Syria

Our first stop was Aleppo, in the north of Syria. It's a large city (4 million) but with an old historic heart, containing a large and impressive Citadel on the hill above the medieval markets, or souks. The spice section of this was particularly aromatic, though inevitably it was the carpet sellers who were the most persuasive. Aleppo is also known for fine food, and we weren't disappointed - helped by even the most expensive restaurants in town being very affordable. 

We then continued to Hama, which has 20 large wooden water wheels along the river feeding irrigation channels, though they weren't tu

rning and making their mournful moaning sound during our stay. We arranged a driver through our hotel to take us to the very large and well preserved crusader castl

e at Crac des Chevaliers, along with several other castles along the way. Caitlin had great fun exploring all the nooks and crannies and underground passages with the aid of a torch. 

We also saw the famous Palmyra roman ruins with impressive temples and tombs, although Apamea was possibly more impressive for it's long stretch of columns along the 2km central road. 

The drive to Damascus included several Christian churches and communities still speaking Aramic. Damscus felt much busier, but had a very interesting museum, and the souks beside the huge Ummayed Mosque (with lots of gold decoration around the 

courtyard) contained an excellent beaten ice cream shop.