The road to Syria and Jordan. Motorhome trip to the Middle East. Part 3, Syria and Jordan

This trip was not to be done. This year Tina, my wife had a big problem with the teeth, operations, medications and a variety of applications, so a problem that had lasted over time and with a substantial cost. The dentist came to my aid, and between a transaction and another had to spend at least 60 days, just long enough to make this trip by his friend Lawrence asked about the Desert Club last minute Tina has agreed to place, and we started.
The trip, departing from Ancona April 30 begins with a ferry that will take us to Patras and from there, through Greece and Turkey will reach Syria and then Jordan, our main goals. In return, the crossing will be shipping from Cesme in Turkey with more landing in Ancona on May 10 and then journey's end.

These are our costs of travel:

Medicines and vaccines € 162
Maps and guide € 61
Mechanical preparation camper € 290
Phone € 50
Food € 548
Fuel € 944
Tipping € 65
Highway € 55
Entry sites and museums € 160
Parking € 32
Stamp passports € 80
Souvenir € 255
Restaurant € 455
Newspapers € 40
Bar € 60

Total € 3237

Quota Club Desert ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... .... ... .... € 3133

Total ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... € 6370

 

Aleppo – Camping

Leave the car park at 07.45, to be the opening of customs 8.
Output from Turkey, we hurry in 90 minutes at 9.30 am We are Syrian customs in Bab El Hawa, "The door of the wind", we know the Syrian leadership: Saman (Simeon) a nice young man who speaks perfect Italian. We will know then that he studied in Perugia. Unfortunately we lose a lot of time here, they only come out at 16.30, they want to control even the number of the chassis. Obviously required by the offer of 10 euros for campers but for each unit shall be written in Arabic, a multitude of documents and then you lose time. We take the opportunity to have lunch.
Finally been released from customs, we head to San Simeon. During the journey we encounter a storm of dust, mist appears. Our guide tells us that the place where we should go, the situation is worse and we could not see anything. We reverse and back to Aleppo. Back tomorrow morning with the bus, before visiting the city.
Before Aleppo to 20 km. There is a campsite is a simple lawn of a house with trees to park under a scattered small plants. There is current but at a lower voltage, the fridge I put it on gas, no water but we must do to reach the Gimcana between the plants. I had a little argument with the number 15 who did not want to leave the passage, solved by moving the No. 7 that he had to fill up.

Aleppo – Camping

At 8:30 a bus takes us to Aleppo to visit the city on the outskirts Saman find that will guide us throughout the period of Syria.
We visited the ruins of early Christian basilica with the column of S. Simeon Stylites, from the greek "Stilos" that column, where the ascetic St. Simeon lived for 30 years perched in a cell above the column (the height of which rose gradually to reach 15 mt.) Praying all night since 412 AD Now the same column does not measure more than five feet of fury to bring home a piece at a time as a relic ..
Saman explains very well the history and because of certain historical events as having studied theology for a year, has a profound understanding of religion as he is a Christian Maronite.
Continue to Aleppo. It 'almost time for lunch and go to the center. On the way you visit a Christian Maronite cathedral very beautiful and interesting, then we reach ill restaurant "Sissi" (5 stars) Where to have lunch with plenty of local specialties: starters, more or less spicy soup of chick peas (which recommend put the lemon juice) very good, a second of minced lamb roasted with various spices and fruit with ice cream to finish. We liked everything, to someone a bit 'less and showed it to the owner that we were rudely greeted with great cordiality.
Aleppo by number of inhabitants is the second city of Syria.
We round the Citadel with its well preserved and imposing ramparts. A monumental gate of 1211, but not good as that of Cairo, the palace of Sultan Al-Aziz, the Mosque of Abraham where he stayed here with his flocks and the great mosque minaret of 1213 with beautiful, luxurious and modern. In addition to take off our shoes, women must also wear a cloak to cover their features that are shocking in a place of worship.
Let us not miss to buy the famous soap mixture of oil and laurel, intense aroma that pervades the city streets since the morning.
We head to the souk, a popular destination by women in the group. After the explanations and photos of ritual, we put all these side streets filled with every gift of God. Tina and I look at some shops and then back to the bus. In return all transhipped to another means. This bus has full tanks of diesel and camping in the transfer tanks to refuel the camper, since the distributors do not have them nearby. Everything But at a price of 20 pounds and 7 as the column.

Rasafra – Park

Today was a disastrous day for accidents or failures to campers.
The morning passed quietly, coffee break is near the Euphrates, the great river that feeds Lake Assad, who with his dam supplies electricity to much of the area.
The No. 1 exit from the parking lot was hit by a truck that ruin the party left rear corner causing a great damage to the medium. Continue and, at No. 8 burst a tire is changed immediately, the No. 14 left without gas and another camper supplies him with his escort in tank. Take to the first distributor who are equipped with diesel fuel, blocking traffic for several local buses that they too would like to refuel.
Leaving the distributor at No. 2 stops the engine. While the bus drivers, very willing to lend the repair, the rest of the group visited a beautiful castle in the vicinity. We do not enter because it's late and return to the distributor. At No. 2 was found dead while it is assumed that the detention of the engine had been caused by a malfunctioning alarm.
A Rasafra we stop for the night in the parking lot in front of the ruins of the fortified city. The No. 8 has a drink to thank the aid received. Everyone accepts willingly, when there's nobody to drink it pulls back. Other then continue to dine together. Unfortunately, Tina has got a cold and being constipated, you'd better go to bed warm.

Palmira – Restaurant park

Rasafah (Sergiopolis), the most interesting city in the desert dead after Palmyra. A soldier named Sergio, tortured and killed for not having denied the faith, has left a track so deep in the Eastern Christians of Syria "rename" an entire city. Thus Rasafah ancient became Sergiopolis. A jewel surrounded by walls, glittering in the silence and heat. Everything is built with gypsum stones that glisten in the sun. Not for nothing, Resef in Arabic means bright stones. The friezes of the arches are still intact refined, more beautiful than ever.
At 8 visit to the ancient city where they lived about 10,000 people, now in ruins, but still many buildings can be visited: the basilica dedicated to St. Sergius and St. Bacchus, the tanks, which gave a supply of water of 20 lt. water daily for each inhabitant of the city.
Continue the journey to Palmyra, through a desert with a paved road but with more stretches of track.
Before the town of Palmyra, the No. 1 advised everyone to be very close, not to get lost in traffic. We'll see then that luckily the traffic is almost non-existent, particularly given the lunch time and everybody is at home, but the phrase that has angered many people was that according to Lawrence, where someone had lost, he would not return to pick up. Since he was the leader, is responsible for the smooth running of the trip and connoisseur of roads already traveled failing at other times and therefore should not have uttered that statement. This evening there was a bit 'to swell among the participants in various discussions, but hopefully everything will end without consequences or words misinterpreted.
Tina, now, with other people in a taxi, went to town to do some shopping. In the meantime I downloaded the toilet and filled the tank of water.

Palmira – Restaurant park

At 8:30 am an old bus takes us to the first part of visit to the temples and ruins of Palmyra, which in its day was a very important center of the area, a meeting point for traders on the Silk Road. Returning to the bus to continue our wanderings among the many and important ruins, the bus is not restarted. A prompt telephone call Saman which is replacing the vehicle with a newer ... .. (all hopefully), but I get a little older, and someone will travel on foot.
Full day tour of the immense archaeological site. The castle dominates the landscape of the Emir Fakhr ad-Din II in Ma'an (the Arab prince who lived in Florence at the Medici court from 1613 to 1618). The vital element of the oasis is the sulphurous Afqa. In Roman times was called the oasis of Palmyra with obvious reference to his palm, but the current Arabic name is Tadmor. There still lingers the legend of Queen Zenobia, who took power in 250 AD and that "dared" to rebel against Rome. The emperor Aurelian attacked Palmyra devastated and burned the city, made a prisoner of the queen while escaping on the banks of the Euphrates ending its golden age. Walk along the main street of Palmyra called the great column for the arcades that once lined and is about 1200 meters long. Along this stretch are located on the left and right, the Spa Temple of Nebo, the Theater, the Agora, and the so-called Senate. A cross street that starts from Tetrapylon leads to the Temple of Baal Shamin. At this point the road draw a right angle, passes next to the field of Diocletian and goes to finish in the oval square which opens the door of Damascus, overlooking the Valley of the Tombs.
The time appointed spas, yet listed in our Italian guides, no longer exist.
The weather is quite nice compared to news reaching us from Italy where it's cold and raining for two days.

Malula – St. Tecla convent parking

On the way in the Syrian desert, dotted with small rocks from a beautiful smile, we see some camel wander slowly on the horizon in search of a few tufts of grass along with some goat, with his black coat, white stands out in that we have around. We meet at road signs indicating Iraq, staging and photos in order. Along the way we meet columns of trucks carrying Iraqi crude to be processed in Syria.
Then, from afar, we display the silhouette of a building. an incredible place of refreshment. And 'the famous Bagdad Cafe. Not quite the atmosphere of the film Bagdad Cafe, but it is only a stopping place for tourists where one room is used as a bazaar. The film is just the poster in the background of the room.
An impressive screen of mountains enclosing the small Christian village of Saydnâya whose inhabitants still speak the language of Christ, Aramaic. E 'famous for the monastery of Mar Musa, where we admired in a small Byzantine church, icons dated XII century. To get there I had a pretty strenuous hike, but it was worth it. Tina was in camper because it does not feel he could do this grind. In the monastery we do know of a sympathetic monk named Paolo, Italian in Rome. And 'he who with the help of other monks and nuns runs this place of prayer.
Satisfied, we then proceeded to Malula, where we visit the church of St. Sergius and Bacchus. Parking is very uncomfortable and is full of tourist buses. We arrange the best and ended the visit we go to the convent of Santa Tecla, where we arrange for the night. Four steps toward the center lead us to a shop where the butter and cheese. Come back, next to the camper, we visit the gorge cut in the mile and the wind, very beautiful and spectacular.

Bosra – downtown square

Usual 8:00 am departure with good road and sliding until you enter the highway to Damascus. Here, the traffic becomes more chaotic, especially in the bypass of the city, where succession is overtaking from right to left. The band widens and is difficult to compact it. You exit the highway that will lead us in Jordan and turn right to continue to Bosra. On the agenda was the visit to another town, but was not complied with the program, no one knows why. The car park of the city is complete, you opt for an adjacent street and visit the city. Famous shopping center in the past has played a key role in politics, culture and economy of the Arab world, its beautiful Roman theater, still in operation, enclosed within a fortress of the XII century, where we find the signs of ancient splendor. The cathedral shows great ruins, which focused on the complex and rich apse, buildings still in excellent condition and very interesting. Saman, as usual, is very precise in his explanations.
After a nice walk you back to the camper not before leaving the women guarding the now empty parking lot before the buses of tourists. After fixing the camper, we endure the complaints of someone with dirt exists everywhere. Indeed it is true, but we've seen worse. Lorenzo, after consultation with Saman and made an inspection, call us for radio and directs us to a secure, more peaceful and clean.
Towards evening, at 20, was supposed to get a tanker to refuel the camper that was expected by all until 22, but in vain!
The problem of oil in Syria is very worrying, both at the turkish border than to the Jordanian, because managers prefer to shut the pumps and distributors sell black-market fuel, both Turks to Jordan, where they cost a lot more .
We all put the reserves of tanks and tomorrow we will do the full in Jordan, where there should be no problem.
The No. 1 tip some of us for the evening, a restaurant in your vicinity. Ten to 19 accept and we are all around a table where we were served: First, a soup with vegetables (3 tablespoons), for the second of the skewers of meat (4 pieces cold and burnt) and fries (6 of number and cold), 1 tomato and onion Grilled always cold. Instead there was a beer and a cola both hot. We spent very little (750 pounds) but this does not justify the quality and quantity of dishes

Jerash – Excavations parking area

Today is a day of customs and outside the city of Bosra meet the guide replaces Saman, because he has a demanding very important: the communion of the child. This feast of family prevents him from following us but we find ourselves to our return to Syria.
Syrian customs is crossed quickly enough, unfortunately, that leaves us only to Jordanian 14.30. Nael know, the Jordanian leadership. Tell us that a cop follow us throughout the journey. It 'just as a precaution because in recent times the fuel and basic necessities have increased in price considerably, and therefore are afraid of riots. None of this makes us very happy ... .. hope for the best.
Entering the Jordanian territory, we immediately notice a change: improved road signs, roadways and many homes have ordered more sides painted white or covered with marble. The hills are pretty bare with a few houses here and there, slopes with olive groves in a soil-colored brick. Even the cars seem to come across more current than seen in Syrian territory. All this suggests that a better standard of living.
We head to Jerash, where we park in the excavations, near a very noisy street.
Here the heat is stifling and unlike Syria, where we lit the stove at night, here you need air conditioning. Sketch is the one that suffers most remained firm with his mouth wide open. We apologize to the neighbors for the noise and turn it on for a short time the generator and air conditioner, in order to make a little 'fresh environment.
Tomorrow morning visit to the ruins of Jerash.
Tina calls a night, the No. 1. Cook him spaghetti sauce. This news does a brief tour of the campers and many others are added as has happened many times in previous trips. He made a long table and ate everything and more fun.

The road to Syria and Jordan. Motorhome trip to the Middle East. Part 4, Jordan