So I have been MIA from civilization all all forms of my normal life for the past ten days as the nineteen of us wandered the deserts of eastern turkey and Syria. So instead of giving you boring details about the entire trip, i will instead tell the story through pictures (Read: too lazy to write 5 pages describing what we did)
1. Our trip started off rough, we had to wake up early and take a bus in the pouring rain through the windy roads of the Taurus mountains... we lost many breakfasts on that leg of the journey. BUT we ended up in the town of Anemurium, a huge complex of roman ruins, from the 4th century BC. and i took this fun picture on the pebble beach.
2. We then ventured to an old Armenian castle. Also in the middle of the mountains surrounded by nothing but farmland. After the climb in flats (I always come prepared...) we lost half of our group and debated leaving without them...
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| Sylvia in front of her castle! |
3. Our destination for the night was Urfa, a wonderful small town in Eastern turkey. We got to explore the town, the markets, and made friends with the local children - who loved to show off for us.
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They liked to show us how they
could leap over the water. |
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Our two best friends.
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The Spice Market
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4. We stopped in this rural settlement to see the oldest university known in history. and got to ride CAMELS - in costume. dream fulfilled.
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| ruins of first university |
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| my camel |
6. Next Stop, Antioch (now Antakya). We visited the Cave-Church of St. Peter, where the Christians used to meet in secret. The Pope made it a pilgrimage site, so alllll my sins have been absolved. Then we visited the Mosaic Museum and saw some very interesting mosaics...
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| Altar at Cave-Church of St. Peter |
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| "The Happy Hunchback" |
7. After our two nights in Antakya in the horrible Mosaic Hotel, we got on the bus and headed towards Syria.... where I was stopped at the border and mocked for my laundered residency permit... but then we drove past the route of the silk road on our way to our destination of aleppo!
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the BFGs so happy to be at the silk road..
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8. Aleppo was the first city we visited in Syria. It was crazy to see all the covered women, and unfortunately we turned it into a competition to see who could take the best pic in the stealthiest way...
But we saw the Citadel of Aleppo:
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| I have to take pictures of crazy asian ladies' outfits.. |
9. Another visit to a mental hospital... I think the professors are trying to tell us something.
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| Kari was left behind.. |
10. Marisa, Charles, and I got a rooftop tour of Aleppo ... SO ALADDIN
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| View of Citadel from the rooftops |
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| a sea of satellite dishes |
11. Aleppo wouldn't be complete without visiting a mosque... woof.
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| They made us put on these awful skirts and head coverings... |
12. Visited a few ruins of old temples/churchs, and the Church of St. Simeon on a day trip outside the city of Aleppo.
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| Ruins of an old church |
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Man thought we were going
to destroy something |
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| Amurrika |
13. Back in the city, we got to explore the souk (the market) and saw all that Syria had to offer. they had EVERYTHING.
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| the Victoria's Secret of Syria.. |
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| creepy headscarf mannequins |
14. Next, on the way from Aleppo to Damascus, we stopped at this awesome place in the mountains that was totally out of indiana jones. we went through a big passage in the rock where apparently some Christians used to hide from persecution. and then they established a convent there later on. It felt sooo good to be going to a church - a woman even recited the Our Father in Aramaic. It was beautiful and a much needed break from the mosques.
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| my sweet ride |
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the sweet rock gully
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15. Damascus was a huge change from Aleppo; a much bigger city with a lot more going on. It also had a lot more pollution... No wonder women cover their faces to refrain from inhaling the toxins in the air..
But we went to the Grand Mosque - also donning yoda cloaks - and went through the market place after visiting the biggest museum in Damascus - lots of artifacts.
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| Our Yoda get-ups |
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| courtyard of the Grand Mosque |
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greatest eclairs one can find in the Middle East
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Overall, the trip was a great success despite the fact that the 18 of us spent over 50 hours in a bus together. We managed to get through it without killing each other and got to see some pretty amazing stuff... and let's face it, the trip was better than getting back to class and doing work.
Midterms and Papers, here I come...
gule gule!
