2006.05.11_Aleppo

After our extremely lucky hitchhike experience, we had a quick bite at a cafe across from the citadel. After lunch, I split from the group and headed back to the souk to get another necklace, took some photos of vernacular architecture, went to the main post office to buy some stamp collections, spent some time at an internet cafe, and at 16:45 I reunited with the group at the National Museum. We toured the museum for roughly an hour, saw many ancient artifacts from the region, including the Cuneiform script from Mari, one of the earliest written language of human civilization in history. For dinner we had some fried and grilled chicken, nothing fancy, but filling.

2006.05.11_Qala at' Samaan

From the bus station of Aleppo we hired a mircobus to Qala at'Samaan, the famous ruins of the four basilicas built in the Middle Age dedicated to Saint Simeon Stylites. Saint Simeon Stylites was a renowned Christian saint lived in the 4th century. He gained his fame by living and preaching on a small platform on a pillar for over 30 years, whose remains still stood in the middle of the ruins at Qala at'Samaan. The ruin was rather remote, approximately 2 hour of drive north of Aleppo. To me, the ruined archways and columns of the early Medieval basilicas were very photogenic.

We finished our visit at around 11:00. As we walked to the exit, we didn't have a clue of how we can get back to Aleppo. There didn't seem any public transportation in the area, and we were up on a hill at a distance from the highway. At the main parking lot, I decided to test our luck to hitchhike, and of course, since there were six of us it wouldn't be easy. I took a deep breathe and headed towards a big tour bus in which the driver was reading newspaper. I tried to communicate with him in English and luckily he understood my request. He led me to the tour guide and the group of Spanish tourists. They agreed to take us along all at once as they were leaving for Aleppo as well. They were not in a big group, around 15, mainly in their 50s, all looked educated and kind of wealthy. The bus was the most luxurious tour bus we had ever seen, with large comfortable chairs and a banquette seating area at the back where we could sit comfortably. Their bus even dropped by another ancient site along the way, and we were invited to go along with them to visit the sight briefly. On the bus, the group was kind enough to offer us biscuits and snacks. The bus was so comfortable that at the end we all fell asleep. When we get up we had already back at the Citadel of Aleppo.

2006.05.10_Evening in Aleppo

We ended our day with some pleasant walk in the evening. After dinner at a local eatery, we strolled through some busy retail streets before returning to Spring Flower Hostel.

2006.05.10_Aleppo Souk

Not far from the citadel is the main souk of Aleppo. It is consisted of a series of interconnected covered markets. Similar to many Middle Eastern souks, the Aleppo Souk is vast and labyrinth like. We had a tasty hot omelet. MC and I bought a few metal necklaces from a curious young vendor in the jewelery section who kept on asking us questions about Hong Kong, Canada, and so on. Everybody we talked to in Syria throughout our week-long stay in the country were very friendly and curious. Surely they didn't look like extremists of the "evil axis".

2006.05.10_Aleppo Citadel

From the Grand Mosque, we headed east and shortly arrived at the gate of the mighty citadel that sits on a hilltop overlooking the city. We crossed the moat and visited the citadel, which today largely lies in ruins. The citadel was once a powerful stronghold of the Muslims to defend their homeland against the Crusaders. Today, a number of domed stone structure remain standing.

2006.05.10_Aleppo and Grand Mosque

We arrived at Hatay at 08:00. Immediately we hopped onto another bus for Aleppo in Syria. Going through the customs and passport control was easier than I thought. Once across the border to Syria, I finally felt that I had arrived in the Middle East. Aleppo is actually quite close to the Turkish border. It was dusty, crowded, monotonous, and unique. Once we stepped out of the bus, we were immediately approached by a tourist agent, who forced us into his office. He asked where we were going to stay the night, and once he knew that we were heading to Spring Flower Hostel, he enthusiastically picked up the phone and called the hostel. At least we managed to convince him that we rather go to the hostel by foot.

We were disappointed at Spring Flower. The hostel was simply didn't live up to expectations after one has seen its photos on their website. A few minutes of rest was enough to revive our energy. We walked to the Old City towards the famous Grand Mosque of Aleppo. Before visiting the mosque, we picked up some kebabs on the way.

At the gate of the Mosque, we took off our shoes and entered the marble entrance courtyard, where pilgrims and tourist agents mingled together. Inside the mosque, we found the coffin that preserves the remains of the father of St. John the Baptist. We stayed for a while and left for the citadel to the east.