Damascus, Syria

Well, after a week's vacation in Irbid, we finally hit the road. But first, in Irbid, we spend the whole week going from our hotel to the internet cafe, to a fast food joint and back to the hotel. The whole week! Despite this gargantuan effort, we (I) still haven't finished updating the web pages. Although, I did find some new programs to play with, downloaded some more neat stuff for Celestia, etc. Back to the story.

On our last day in Irbid, we got a mail from our friends Manuela and Francesco who had just picked up their passports, fresh from Switzerland with a shiny new visa for Syria. Since we were still here they decided to come up from Amman and spend the night in Irbid, so that we could cross the border together on the following day. When they showed up we had a nice drink in the cafe on the ground floor of the hotel, and made plans for the following day.
In the morning we packed up and had a great audience while doing so. After a while they got bold enough to ask us for a picture. So they took turns and took pictures with us in front of the bikes. After a while they got even bolder and asked for just a picture with Cecilia, so they took turns standing next to Cecilia and taking pictures of each other. I almost died laughing, all good fun. Then, when they all had a picture with the little blond girl, they all took of en-mass. We had a good laugh about that later.

Eventually, we all got on the road and headed for the little used border at Ar Ramtha. The Jordan side was nearly empty, we just drove in, they checked the carnets, and sent us further on. At the next stop, Cecilia went in and got the paperwork done in less than 20 minutes; passport stamped, exit tax paid 5JD/per person and another 5JD/per vehicle. This took care of our last JDs, as we had just changed our remaining JD to Syrian at a rate of 71.65 Syrian to 1 JD (in case anyone is interested, the rate is the same in Damascus). After that, the carnets got the proper stamps and we were off. On the Syrian side, there weren't any more people than on the Jordanian, but the paperwork was a bit more complicated. The entry form had to be filled in duplicate, and the passports processed. In all this took around 30 minutes. Then it was off to customs for the Carnets. Here it got more complicated and expensive. First, you had to buy insurance, which for the bikes cost 40 USD (payable in foreign currency only!) and also pay road tax which was 7 USD a bike. Luckily the bikes run on petrol, because our friends also had to pay a hefty diesel tax. After that the carnets got stamped and the papers processed. ( A full report on www.fernweh.ch soon!) After 40 minutes (more) we were in Syria. It seems we had chosen the hottest day of the year to do this as we measured 44.6C on our computers.

Once in Syria we rode past the first town and stopped at the first shade we found, the empty parking lot of an amusement park! As soon as we go into Syria we noticed that it is a lot more like we were used to in Egypt, Libya or Morocco, and less like Jordan or Tunisia which are both fairly well developed. Anyway, as soon as we parked, the people minding the gate at the amusement park came over and invited us inside, which we politely declined as we had a picnic planned. While sitting there having a wonderful picnic nearly every car that passed would honk and yell "hello welcome" and continue. Really great. They were all very interested in our motorbikes, something that Manuela and Francesco had not really gotten used to yet. People always wave, stare and often nearly get into accidents by watching us instead of the road. One of the things that very often happens, is someone would pass us, slow down and let us pass them, and then pass us again. The second time around they would have their camera out or their mobile phone and take a picture of us as they passed us.

After the picnic we headed to Damascus and a campground there. The road was pretty straight (we avoided the highway and took the "old" road), but would go through all the little towns on the way, and they were all fascinating. Lots and lots of potholes, and speed bumps which are completely invisible until you are on the other side (minus some luggage and a helmet maybe!). To the left the Golan Heights seemed to have snow on them, even though as I mentioned previously it was very hot down on the plains where we were.

Nearing Damascus we were more and more reminded of Cairo, lots of traffic, noise, heat, confusion and more heat. With a few wrong turns and a small sightseeing tour we found the camping, which turned out to be a real haven, a bit noisy but excellent camping, with a heafty european price tag. Oh, well, it is still cheaper than a hotel.
We settled down for the night, cooked some dinner together with Francesco and Manuela (they cooked, we ate), and enjoyed the cooler night air.

The following day we had a leisurely breakfast before heading into town in a taxi, no-one wanted to drive in this mess. We had all survived Cairo and weren't eager for a repetition. The first order of business was cashing some American Express travelers checks, as Manuela and Francesco needed money. The main bank said no, they couldn't cash American Express Travelers checks because of the embargo the U.S. had placed on Syria. So we decided to try the Amex office in town. Guess what, American Express Syria, would not cash their own checks. Unbelievable. We where all completely speechless, oh, well. The next stop an ATM machine, where they managed to get some money. After that we headed for the Souks and Old town.

The souks are something really spectacular. A high ceiling encloses the whole area with shops on either sides selling everything imaginable. What struck us the most, not just in the souks but in Damascus in general is how "real" it all is. There is little external influence so everything here is "natural" for a lack of a better description. There is little if any tourism, and everyone is very open and friendly, even more than the Egyptians who all (to a man) would say "Hello you are Welcome", hey why not, they (the egyptians) know that foreigners pay double what the locals pay, right! The Syrians are much more natural and less annoying, making it a truly enjoyable place to just walk around and enjoy the sights and sounds.

We spent two days walking around the souks, soaking in the sights and sounds (not to mention the smells). Cecilia and Francesco together with Manuela spent a couple of hours purchasing some copper serving plates. In the end they got the price down more than 60% from the opening bid and they bought 4 plates. 1 for us and three of varying sizes for them. They already offered to take our plate back to Switzerland for us as we could not have carried it. Our first souvenier on this trip!

On our second night in town we enjoyed an excellent dinner in the Old Town of Damascus, at the restaurant Jabri House. The eating area is in a large courtyard with a fountain and tons of fans. They also have a patio and it is frequented mostly by locals. The food is excellent and served very quickly. I recommend the "House Chicken" which is heavenly. Oh, and it is all very reasonably priced. For 4 people we spent 800 Syrian Pounds around 18Sfr. Including a water pipe which Francesco had to enjoy by himself as no-one else smoked. By the way, that is another thing that is endemic, everywhere you go there are restaurants or cafe's where waterpipes are smoked (nearly always by men only). Nevertheless it was a very enjoyable evening. Another quick tip, if anyone ever comes this way, make sure you plan to spend at least one evening wandering around the old town, it is really delightful with lots of little alleys, and byways. A bit touristy (when I said that there were few if any tourists, I meant West European tourists, as there are quite a bit "local" arabian/mid-eastern tourists), but well worth it. At night the heat is tolerable and the people are all out, not to mention the lighting which gives the whole town a little of the 1001 Nights feel.

Now it is time to move on, we are headed out in the morning, we will be going northwards, and what awaits us no-one knows.