Syria: Damascus Palmyra Aleppo Ma'Loula and More
In November 2009 I was living and working in the Arabian Gulf State of Qatar. My wife and I had travelled to various parts of the Middle East and we had very good reports from others who had visited Syria. The Middle East is a vast area; just as an example, Doha to Damascus is 1,700kms, whereas London to Rome is 1,400kms.
Even though there was no conflict taking place in Syria at the time- this was 15 months before the war commenced- we still had to apply for special visas for our visit and had to ensure that we had no stamps from ‘Occupied Palestine’ (Israel) on our passports. Our travel agents in Doha organised the visa aspect as well as all of our bookings. They also ensured that we had a top class guide, which was essential. We had an individual guide just for the two of us, as we were not on a package tour but rather a specifically designed and organised one.
When we arrived in Damascus, our guide met us and took our passports and we were then ushered through passport control. In Damascus we stayed at the Talisman Hotel which is not far from Straight Street, famous from the story of St. Paul “Arise, and go into the street which is called called Straight”.
On our way back from a restaurant just off Straight Street on our first night we came across this street parade. It was not clear what this was, although somebody suggested it could have been associated with a wedding.(below)
On our first full day in Damascus, we went to the church where St. Paul was baptised. We were then brought to near the old Damascus Bab Kisan Gate which is now the site of St Paul’s Church. The old gate is said to be where St. Paul was lowered in a basket to escape from the city. (below)
Damascus is a city where different religions could, usually, co-exist side by side. Islam is, of course, the main religion in Syria and we were brought to the Grand (Umayyad) Mosque of Damascus. (below, top left) All around the mosque, there were wonderful architectural details. (below, top right) We also visited a covered market (souq) where we saw some shops and stalls selling exotic produce. (below, bottom)
When we visited the site in 2009 there were still very intact ruins which was remarkable given the age of the site. We were lucky enough to visit at sunset which gave a wonderful golden glow to the ruins. (above)
The castle on the nearby hill belonged to Fakhreddine, a Druze prince from Lebanon. The Mamluks are thought to have built it in the 13th century but it is named today after Fakhreddine who had been there in the 16th century. (above center)
There has been widespread coverage of the destruction of the ancient ruins and artifacts at Palmyra last year, but recent drone footage has shown that a substantial amount of the ancient city has survived.
The following day we headed out on the road to Aleppo. Our first stop was in the city of Hama to see the giant ‘Norias’ or waterwheels. There are 17 of these waterwheels still in existence, but they are no longer used. A ‘noria’ is a wheel of pots. The purpose of these is not to generate power but to lift water to different levels and onto aquaducts where it is taken to other locations for various uses, including irrigation. (above, right)
When we arrived in Aleppo we were brought to the Aleppo Citadel which is one of the largest and oldest castles in the world. The Citadel has a very dramatic entrance gate.(below)
Inside the citadel, many of the local children were playing, sometimes in dangerous locations. Looking at these photos 7 years later, led me to wonder what fate has befallen these children. (below)
The top part of the Citadel looks like it would have looked many centuries ago with only the clothing of the people in view and the skyline in the distance to indicate that this was taken in the 21st century. (below)
This is a view of the city of Aleppo taken from the top of the citadel and, yes, that is a flock of birds disappearing into the smog on the top right hand corner! A lot of what is in view here has now been destroyed in the fighting.
Our stop for lunch on the trip from Aleppo was at the crusader castle called Krak Des Chevaliers which is not far from Homs. It is high on a hill and from there you can see the Mediterranean and into Lebanon. (above)
The interior of the castle is nearly as dramatic as the exterior. It was full of large vaulted corridors. There were shafts of light coming in from the outside and I asked my wife, Laura, to stand in one for the ‘glowing’ effect. (below, left two)
(below, middle right) The photo below was taken through one of the castle windows. I was using a Leica 28mm Summicron and it was the detail of the village in the lower right of this shot that finally convinced me about the quality of Leica lenses. Such concern about pixel peeping appears crass, however, in the light of some recent drone video footage which shows that the village, Al-Husn, appears to have suffered much more damage than the castle.
We had lunch in a little restaurant overlooking this scene along with other tourists, never thinking that within a few years this would become a warzone.
Our next stop, at my request, was Ma’loula which is in the mountains some way off the main Aleppo to Damascus road. I had seen photographs of the way that some of the buildings are built into the rock and I was also fascinated by the fact that Western Aramaic, the language descended from that used at the time of Jesus, was still in use in Ma’loula.
The sun was going down by the time we arrived and so I got the driver to stop for a photograph of the sunshine on the rock cliff behind the town. (below)
We had lunch in a little restaurant overlooking this scene along with other tourists, never thinking that within a few years this would become a warzone.
Our next stop, at my request, was Ma’loula which is in the mountains some way off the main Aleppo to Damascus road. I had seen photographs of the way that some of the buildings are built into the rock and I was also fascinated by the fact that Western Aramaic, the language descended from that used at the time of Jesus, was still in use in Ma’loula.
The sun was going down by the time we arrived and so I got the driver to stop for a photograph of the sunshine on the rock cliff behind the town. (below)
On our last morning we were free to wander around Straight Street once again. My last photo is a typical courtyard in Damascus. (below)
On our way out of Syria our guide once again brought us through passport control and we returned to Doha. •
I had the photos in this article for seven years and had not really done anything with them. We really enjoyed our trip to Syria and found it immensely interesting and stimulating. About 15 months after our visit, war broke out in Syria. We have watched with horror what has happened to Syria and its people, particularly in places which we had visited. Whatever about the destruction of cities and buildings, particularly beautiful ancient ones, it is the impact on the people of Syria through death, injury, economic loss and physical dislocation that is most saddening. As with everywhere else we went in the Middle East, we found people in Syria to be most hospitable and warm and friendly. They would not have known that we were Irish, but would probably have categorised us as either Europeans or Americans because of our appearance and the fact that we spoke English. The thing that struck me most about Syria was the way that people of different cultural, religious and other backgrounds got on so well with each other. The image of the Shi’ite man asking about the ‘Lord’s Prayer’ will stay with me for a long time.
Syria is an ancient land that has been fought over many times in the past. One can only hope that peace can come soon to Syria and its people and that the different elements of Sryian society can work together in the way that we saw demonstrated.