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Return. Two weeks in Syria with an episode of three days Jordan

We arrived at Damascus airport on Saturday afternoon. Our adventure began
after arrival. A friend of mine who had promised to pick us up at the airport did not appear. Moreover, the Pole was over a GSM mobile network Syria is not accessible. Therefore decided to take a bus and go to downtown.

At one stop we met a Russian woman living in Syria since Damascus long time and knows quite well. She showed us the location on the map where we could find some cheap hotels. We jumped off the bus together and Anastasia – our new friend showed us how we continued to find decent accommodation. We thank you for help went to a place where sleep. The district was called "Faktoria" and bordered by the old city. In fact, there was a lot of cheap and two stars.

From the Jungle These cheap emerged an exclusive five-star Semiramis. " Hotel. But we chose the "Alhambra" where we took a triple room. The receptionist told us we had to pay $ 60 per person, so we started to negotiate, as the Arabs and pushed the price to $ 40 per person. Our room was not too wide, the space between the beds was so narrow that we could not `t move freely. We had the bathroom, which was not the cleanest and what is more shower bathroom water splashing all over the place, an artifact of local water. We had to keep the bathroom door closed to keep you awake in the pool. After taking a bath before bed and just start planning the next day. We decided to go from Damascus to Amman – Jordan Capital.

We hit the road after breakfast. We took a taxi and went to the "Sumarije" international bus station. As soon as our driver stopped at the nearby public parking, a guy with one leg welcomed us, saying, "Hi … I'm a f – ing of America, where do you want to go, sir." We told we wanted to go to Jordan. He asks us if we prefer to take a bus or a taxi. At first I thought it asked for the bus, but the bus was leaving at four in the afternoon, so I had to wait two hours.

Finally we decided on a taxi and our "F … Yankee" as he calls it, disappeared appeared as fast as before and then returned with a guy who was our driver again. leg dude his friend introduced us to Muhammad and said the trip "Sumarije" to "Abdelije" a bus station in Amman, SP 2000 will break that Syrian pound. Fortunately, the Syrians, in contrast to the Egyptians are friendly and managed to beat the price and that SP 1800 is approximately $ 40.

So we packed our luggage into a taxi and began our journey. After half-hour drive Muhammand asked to take a break and not even listening to respond to our stop at the gas station to fuel the car. When he returned to attention, asking us to pay him all the money, but were less than happy with the proposal. Finally, he paid only half the amount agreed upon and committed to pay the second half when we reach our destination. Two hours later we were at the border.

Before crossing the Syrian border we had to spend about two hours filling out various forms of migration. And after crossing the Syrian border also spent a couple of hours to fill out forms on the other, but in a little faster.

Comparing Syria and Jordan, we can see many differences.
From the estimate in the hope that would suffice to the exchange one hundred U.S. dollars on the border with Jordan for our three-day trip. Unfortunately, prices in Jordan are comparable to those of the EU, a U.S. dollar is equal to 0.7 Jordanian dinars. improved tourism infrastructure is a big advantage. There are more hotels with the European standard.

We arrived in Amman at six o'clock. From Abdelije bus station take a taxi, which cost us much more than in Syria. So take the
budget of 70 dinars, we would be hard to negotiate the price. We Amman
to Madaba, where we decided to spend the night. We took a room at the Sallumi "hotel. Our triple room was more comfortable and cleaner than the Alhambra, Damascus, but the price also was incomparably greater.

The night passed quietly, so you slept well and woke up full of energy. Just after breakfast, we went to the Dead Sea. In the parking lot
our hotel we found two taxi drivers we started with to negotiate.
The first pilot was to be a refugee from Palestine and was more
so cooperative, we decided to take a taxi.

The Dead Sea is about 420 meters below sea level and is the biggest slump in the world. Go there we drove through the narrow, winding roads. Changing the height could feel the pressure my ears. Finally, when we reached there I could feel the air was heavier and the temperature was higher.

After paying the taxi driver the course was to seek a place for bathing. Not far from the car where it stopped, there was a hotel with the beach fenced off and we went there. It turned out that the price for use bathing, changing room and a shower was about $ 15 per person so we decided to go for that.

Shortly after we were ready to go overboard and we did.

The water looks like regular water in the sea, but when it enters the sea if you feel like being in the oil due to high levels of salt and density fluid. You can lay on the water without any effort. So may not be drafted. The only downside is that you must take care of your eyes. If Otherwise, the salt can enter the eye and this is very painful experience. According to the biblical story, there were two cities in the place we now know the Dead Sea. These cities were Sodom and Gomorrah, where he lived sinners. But God decided to see how it actually looked like that, so he sent two angels in the form of travelers. Found shelter under the roof
Lot, who hid from harassment by other residents. YHWH
(From the Hebrew Jehovah is God) found Lot and his family as the only and decided to keep honest people before punishing cities and the destruction of them.

Lot `s wife as a" woman "was a bit curious and inquisitive therefore could not follow the God `s warning not to look back. When she turned to her immediately become the mainstay of ribbon. Since then the place and in fact is called the Dead Sea, and a pillar of salt that is called "Lot's wife."

After a swim that took a shower to wash salt, and then
dressed. We picked up some salt of the earth as a souvenir.

We learned from the guide book about the waterfalls and hot springs in Hammamatmain in the mountains.

So we decided to get in hitchhiking. Immediately after leaving the hotel
we meet with Khaled, a driver who had intended to reach Madaba, where
we stayed the night before. Unfortunately, our plan was different and was to go to Hammamatmain which was contrary. Fortunately, Khaled agreement give us a lift to the hot springs.

Not much later, we drove along the winding and narrow mountain roads. Our
driver driving at a speed of 130 km. per hour. In addition to the roads
that could not be called the highway, there was a cliff on one side of the road. Khaled did not bother much with the state of the roads, busy with his whiskey and holding the wheel with his knees. As your hands where busy with the making and smoking cigarettes. In his generosity gave us a little alcohol and cigarettes.

Despite some fear that we face, we had a jolly good mountains, the wind
and Arabic released pop radio at full volume. After about half an hour
we travel to the place. Khaled took us to the station with hot water
springs, where he usually rests.

It was much cooler in Hammamatmain then the Dead Sea coast we feel after leaving the car. Then we went straight to the hot springs. Price
person was high, but there was nothing that could help it. Change
and went to the baths.

The water was very hot there, and when we went to the rock pool, fountains, waterfalls began to well up within us from the top somewhere. In addition to the pool sources also There was some kind of European saunas where we could take a bath. No, actually experienced the Oriental Sauna, which is slightly different from the typical European sauna. The hot water drips Ceiling motivation to continue walking around the room to avoid being burned and experience the pleasure of hot steam. We went from a Hammamatmain resort about two hours, when he left the place, we decided again Madaby by hitchhiking.

There was a complete and deafening silence on the road. The fresh mountain air was refreshing and started to walk slowly. The car first appeared so suddenly and the driver was driving very fast that he barely noticed. But stop and greeted made. He agreed that lifts us up a bit in a way to Madaba. Before reaching our destination we benefited from a few such opportunities.

In the last day of our stay in Jordan, we visited three places:
Mount Nebo, where Moses saw the land of Canaan, the Church of Sts. George and
Gerash – these are the ruins of a Roman amphitheater. That same day we
Damascus.

The next morning we checked out the hotel and went to the
Semiramis Hotel, where an office of Europcar – car leasing company
was located. We rented Chevrolet with automatic transmission price
for the recruitment of this car was much lower than in Poland. The same car in Poland would cost 100 Euros per day, while in Damascus was only $ 45 day. My teammates were able to negotiate and beat the price to $ 43. Immediately after receiving the car that we proposed. Our first stop was Maaloula, a village inhabited mainly by Christians who speak Aramaic.

Maaloula is not far from Damascus, about 50 km. It is bounded by the Sierra del Alwit. You can find there locations sacred regularly visited by Christian pilgrims. We stopped at St Tecla `s Orthodox Monastery. Sisters who serve there asked us if we were Russia as the place is regularly visited by pilgrims from Russia.

There is a spring water cave where St. Tecla lived. At present this water source is the monastery.

In the afternoon we walked in a town that does not seem
animated Damascus. We had the opportunity to hear a local band set by the sisters of the monastery. The band consisted of orphans who were raised in the holy place. There was a nice mix of sounds produced by drums, trumpets and tympanis. Musicians played gay hits from the eighties and the Bony M `s" Rasputin. People liked that, regardless of age and creed. Before returning to the monastery for a dream, we stopped at a local store to buy food. Bassam Hilal who was the owner of the store and a Syrian Christian who spoke Aramaic. He taught me to count even in that language, it was difficult for me because the names of the numbers are similar to the Arabs. The next morning after breakfast we went to the morning
Vespers, which to my regret, were conducted in Arabic. After the prayer we paid for room and hit the road directing us to Krak de los Caballeros. Our next stop was the Castle of the Crusaders Krakdeshewalie, which we called "crack."

The castle is located on the top of a hill, is a great fortress built in the Middle Ages. I must say that the enormity of that architectural design was really impressive.
When we got to the top of the castle walls, we felt the wind was so strong and pervasive that he could barely walk. Besides us there were many tourists especially from France. At the start we find two poles: Paul and Emily, who
as it turned out, was due to go in the same direction. So we decided to go
together.

After an hour, the five of us – passengers who arrived in Hamma, where he planned to stay a little longer.

Hamma is administered by the Homs Homs or province the administrative capital of the province is also called or Homs Homs. Hamma in the river Asi. The most interesting monuments are called Norie – huge wheels water timber with a diameter of up to 20 m., which supplied water to the water system supplying water to the city and the surrounding countryside. These techniques and architectural solutions survive today. The city, unfortunately, in the '80s, he met a bad fate, since 1982 the outbreak of the insurgency against the government. General Hafiz Al – Assad, who took office in Syria, sent strong contingents to make the city armed. After several weeks of serious fighting in the city, the rebel was removed and the site was declared a restricted zone. The result of shelling was the destruction of some historic places. We spent a night in Hamma, the day Next we went to Latakia, which is the largest port in the Mediterranean in Syria.
Once again, we went to the mountains Alwit. The trip proceeded smoothly
long until some men stopped us and asked us to show our documents. The men were wearing "pajamas long" resembles galabije. Martin, my cousin suddenly started yelling out the window "papieren papieren" meaning "of" Documents "panimaju Nee!" – which means in Russian "I I do not understand. "Possibly one of the native and understands that he was ready to use a Kalashnikov. Fortunately, everything ended well and our five arrived safely to the place of our destiny.
Latakia is known as a liberal and the city. There you can meet more
Europeans dressed as women and men who drink different beverages alcohol in public places. City won their freedom thanks to the Alaouite community living here.
This wing of the Shiite Alawite, brings together the followers of Ali, who was one of
Muhammad's grandsons. They are more liberal than the rest of the Muslims
world. Their religious customs based on sentences differ from other Muslim communities.

They don `t prohibit women to come forward. There are also not as strong restrictions on alcohol. Assad Clan from the group including former President Current and Syria. We spent a night in a hotel in Latakia, avoiding the cold wind, the winter sea. The city worth visiting in summer, because the Mediterranean climate prevails here and in Sicily and the Riviera.

Next morning we said goodbye to Emily and Paul, our fellow travelers who decided to go Lebanon. Unfortunately we could not with them because the law prohibits foreigners from Syria to leave their country in a rented car. Our next objective was Aleppo Halab in Arabic. It is the second largest city in Syria after Damascus lies about 50 km from the Turkish border.

But before we went to Ugarit, the mother of alphabet modern. Ugarit was a Phoenician trading city called "Factory" of the sellers of old. It was place where people traded and exchanged the news about their world as Carthage, Tunisia, Tyre and Sidon in Lebanon. We do not spend much time there, but we bought at a local store in the table with the history of development of modern alphabets. seller of the store was determined to sell local music cassettes, unfortunately, the price was higher than CD sound. To change the theme and avoid the purchase of tapes, we have suggested that tea.

In fact, the trick is for you, not long after, and to my surprise, have a cup of this drink. Then we talked a little and leave the place, called a form of Aleppo.

Once again, we headed back to the mountains Alwit, seeking the proper way
four times, as people who posed questions in a way that gave us different directions, but this seemed quite normal in this part of the world. The only person finally gave us the right direction was a Turk, working at a local restaurant. After driving for about one km. We got a puncture or punctures rather as car tires both remained stable.

So our film has just begun. As soon as we left the car and drove off the road people of vulcanization workshop came out of nowhere. Jumped from their car with tools and asked if we needed help. We were desperate to have, Obviously, with car repair. So the local workers took to the wheels with flat tires on his car and disappeared. When we begin to think that now we have a car without wheels, it seemed and so we charged for the service. We are pleased that we could continue our journey. We arrived in Aleppo night where we found a hotel and was very tired, we were asleep.

In the morning we went to town and ate the traditional Arab breakfast at local restaurant. Then he asked a very young entrepreneur without him a shoe company to clean the shoes. The boy appeared to be a Turk who spoke some Arabic. He was paid well and left.

We visited the fortress Aleppo, Jozef Bem here, who adopted Mahommedanism, under the name of Murad Pasha was governor of Allepo, Where, at the risk of his life, saved the Christian population of being massacred by Muslims. He died on September 6, 1850. The small, lean, Bem sick body was animated by an heroic temper. Few men have been so brave, and his influence was magnetic. Even the raw Szeklers, but not understood the language of his "daddy", he looked with superstitious respect. (Source: free)

He also visited the soap factory where we bought five bars. The factory was quite impressive, but I had to watch do not fall into one of the tubs with soap boiling.

Then we went to the flea market in Arabic, where there was a lot of
everything as usual in East. You could buy spices, perfumes and Arabic sweets, all kinds of tricks. Obviously, presented as "sir, that is
a good deal, Lord, Look, sir. "We spent two days in Aleppo.

Our journey began slowly to finish and I have had to start approaching Damascus. Our next goal Palmyra or Tadmour was in Arabic. We spent one night there, frankly speaking there was nothing to do there and nothing really took hold of our attention.

We returned the next day in Damascus where we
the last two days of our stay at the Levante – are the countries bordering the eastern Mediterranean Sea from Turkey to Egypt. Our main job
was to ask the old town and buy some souvenirs.

But in reality there was a time when impressive when we went to go to public baths called in Arabic for steam bathroom. The site was divided into two parts, one for men and another for women. We leave Syria II 27 2010.

Syria can be described as a highly recommended place to visit. Single entry visa costs 25 euros, 40 euros for an unlimited number of entries in the period of three months. If you are interested in visiting the neighboring countries should obtain visas from 40 euros. The only condition for applying for the visa is the lack of stamps from Israel and the Palestinian. Greetings to all travelers in the Middle East!

About the Author

Wadim Procel. Student, glob trotter and great traveler, speaking English, Arabic, Russian and Polish.