The city of Aleppo, Syria was nothing like I’ve experienced before. It was one of those rare moments after much travel, when you come across something that you cant really compare to anything else you’ve seen before. Arabic writing was everywhere, adding to the excited alien feeling I had. The buildings were all the same ‘desert-brown’ colour, stark against the deep blue sky. There was a great view of the sprawling city from the Citadel ruins.One of my highlights of Aleppo was being part of the action in the souq (Market-place). Most amusing is watching mini trucks that try to fit into the confined spaces of the narrow and enclosed souq lanes. We came across one intersection that was a mayhem of mini trucks all descending upon each other, drivers leaning out the windows shouting, stubbornly waving their fists, honking their horns, while pedestrians squeezed into any space available. Adding to the mix were the odd donkey, carts with huge loads spilling out the sides, and men balancing boxes, food, clothing, bags on their heads. There were a few amused looks shared as we all watched how these trucks would maneuver their way out of the squashed predicament!
Damascus was an interesting city with it's Islamic and Christian history. I was again drawn to the action of the souq, but also enjoyed getting lost in the back streets of the city. There, away from the noise of traffic and bustling markets, was a little insight into the lives of the residents.
Our group disbanded in Amman, which was very sad, as we had all bonded after the 2 weeks of travel together. Half of the group was leaving us, and we had 7 others joining us for the last 10 days in the desert to Cairo.
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