Three days and two early morning sunrises later, we are in Palmyra and back at the computer. Computers here are very slow, so in breif, the past three days:
Monday: Drive from Damascus to Palmyra with stops at the ancient sites Qadesh and Qatna. Qadesh is the site of the best-known battle in the ancient world resulting in the famed "first" international peace treaty (copy of the treaty in the United Nations, NYC). Qatna is a major ancient city, M read it is one of the "up and coming ancient sites" for Syria. We reached both thanks to the heavy foot, patience, fantastic English skills, and relentlessness of our driver Amar.
Amar got us to Palmyra late Monday night.
Tuesday and Wednesday: Palmyra, the most famous tourist destination in Syria. Best known from Roman times, when the Syria queen Zenobia asserted her power across the region. Massive ruins, largely untouched by the modern city. Agora, senate, 2 Bel temples (yes!), collonnade, valley with 50+ tombs, a later citadel overlooking the site, and stones scattered everywhere. Have risen 2 mornings at 4.30am to catch sunrise and the ruins in first light, also saw the sunset from the citadel.
A few comments:
(1) Desert is freezing when the sun is down. Incredible wind as well. Gets hot FAST.
(2) Food options limitted, stiff competition from the many "restaraunts." One owner actually tells people they wont get sick from his food, if that is any indication of the dining quality here.
(3) E expected the local population to be relatively removed from the ancient site and the tourism, but the opposite is true. Stiff competition between taxi drivers, "guides" at the sites, hotel owners, etc. Everyone knows at least a little English (and Italian) and is quite bold (sellers, Bedouin, children, cats on the terrace resteraunt, etc).
(4) Finally, a word on Bedouin transporation. Camel is more of a tourist attraction than a reality these days - we have seen "tricycle" trucks, run down jeeps and gazillions of motorbikes.
All for now, hopefully more later (including map).
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I want to see a Gear/ManVsWild style accounting of surviving for a few days in the freezing sandy expanse. Perhaps you could eat a scorpian or something.
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