We are pooped.

We're in Hama now, with lots to update on. The past week has seen us in Tartous, Krak des Chevaliers (Qala'at Hosn), and Hama, with lots of excursions and site-seeing.

Tartous was one of the most relaxing cities we have seen. The fabulous Corniche, a long sidewalk + parks along the sea is a hotspot for locals in the evening and not far from lots of decent food places. We capped off our stay here with a huge meal of mezze, nargileh, and (since it is such a relaxed place) beer. mmm beer, the regional beer even tastes good. From Tartous we made it to: 1 island, 2 museums, 3 tombs, and 1 tell. Horray for us. M even survived one very bumpy boat ride in the sea aboard one of the local brightly colored commuting boats that each boast 1 life vest and 30 pasengers. We give two thumbs up to the Cathedral of our Lady of Tortousa - turned - museum, Amrit tombs, promenading and sunsets, and even the boat ride (just dont eat before riding). But the island of Arwad gets a thumbs down for smells, squatty bathrooms, and flies. All our safest looking/tasting meals were had at Vaimodos. We recommend it.

We spent a night at Krak des Chevaliers to see the worlds best preserved crusader castle. En route, we fit in a trip to Hosn Suleiman - an ancient religious site up in the mountains that is memorable for its massive blocks, decent state of Roman period ruins, and a pesky man who wants money to point and say "Greco-Roman." "Phonecian." No thanks buddy. Krak des Chevaliers is definately the best crusader site to visit, and our first siting of Western tourists in many days proves just how popular this place is. At a fast pace, we covered the outer walls, and several stories of the inner fortress and its buildings in just under 2 hours. The castle's location on the end of a mountain range meant a stiff wind that kept us cool, but also kept E from staying on the tops of any of the towers and ramparts for very long. E was up the stairs, 1 photo, and down. Poor M. (E wants to point out that these towers have NO railings at all.) We took dinner at the only place that Lonely Planet recommends, and can only report that the food was uber greasy.

We made Hama a destination for three reasons: (1) as a base for excursions to the Roman Apamea, and the Byzantine Dead Cities, (2) because E wanted to see the famous water wheels (norias), and (3) so M could see the site of the famous Hama massacre. The Apamea is like a Palmyra without the palms. Or the desert. Bascially its not as good. And M worked so hard to master the plan of the site that he was really disappointed when things like the Roman theater only have traces of remains. E however had a great time, because she spotted a baby owl on top of the collonade and spent a quarter of an hour taking pictures and videos... Dead Cities were fun. There are over 600 monuments, buildings and cities between Hama and Aleppo that were abandoned for unknown reasons over 1000 years ago and their ruins now sit among modern villages, olive groves, and fields. We started with Al-Bara and used up all our energy hiking around the olive groves in the intense heat and should have saved up more energy for Serjila which is much easier to access and appreciate. Both are big hits with tourists. The water wheels are AMAZING, and the buildings in what used to be the old city are all definitely build within the past 25 years. They have managed to restore the old mosque so that it doesnt look too new. As the mosque was one of the main sites for the Hama uprising, E expected it to be more formidable looking. But the walls were not higher than 6-8 feet. Look for more on the masacre and the water wheels.

Our only problem so far is that the conservative attitude we met in Aleppo and the strange behaviors it seemed to bring out are worse in Hama. For decades, travelers to Hama have praised the city's beauty and bemoaned the conservative and sometimes verging on fanatical residents. We got a taste of both our first night. We ate a really good dinner at a riverside terrace across from the water wheels, stopped in at an artist's workshop area and were enjoying a lazy walk home when a young guy came out from behind a corner, grabbed E's breast and then took off running. It sucked. A lot. The guy had passed us, doubled, back, and then hid, just to be a brute. And people who later saw E crying either avoided her (women) or stared (men). M is now on a mission to make sure no man comes near E, and waves wildly at the old men who stare at her. Its totally unfair, because E is wearing long skirts and long sleeved clothing, and we have seen tons of older tourists wear a lot less. For the record, we have also had several people be ridiculously nice, including one man who stopped just to tell us it was easier to cross the road 10 meters further down. So Hama is a mixed bag. Some great sites, soem really good people, and some sexually repressed crazies