It is difficult to mark where one day ends and another begins because we really didn't get much sleep on that train.
Adana is a really lovely town, clean and quiet after the noise and heat and dust of Aleppo. We dropped our bags at a hotel and walked around. My Turkish SIM card is still not working, and it seems as if it will no longer work in a foreign phone. We took it to several shops and it worked in a Turkish phone, but not mine or Leah's.
We walked around a few parks, got a little lost and then we had to catch the 2pm train to Istanbul. We wanted a sleeper, but all the compartments were booked for the next two days so we just grit our teeth and take the standard seats. At any rate the train is much smoother than the bus, and since we can easily walk around we are pretty comfortable.
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Day 27 - Aleppo
Farhad must wake up early to apply for his visa if it is to be ready for our 9pm train from Syria to Turkey. Leila also doesn't have a visa but it is easy for Russians to get this at the border. So Leah, Leila and I sleep in and we prepare for our last stab at the market before we leave. After all is said and done we meet Farhad and Leila at the aged Baron Hotel and we catch our train out!
It is allegedly a new train, but as the car looks like it was designed and upholstered in the 70s my guess is that it is the schedule that is new. The carriage feels like an antique, with a well used mosaic tile floor and beaded shades swinging from ornate metal light shades. The rails are uneven and the train lurches just a bit too much for comfortable sleep in the chair.
Additionally we've unintentionally befriended a very chatty old American guy who has been travelling for over two years in Africa and the Middle East. I get the feeling that he's got an incredible story built up within him, and he hasn't had much of a chance to talk to people about it so we're getting a rambling and unedited version of his dialog on history and life in the world.
At the Syrian border we are awoken from whatever sleep we could have been having, and the engine detaches from the carriage. It is worthwhile to note that the engine is carrying only two carriages - ours and a dining car that only serves tea. Eventually another engine is attached, and I watch this process from within the train. This happens again at the Turkish border so I suspect this is an engine used only to shuttle carriages between borders for some weird visa regulation reason. We have a minor problem as we did not receive an exit card when we entered Syria, but when the officer learned that we crossed at Bab Al Nawas he understood, apparently regulations aren't always followed to the letter at that border crossing. I think in large part to Farhad's Arabic influence we get a warning instead of a fine.
The transfer engine detaches at the Turkish border and we must all leave the train to get our Turkish stamps. While we're doing this, another engine is attached to the train and we head off again - to arrive at Adana at 5.30 am.
It is allegedly a new train, but as the car looks like it was designed and upholstered in the 70s my guess is that it is the schedule that is new. The carriage feels like an antique, with a well used mosaic tile floor and beaded shades swinging from ornate metal light shades. The rails are uneven and the train lurches just a bit too much for comfortable sleep in the chair.
Additionally we've unintentionally befriended a very chatty old American guy who has been travelling for over two years in Africa and the Middle East. I get the feeling that he's got an incredible story built up within him, and he hasn't had much of a chance to talk to people about it so we're getting a rambling and unedited version of his dialog on history and life in the world.
At the Syrian border we are awoken from whatever sleep we could have been having, and the engine detaches from the carriage. It is worthwhile to note that the engine is carrying only two carriages - ours and a dining car that only serves tea. Eventually another engine is attached, and I watch this process from within the train. This happens again at the Turkish border so I suspect this is an engine used only to shuttle carriages between borders for some weird visa regulation reason. We have a minor problem as we did not receive an exit card when we entered Syria, but when the officer learned that we crossed at Bab Al Nawas he understood, apparently regulations aren't always followed to the letter at that border crossing. I think in large part to Farhad's Arabic influence we get a warning instead of a fine.
The transfer engine detaches at the Turkish border and we must all leave the train to get our Turkish stamps. While we're doing this, another engine is attached to the train and we head off again - to arrive at Adana at 5.30 am.
Monday, June 01, 2009
Day 26 - Crac de Chevaliers
Today we caught a bus to Hama, and then paid a driver to take us to Crac de Chevaliers - an ancient castle that was used by the Crusaders, and Saladin in the time of the Crusades. The deep history of the place is unmistakable despite all the fairly obvious reconstruction. The castle has never been taken by force, surely in large part due to the many defensive measures that still remain; deep apses for arches that 
allow both a wide field of view side to side, and extending to the floor so an archer can shot downwards too. There is a long snaking walkway with many side rooms perfect for little ambushes, and of course holes in the ceiling that both allow light and an entry for boiling oil. Lastly, the castle has two defensive walls - the outer wall is the oldest.
There is a church and a small mosque, and many strangely shaped rooms built within rooms. Altogether the castle is in great shape compared to what we have seen in Turkey, but still there is the silence of all this stonework where once it was full of soldiers!
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Day 25 - Aleppo
In the morning Farhad's mother and sister (and maybe Leila and Farhad too) prepared a traditional Aleppo breakfast for us. We had pancakes with sugar and nuts on top, cake, and many things to dip bread in. It was delicious!
We have a plan. Farhad and I will go to get his Turkish visa, see about renting a car and maybe use a bank machine. Unfortunately Syria is a land of changing regulations, and now only Syrian nationals can rent a car - Farhad does not have his license as he is living in the UAE so we are out of luck. As well, travel agencies are no longer allowed to handle the submission of passports for a visa application, so Farhad must apply in person in the next morning. To top it off I can't find an ATM on the Plus network, probably because I'm distracted by Farhad's dialog on Arabic history.
Leah and Leila have more luck shopping; Farhad and I bump into them as we pass through the market on our way to the hospital museum, as I wanted to confirm my memory of the place before I led everyone else there. So the rest of the day passes in a relaxing way, and we had dinner at the very classy Sissy house restaurant.
We have a plan. Farhad and I will go to get his Turkish visa, see about renting a car and maybe use a bank machine. Unfortunately Syria is a land of changing regulations, and now only Syrian nationals can rent a car - Farhad does not have his license as he is living in the UAE so we are out of luck. As well, travel agencies are no longer allowed to handle the submission of passports for a visa application, so Farhad must apply in person in the next morning. To top it off I can't find an ATM on the Plus network, probably because I'm distracted by Farhad's dialog on Arabic history.
Leah and Leila have more luck shopping; Farhad and I bump into them as we pass through the market on our way to the hospital museum, as I wanted to confirm my memory of the place before I led everyone else there. So the rest of the day passes in a relaxing way, and we had dinner at the very classy Sissy house restaurant.
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