Greetings from Beirut - again there are no library pictures of Lebanon so will update when i return to the UK. Well - the drive out of Damascus was quite peaceful - being a Friday morning - but we quickly found crowds & chaos at the border. Going through the Syrian border was reasonably straightforward - but there's a SP550 exit fee - bearing in mind i go back there on Sunday & leave again on Monday..... Anyway, the Lebanese border was even more chaotic...

Greetings from Damascus and - as you can see, there are no library pictures of Syria. Well, Palmyra was fascinating - it covers a large area with various "bits" to see - two lots of tombs; a central collonade; the Temple of Bel and then - away on a hill top - the Citadel - an Arabic fortress dating from the 17th century from which you can get grand views over Palmyra and the surrounding desert. The museum in Palmyra is also reasonably interesting. Th...

Easy flight to Damascus - the 4 and a half hours seemed to go quite quickly - off the plane to meet the guide at immigration as per my instructions - only there wasn't a guide. Well, there were lots of guides meeting lots of tourists bar this one. So i waited an hour or so & when it looked like i'd be the last one left i went through by myself - quite easy except the customs official seemed unduly concerned about my profession - pity it isn't anything colourf...

Staying in the Kempinski in Sofia - which is posh but out of the way & a long trek to the city centre. The Panorama Restaurant on the 19th floor has - inevitably - good views of the city & surrounding hills. I had dinner there on my first night - some lovely turbot (from the Black Sea) (i assume they farm it) - and then for dessert a plate full of gorgeous ripe cherries & some red grapes - a fine (Bulgarian) Sauvignon Blanc to wash it all down - magi...

On leaving Veliko Tarnovo - and sadly having to say goodbye to the captivating Liliana (who is studying finance at the university in Veliko Tarnovo and working in the Hotel Yantra during the holidays) (and who kindly chatted to me & answered my daft questions about life in Bulgaria) - we set off for the rather unlikely sounding city of Plovdiv - Bularia's second-largest city... Plovdiv reminds me of the Central Asian rice-based dish "plov" - and it...