waist many words on the fort because it is like being in a French castle in the east part of the country. No surprises there. Most of us were a little bit dissapointed and where looking around for nice old details. Unfortunatly they could not be found. We had more faith in Aleppo. And indeed Aleppo made the visit worthwile. Although I have been to many places in the middle east and no city is the same nor comparable Aleppo is a good old , traders city. The atmosphere is very relaxed and the people over friendly. Even here the women dress in all possible ways. Complete Burka, just a veil or in tight jeans, all is possible! The men are not at all busy with western women (nice for a change) and are always prepared to help you out.

The old city is like a small village with overhanging wooden balconies and small alley's everywhere. Because we did not have a lot of time on our first day in Aleppo some people including me decided to skip the St Simeon convent and wonder around town. I spend the morning with Ingrid (spend most of her life in Haarlem) and we took all the time to sneak in to little caravansarai and drink juice on the market. The sent of spices, kebab, soap and fresh meat are overwhelming. Ingrid is as curious as me so when we spotted a group of policemen running into the souk we thought it just might be a good idea to follow. Near a small bakery (one of the policemen offered us a piece of fresh warm bread) we waited, and waited, saw people going up and down that alley, a little bit angry .... but knowone came out, handcuffed, no shooting could be heard, no screaming. A bit dissapointed (??) we walked back into the souk, to the central mosque. I was (in my eyes) properly dressed, but after taking some pictures and sitting down on a the pavement a women came to me, furious. What was I thinkin, sitting in a mosques, the house of god, and letting my arms show (including a small piece of my shoulder). Harram and so not right. She looked at me with the eyes of an evil which and put my overdress straigt. mumbling things, she left me in the courtyard, ashamed of myself!!

Aleppo also has a hip part! New stores (monobrands of Kookai, Stefanel etc) are situated next to coffee houses where the hipcrowd drinks tea and smokes a waterpipe. A city with two faces!!

Following day we drove back to damascus with stopovers at Maloula and Saidnaya. Two mainly Christian towns with old aramees convents and the tombs of St. Takla and St. Naya. Somehow it fits in the picture. In this dry area of Syria a convent with nons,still speaking the aramic language is where the history of this area begins. The nons were in prayer when we arrived. A language which is spoken in a very small part of the world made its way to our eares. Enchanting.

Returning to Damascus we found ourselves rather tired, we are at half of our trip and traveling is not relaxing. If I wanted to relax I should have taken a plain to Sharm al Sheik! Early bedtime and a long night sleep should help. Four women and two men of the group decided to go to a Hammam. The stories with which we came back where just a little bit different. The men were pampered! The women almost pushed out of the Hammam after 45 minutes. The local women felt being looked at and were not giving us a warm welcome. The men however, had time to drink some tea and cool down a little bit. For me that meant, boom hit by a hammer. I got sick in the Hammam and went to bed at 15.00 with nothing in my stomic left. Today on our trip to Bosra and Amman I managed to stay on my feet, but it were not stable feet. In short, Amman is a modern city, beggars, to many cars and historical sites in the middle of the street. I like it, but after one day you are rather done with it. It is my second time in Amman and although this time the sun is shining I do not enjoy it more then the first time.

Going back to the hotel to play some cards and get a feeling of the nightlife of Amman.
Cheers