Chinese Influence in Syria

As we were walking through Souq Al-Hamidiyyah in Damascus, Audrey wanted to buy some tea. So we dropped by one of the shops there.

The shop sold some interesting stuff like this tea container/cup:

The idea is to put the tea into the container and pour hot water. Then use the special spoon cum straw to sip the tea.

Notice that the spoon has tiny holes on one end to prevent tea leaves from being sipped in too.

As I was looking at the rows and rows of containers on sale, I noticed something odd in the display ...

Can you guess what's odd here?

It's the Chinese motifs on some of the containers.

So I asked the shop owner why are containers with Chinese motifs sitting in Syria, a country in the Middle East where there's no pork and no gambling?

He explained that because Damascus is located along the ancient Silk Road, merchants from China brought along their wares to trade in each port-of-call that they visited.  

"Oh ..." I nodded my head as I listened to his explanation. And soon after that, I found myself staring at this car that was parked near Souq Al-Hamidiyyah:

Take a closer and see why I was intrigued by this car.

Can you guess what's odd with this car?

Chinese influence has indeed reached the shores of Syria, but they just need to get the words right side up!

Hahahaha ...

Where We Stayed in Damascus & Aleppo

After telling you about the rip-off hostels in Damascus, I would like to tell you about the hostels where we stayed in Damascus and Aleppo. These hostels are not listed in Lonely Planet but were good finds nonetheless.

In Damascus we stayed at Al-Kindi Hotel. A double room with bathroom ensuite costs us only 800 SYP per night for the entire room. Eventhough the bathroom was in a bad condition, the location of this hotel made up for it - it's only a 5-minute walk from Souq al-Hamidiyya.

The daunting part about staying here is that only 1 of the staff is able to speak English. Whenever the other staff are manning the counter, we didn't bother to ask for anything cause we know we won't be able to communicate with them.

The other sore thing is that they charged us 100 SYP each for storing our luggage at the hotel for 3 days when we went to Aleppo.

Entrance to Al-Kindi Hotel

When we headed to Aleppo we didn't have any inkling of where we were gonna lay our heads for the night. By the time we reached the central area it was already late evening and we navigated our way to the clock tower area where most of the backpackers hostel are located.

The first hostel that we went to was Al-Gawaher. It was recommended by Kate who stayed there before. Unfortunately Al-Gawaher was full and we had to continue our search for another hostel.

In the next lane from Al-Gawaher, we saw Ammar standing in front of Hotel Radoun.  

He asked if we were looking for a room and when he informed that rates were 900 SYP for a double room, we asked to see the room first before making any decision.

The room was spacious and clean. And when we opened the balcony door and saw this view ...

... we immediately agreed to stay there.

Staying at Hotel Radoun was indeed a good choice because it's centrally located beside the clock tower and Sheraton Aleppo Hotel - both of which are good landmarks to navigate your way around.

Hotel Radoun is also walking distance from the Citadel, Great Mosque, souqs and Christian Quarter. So it was a good find, especially at 900 SYP per room per night. Moreover the owner Ammar can speak English.

 Room rates are displayed in Hotel Radoun's lobby.

So you see, the hostels that are listed in Lonely Planet are not the only hostels available. There are so many other cheap and maybe even better options. You just need to look hard enough and maybe let faith lead your path.

Rip-Off Hostels in Damascus

If breakfast is provided by your Syrian hostel, this is what you'll usually get.

When Aud and I were researching for our trip to Syria, we emailed a couple of backpackers hostel in Damascus to ask for room rates.

We emailed Al-Rabie, Ghazal Hotel and Al-Haramain which are all recommended by Lonely Planet and/or Wikitravel under "Budget Accommodation".

However when they replied our emails, their rates didn't seem like budget rates to me.

All of these hostels replied that their dorms were full and suggested we take the rooms for obvious reasons. I thought this was all utter BS, and true enough, the room rates were sky high. For example, at the time of enquiry, Al-Haramain's rates were USD100/pax/night and Ghazal Hotel was 1,500 Syrian Pounds for a double room, wth!

When we were lamenting that accommodation in Syria was gonna cause our budget to blow, Aud found this blog entry that confirmed these hostels were just trying to rip us off.

According to the blogger, Al-Rabie, Ghazal Hotel and Al-Haramain in Damascus have fixed their prices to double of what's written in Lonely Planet. So the writer has warned all other travellers to stay clear from these rip-off hostels.

After reading that blog, we decided to go "Kamikaze", i.e. walk-in randomly to any hostel when we got there.

And to the delight of our pockets, we found many hostels that charged 900 Syrian Pounds (SYP) for a double room with bathroom ensuite. We even managed to bargain the rates down to 800 SYP, which is 400 SYP only per person. Our pockets were certainly screaming in delight!

In my next entry I'll tell you more about the hotels which we stayed in in Damascus and Aleppo.

So the moral of this story is the information in Lonely Planet and Wikitravel is not the gospel truth - the internet is, especially travel blogs written by fellow travellers.

I don't want to speculate whether those rip-off hostels in Damascus paid Lonely Planet to get featured in it. If they did, then Lonely Planet should do the most honourable thing and close shop.

Getting Naked in Damascus - My Experience at Hammam Ammoonah

On our last day in Damascus, Audrey and I went to Hammam Ammoonah in the Old City of Damascus for some … well ... I'll tell you shortly.

Looking for the hammam was a test of our navigation skills as the map was insufficient to pilot our way through the confusing lanes in the souk. Moreover Hammam Ammoonah is located in a secluded lane with no signboards at all. The entrance is hidden behind a pink striped curtain.

We managed to locate it thanks to a guy who pointed it out. Otherwise we would have walked right past it and I won’t be telling you this story.

Entrance to Hammam Ammoonah looks like an entrance to a whore house, no?

When we entered the hammam, the lady in-charge welcomed us and answered our questions. She was dressed in a spaghetti strap top with a pair of black bikini and loincloth (cawat).

We took the package that consists of the sauna, body and leg scrub and massage thats costs 850 Syrian Pounds.

After locking our stuff in a drawer in the lobby area and strapping the key to my wrist, we were given a towel to change into. Initially I wanted to keep on my bra and panties on, but decided otherwise cause I know I’ll end up getting completely drenched in there. So I had on my disposable panties and left my bra in the drawer.

Then we were led into the bathing area which is essentially a common room with huge basins built into the wall containing warm water. Everything was wet and the atmosphere was steamy.

Without saying a word, the lady boss yanked off my towel and asked me to sit on the floor with the rest of the naked and semi-naked ladies. She poured a bucket of warm water over my head and told me to go into the sauna room where Audrey and two other ladies were already there.

That was my first experience of being exposed in public, or in a hammam at least. There was no room for being shy as most of us were clad only in our panties. Sitting in the sauna, I wonder whether women secretly check out each other’s boob size, just like how men check out each other’s you know what.

After about 10 minutes of oozing out toxins from our pores, one by one we were led out to another part of the bathing area where a burly lady was waiting to scrub us. She looked like a contestant from the WWF – WWF as in Women’s Wrestling Federation, and not the wildlife organization. Imagine the strength and power in those arms!

I was asked to lie down on the floor (!) and using a loofah, she scrubbed away really hard, asking me to lift my arms and to turn over after doing one side so that she could get to every spot on my body. It was probably the mother of all scrubs, but I was happy to see the black dirt and grime being scrubbed away.

There were a few other bathers who were getting scrubbed and massaged in the area. And the scrubbers and masseuses sang together in Arabic as their work their magic on the bathers. It was a pleasant sound that added to the warm temperature of the hammam.

After the scrub session, I was given a loofah, shampoo and a bar of soup in a white plastic container and told to return to the first area to wash away all the dirt that has been scrubbed off.

It was difficult bathing with panties on. So I removed them, faced the wall and bathe away in the nude. Who cares if other women were watching ;-) After finishing, I put them back on, sat on the floor and waited for the massage session.

Now, the massage session is nothing like the super relaxing Indonesian or Thai massages. This massage consists of merely rubbing oil all over the body with occasional applying of pressure on certain points. And that’s about it.

And then it was back to the bathing area to wash away the oil and we could then change back into our clothes and relax with a hot cup of tea in the lobby, compliments from Hammam Ammoonah.

Girl in towel must be saying, "Quickly hide, crazy tourists snapping photos of naked women! "

Ceiling in the lobby area.

A fellow traveller whom we met in Amman commented that the experience sounded like how prisoners are being treated in prison, and I think she may be right :-) But going to Hammam Ammoonah was indeed a one in a million experience which I'll gladly do again. After all, we all want soft and dirt free skin. And being naked in public could be liberating as well.

About Hammam Ammoonah

Hammam Ammoonah was built in the 12th Century AD and was it was classified amongst the cleanest public baths in the city of Damascus during the Ottoman period. However, it was probably neglected during later periods.

The owners of this hammam fully restored and renovated this historical place to provide bathers with an authentic bathing experience. Hammam Ammoonah was formerly known as “Hammam Shojaa” until the late 18th Century when it was renamed as its current name.

Address:

Damascus – Syria – Baghdad Street
Behind Al Dahdah – Bawabet Al Aass
Tel: +963 11 23 16 414

Opens daily from 8.00am – 8.00pm

Damascus to Amman by Bus

Travelling from Damascus to Amman by bus is an economical option for budget travellers who are planning to travel between Syria and Jordan. The journey is approximately 3.5 hours long with hardly any hassle at the border.

Tickets must be bought one day in advance from Al Qadam station which is a short taxi ride from Damascus Old City. I don’t think we could have walked there as it looked quite far from Damascus Old City.

A one-way bus ticket from Damascus to Amman costs SYP 500 and we had to show our passports when purchasing them.

There are 2 buses to Amman in a day: 8.00am and 2.00pm. We chose the 8.00am bus cause we wanted to get to Amman when it’s still bright to navigate our way to Farah Hotel where we had reservations.

Al Qadam bus station

The next day we left Al-Kindi Hotel (where we stayed throughout our stay in Damascus) at 6.45am and took the cab to Al Qadam station. We were early and goofed around while waiting for the bus to arrive.

The bus arrived pronto at 7.30am and after loading our stuff into the luggage compartment, we were on our journey by 8.00am.

The bus that took us from Damascus to Amman 

At the Nassib Immigration Passport Centre, we got off the bus to fill up some forms; the usual stuff required at most borders.

Nassib Immigration Passport Centre at the Syrian side

All travellers had to pay SYP 500 for the Departure Coupon. I didn't have enough cash because I didn't expect to pay anything at the border. Didn't do enough research, I guess!

But thankfully Audrey had some Syrian Pound left and we managed to dig up enough to pay for the coupons.

At the Jaber Border (Jordan side), we had to get off the bus again and complete the usual border procedures.

My ticket agent said Malaysians usually don't have to pay for any visa upon entering Jordan. But he was wrong cause we had to pay JD 10 for a Visa-on-Arrival. Damn my agent!

Thankfully there were a few foreign exchange booths beside the immigration office where we changed our US Dollars into Jordanian Dinars.

In Amman, the bus dropped us off at a bus station that was under renovation. There were hardly any signages, so I can't tell which bus station it was. And we were too tired to ask around.

When we exited the station, a gentleman (whom we assumed to be a taxi driver) approached us and asked if we needed transport. He offered to take us to Farah Hotel for JD 1 each.

When he lead us to his car, I thought he was gonna rob us or something cause it was not a proper taxi but a private car. He could sense the confusion and informed us that he's a licensed tourist guide who's been licensed to ferry tourist from the bus station to wherever they wanna go.

Whether he was telling the truth or not, I don't know. But we arrived at Farah Hotel safely, and that was what's important.


Important to Remember ...

If you’re travelling from Damascus to Amman by bus, you’ll need to take note of the following:

1) The bus from Damascus to Amman leaves from Al Qadam bus station in Damascus.

2) A one-way ticket costs SYP 500 and must be bought one day in advance. You’ll need to show your passport and/or other travel documents to the ticket officer.

3) There are 2 buses in a day: 8.00am and 2.00pm and the journey is approximately 3.5 hours long.

4) There is a Departure Coupon (by Sea or Land) that you’ll need to fill up at the Nassib Immigration Passport Centre at the Syrian border, and you'll have to pay SYP 500 when you submit it to the officer.

5) Visa-on-Arrival at the Jasber Border in Amman costs JD 10.

Let Your Imagination Run Wild at Kraks de Chevaliers

Kraks de Chevaliers or "Castle of the Knights" is a must-see destination if you're a fan of King Arthur, knighthood or even movies like Kingdom of Heaven and Robin Hood.

Located about 40 km west of the city of Homs in Syria, the Kraks de Chevaliers was built in 1031 by the emir of Hom. The place was used by Crusader knights and also Islam armies during the time of the Crusades.

Each group that took control of the castle expanded it till its current form which now sits majestically on a hill overlooking the village of Hosn.

When I visited the castle I haven't the faintest idea what to expect. Of course I did my homework and read a couple of reviews. But I didn't expect to come away totally fascinated at how well preserved the castle is.

My only regret was the lack of time to soak in the place. I wanted to park myself in various corners of the castle and imagine myself as a damsel in distress waiting for my knight in shining armour ;-) But our driver only gave us about 1 hour and then we had to move on to Ma'aloula which was a long journey from the castle. Damn!

But I did take many photos which I would like to share with you here, well at least some of it cause there are just too many.

Entrance fee is SYP 150 for foreigners.

The castle is surrounded by a moat which serves as a barrier for invading enemies. In the cartoons, a moat usually has crocodiles in it in case the invaders decide to swim across the moat to break into the castle. But I don't think they had crocs here cause crocs are not native to Syria, hahaha.

The holes in the walls have a special purpose. Look below to see the answer.

Each hole has a small opening for soldiers to look out for enemies approaching from the hills below. I think these small openings also serve as good covers for them to attack these enemies with their bow and arrows. I was thinking of Legolas from the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy when I saw these openings. 

This horse stable reminds me of the Mulu Caves in Sarawak, Malaysia which can house 40 Boeing 747 airplanes. I wonder how many horses can this stable hold?

It's amazing how well preserved this castle is that even the holes in the stable walls to hold torches can still be seen.

I can imagine the thundering hooves of the knights' steeds as they ride through this passage.

This is a room above one of the main doors to the castle. Notice the 3 holes in the floor. When the castle is under attack, soldiers pour boiling oil or water through the 3 holes onto enemy soldiers below who are trying to seige the castle. The slit in the floor is where the door is opened by pulling it upwards through the slit.

Stones for catapults.

Moss on the wall is an indication that this used to be a damp place. Well, this is the latrine for the soldiers.

A close-up view of one of the "cubicles" in the latrine. I wonder where does the wastes flow to. Into the moat perhaps?

The castle has many secret passage ways like this as escape routes in case the castle is under attack.

Chapel that was converted into a mosque after the Muslim conquest. 

A meeting room where the knights discussed battles, combat strategies, etc.

Look carefully at the ring of stones in the middle of the picture. It's called The Round Table which obviously reminded me of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

When you enter the castle, guides will approach you and start showing you around. But beware ... these unauthorised guides who are mostly youth from neighbouring villages will ask you for huge sums of money at the end of the tour.

We blindly followed a guide without asking what his charges were, and at the end of the tour he demanded we pay him USD25 each!

No doubt he did a good job in showing us the various parts of the castle, something which we wouldn't have known had we walked around on our own. But USD25 was just too much.

Despite our protests, he refused to relent. But finally we managed to persuade him and he accepted just USD25 for the both of us. I added a SYP200 tip as well. So it's advisable to agree on the price before you start following any guide to avoid any misunderstanding at the end. 

That was probably the only incident that marred my experience at Kraks de Chevaliers.

 

Damascus to Aleppo by Bus - Just Like Boarding a Plane

Travelling from Damascus to Aleppo by bus was like boarding a plane - procedure wise, that is.

First of all, when we got to the Pullman Bus Station in Damascus, we had to get our bags scanned just like at the airport. There was no body search or else I would have laughed my head off. 

I didn't snap any photos of the bag scan machine cause cameras were not allowed in the area. In fact, when we were waiting for the bus to leave, I went around snapping photos. And then a guy who was walking by said it's forbidden to take photos in the station. Weird ... but I think it's a security procedure.

Anyway, the Pullman Bus Station is not a bus terminal in a single building, but rows of shops selling bus tickets, food, drinks and all sorts of stuff.

 Rows of shops at the Pullman Bus Station.

Like a typical bus station from an emerging nation (I'm thinking Puduraya here), many guys were shouting out names of places and trying to get passengers to buy tickets from their counter.

After asking around a bit, we decided on a company whose bus was leaving shortly. A one-way ticket to Aleppo costs 200 Syrian Pounds (SYP) and we had to show our passports.

This is how the VIP bus looks like:

Reminds me of school buses in Malaysia.

Notice the guy standing beside the bus in the pic above. He was the bus attendant who had the job description of a flight attendant.

After the bus rolled out of Pullman Bus Station, he drew all the curtains, and made sure they stayed that way throughout the journey.

 Drawn curtains always makes me sleepy.

He also distributed mineral water and biscuits and went from row to row with a plastic bag to collect rubbish. Just before the bus reached Aleppo he made sure all the seats were in an upright position; exactly like what flight attendants usually asks us to do just before the plane lands.

Mineral water and biscuits are distributed free to all passengers.

I was glad the journey to Aleppo took approximately 3 hours. Otherwise I would have to nurse a numb butt.

When the bus reached Aleppo, we didn't know which station it was or exactly which part of Aleppo we were at because all the signages were in Arabic. Moreover my Lonely Planet Middle East was an old edition with outdated information, fml.

So we asked around and was directed to take a bus to the city centre cause taking a taxi would have costs us an arm and a leg. That 30-minute bus ride was probably one of the cheapest bus rides I've ever sat - flat rate of SYP 5 only.

We got off at the last stop and navigated our way on foot to the clock tower and Sheraton Aleppo Hotel area where we kamikazed our way to Hotel Radouan.

Shopping in Syria

I told myself not to buy anything in Syria cause it would be a hassle to carry so many stuff home. Moreover I was on a tight budget and I don't usually carry much cash for shopping whenever I travel.

But the local stuff were so pretty, I couldn't resist the urge. So thanks to my friends, Visa and Mastercard, take a look at some of the stuff I bought from Syria:

Table cloth (SYP 400) from a souq in Aleppo.



These cushion covers reminds me of Christmas :-) Bought 'em for SYP 200 each from Husam al-Khouli Oriental Arts & Forklore that's located in the Old City of Damascus. Apparently the design is based on the Azem Palace.

Bought this approximately 70-year-old carpet from a shop called Scheherazade Oriental Handicrafts in Souq al-Hamidiyya in Damascus. I can't reveal the price in case my mum is reading this, she'll complain that I should have given her the money instead of spending it on a carpet. Typical Chinese mother ...





I don't know what to call it, but what do you think about this cup set? Bought it from the same shop as the carpet and this set's as old as the carpet too. Uthman the shop owner gave me a good discount for both items. Sometimes I wonder why am I buying old stuff ...



  

A set of 6 coasters for SYP 100 only. Again, I bought it from one of the shops in the Old City. If you're a shopoholic, the Old City may just charm you into shopping till you drop cause there's lots to see and buy. 

Rosaries (SYP 200 each) made from olive seeds. These were bought from the Chapel of St Ananias in the Christian Quarter of the Old City in Damascus. 

Wooden inlaid box with Arabic inscription, "God Bless Our Home". Bought it for SYP 300 from a shop in the Christian Quarter of the Old City in Damascus. Sorry for the blurred photo.

Attire Doesn't Determine Ones Religious Belief

I returned from Syria and Jordan on Monday dead tired and one skin tone darker "thanks" to the sun rays that beat down mercilessly whilst I was in Petra. I was also recovering from a bout of diarrhea which I suspected was from some exposed shawarma.

But I was happy and satisfied that I embarked on this journey that was filled with amazing history and rich culture as well as friendly locals and fellow travellers I met along the way.

To kick off my series of blog entries on Syria and Jordan, take a look at this picture:

An obituary outside St Mary's Greek Orthodox Church

This is an obituary that was on the notice board outside the St Mary's Greek Orthodox Church in the Old City of Damascus.

Take a closer look at the guy on the left. He's wearing an Arab head gear called the keffiyeh that a huge majority of us associate with Islam (think Yassir Arafat). We tend to think that all men who wear the keffiyeh are Muslims. But this guy in the obituary is a Christian.

This just goes to show that attire doesn't determine ones religion, or at least in the Middle East, that is.