The title revels where I am! I must say, from all the talk there was about how difficult getting a visa at the border was supposed to be for an American; one lesson to learn in life is that the moment is what matters and nothing else – Idol talk is worthless. Getting a visa [...]
Syria
Several developments have happened lately. First, I have moved into my peaceful, quite, comfortable room with a kitchen, hot water, and a washing machine. Here in Damascus it is very easy to find a room in a flat. I was offered a room in the old city from a guy who invited me into his [...]
For the last few days, I have just been hanging out around the neighborhood, not doing all that much. The person I met (Yansen) who plays music in the picture in the prior post is Kurdish. The other day I gave him a call and went to his house. He and his brother invited a [...]
Greetings everyone, I am still in Damascus, I’ve been having a good time. Damascus is a very social, relaxed city. I met a woman from New Zealand; she is here in Damascus learning Arabic for three weeks. I hooked her up to rent a room in the flat where I am staying. There are five [...]
Borsa, a small town, is located about 100km south of Damascus. Indeed, the Roman theater is one of the best-preserved theaters I have visited, and possibly the best in existence. An Arab fortress encompasses the theater with a Mott serving as a defense. The Old Roman Town was constructed of black basalt rock. It is [...]
Here’s a few pictures of the Mosque I mentioned before that dates back to the eighth century. The atmosphere of a Mosque is kind of relaxing. There isn’t any Idolatry within the building, except for a few Mosques, which has a shrine of a tomb, regarding someone from Islamic history. I will be heading out [...]
Crac Des Chevaliers – by far the most impressive castle from the Crusader and Mamluk era, although first constructed back in 1031 by the Emir of Homs – the crusaders fortified the castle extensively. T.E Lawrence simply called it the “the finest castle in the world”.The castle is situated off the main road between Tartus [...]
I just uploaded many pictures on shutterfly. My stay in Tartus has been very interesting. I noticed that there is some strange energy here. It feels very controlled. Finding someone to get into a meaningful conversation has proved to be impossible, compared to Egypt. Indeed, people do not seem happy, there are no smiles on [...]
All of the pictures posted are of items from the National Museum in Damascus. Today, I arrived in Lattakia by bus, only an hour’s ride from Tartus. The bus system is quite decent here in Syria. I will be taking the train to Aleppo, most likely on Friday or Saturday, because it is recommended in [...]
The Castle of Salah ad-Din, bears unique witness to the building of defense systems during the Byzantine, Crusader, and Mamluk eras. Surrounded my two deep wadis and the eastern road which use to be a moat; The Salah ad-Din Castle was an ideal fortress that moved T.E. Lawrence to write, ‘It was I think the [...]
The Castle of Marqab is the third crusader castle on the circuit of the Syrian coast. Strategically positioned to control the coast during the crusader and Mamluk era, the castle was in view for communication purposes with Salah ad-Din. According to T.E. Lawrence – Marqab combined ‘all the best of the Latin fortifications of the [...]
I arrived in Aleppo Friday evening by train. At the train station, I met a few guys that were attending the university in Lattakia, I ended up sitting with them, and we had some good conversations. The subject of politics was short, although, there are many subjects that we conversed about in depth. Lattakia is [...]
Today I am leaving Aleppo for Deir Er-Zur, I decided not to stop in Raqqa, – the sites in that area are very difficult travel to. From Deir Er-Zur I am hopping to visit Dura Europos and maybe Mari, both sites are close to the border of Iraq. The French people I have been couch-surfing [...]
Taking an excursion to the most eastern area of Syria has been very absorbing. Without a question, the Euphrates River is essential to this area of the Syrian Desert. Upon arrival into to town, the road ended up in a fog, although, the substance was not fog it was sand dust. The visibility was about [...]
Palmyra, once a major Roman city, built in an oasis that was a major staging post for caravans crossing the Syrian Desert; texts were found in Mari that dates back to the second millennium BCE. Additionally, Palmyra was an important link for the Silk Road that originated in China. The ruins that remain are primarily [...]
The Temple of Bel is the largest temple area I have viewed since Karnak, although there is no comparison, Karnak in Egypt outweighs all other temples due to its immense size. The name of Bel is another name for Baal, just a shorten version. The name Bel was used among the gods of Babylon, and [...]
Here are some pictures that I took when visiting the Arab Castle in Palmyra. I went to visit the castle with a couple from Iceland. A taxi ride was necessary up to the castle – we split the cost. We arrived at the correct time, because an hour later, a small sandstorm began and the [...]
The Castle at Musyaf is a castle in Syria that might not get much attention in the guidebooks or that you might hear much about. Nevertheless, this castle dominates the town of Musyaf and once a traveler takes the jaunt out to Musyaf, you will not be sorry you took the time to view this [...]
Quick Note: Today I am heading to Tripoli for one night. I will be in Beirut on Saturday. I have a few more posts that will be loaded regarding some places of Syria. Blogger offers an option that allows the user to schedule posts that load automatically. I find the option very convenient.The Norias of [...]
Taking the excursion out to an area where the road goes nowhere is always a worthwhile occasion. Emperor Justinian of the Byzantine Empire, in the mid sixth century, erected Qasr ibn Wardan. The fortress was a combination of a church, a palace, and a military base. Hence, from the appearance a person would never think [...]
Shutterfly has been updated with the remaining Pictures from Syria. I traveled Syria for one complete month. I entered Syria from the Border of Jordan May 19th; receiving a visa at the land border that took two hours, only. I took a service taxi from Irbid in Jordan to the border; from the border, I [...]
I have left Lebanon, I needed to wait for a visa again at the border of Syria, a painless three hour wait, there were many other Americans there waiting, too. From the border I took a micro-bus to Damascus because it was so late I decided to stay, I am renting a room in a [...]
Since I left India I have been at a crossroads concerning international travel. As I mentioned prior, I experienced and saw the countries I have always wanted to visit. I lived in several places such as Bulgaria. At this point my international travels are ending at the end of August. I have been going over [...]
