The real Syria - where are all terrorists?

Next stop is Hama, around 1.5 hours south of Aleppo, home to some famous waterwheels and not much else. Hama is much more chilled than Aleppo. Wrong time of the year for waterwheels though – the water has not flowed here in what looks like years and all that’s left of the river are fetid bubbling green pools. Hope there’s more than waterwheels then…

As always, travelling to new places and experiencing different cultures challenges pre-conceived notions, and this is especially the case in Syria. Syria received a special mention by a former US administration (what was his name again?), which caused a huge drop in tourism... A quick check on the Australian government website suggests exercising a high degree of caution due to possibility of terrorist attacks in Syria.

However, despite these doomsday warnings, my experience suggests that terrorists don't await in Syria. On the contrary, Syria exudes a unique version of Middle Eastern hospitality and actively welcomes all visitors to their country. Syrians know a few words of English – mostly 'Where are you from?' and 'Welcome to Syria!' Its pretty standard for someone to hang out of a passing car or bus and yell 'Welcome to Syria', and the welcome is refreshingly genuine. People will stop you in the street to ask these 2 questions at least half a dozen times a day. Its hard not to feel welcomed by these people – each greeting is so warm and gracious.

This part of the Middle East is well known for its crusader history, and theres a massive ‘fairy tale’ castle, Crac de Chevaliers, a hundred kilometres south of Hama. The Crusaders knew something about location when they selected the site for this castle – it looms imposingly over the surrounding plains.

The rumours of the Crac being a fairy tale castle are true – this place looks exactly like I would dream it. Unlike sites in the western world, you can climb all over the walls, though the battlements and up and down all the passageways. Its also dirty, damp and dark, adding to the mystery and suspense. Only two stairways are blocked off – both are tiny spiral stairways disappearing into the dark bowels of the castle. And the view is spectacular from the top - you can see for miles.

In the evening, we go in search of a feed with a few fellow travelers, and meet a US basketballer playing in the local league in Hama. I didn’t imagine that basketball would be popular in Syria, but Chris is making serious cash – about US$6K per month plus all living expenses. According to Chris, that’s the low end of the pay scale – a friend of his in Iran is on US$50K per month…

Away in the desert are the Byzantine ruins of Palmyra, an ancient sprawling city set on an oasis. We head out here for a couple of nights with the intention of moving further east toward the Euphrates in a few days. Palmyra is amazing - there are 10 metre high columns in perfect line running parallel for hundreds of metres, a massive stone towers looking out across the surrounding valleys and another imposing crusader castle looking out over the entire city. Although the ruins are interesting, I find the desert just as interesting. It's so quiet and peaceful, but there’s a powerful energy out here. The moon is almost full and as the sun sets in the west, the moon is rising full and round in the east. It’s breathtaking sight to see.