20th May 2010 Damascus is the world's oldest constantly inhabited city (5,000 years). Three years after the death of Mohammed, Damascus fell to the Muslim Arab army, ending a thousand years of rule by western powers as diverse as Egypt, Greece and Rome. In 1516 Damascus fell under Turkish rule and in 1918 it was the turn of the French. It was only at the end of the Second World War that Damascus actually became the capital of an independent Syria. Constant uph...

19th May 2010 Palmyra to Damascus Up early we drove to Palmyra to visit another set of impressive ruins. Palmyra was an important city located in an oasis 215 km northeast of Damascus. It had long been a vital caravan stop for travellers crossing the Syrian desert and was known as the Bride of the Desert. Palmyra is the most easterly part of the Roman Empire. They never really wanted to go but Hadrian enjoyed travel and when Palmyra decided to challenge...

18th May 2010 We began journey early and stopped at Hama where there were 13th Century Waterwheels. At one time, medieval Hama contained more than thirty of the waterwheels, today there are only 17 . Had breakfast and did some food shopping. We drove for four hours to Crac des Chavaliers . We had a guided tour of the Crusader castle once described by Lawrence of Arabia as "the finest castle in the world". The castle itself is in very good condition and mo...

16th May 2010 Aleppo Today was a long drive to Syria - 14 hours. We crossed the Syrian border and drove to Aleppo where we stayed at a local hostel. At first sight Aleppo appears to have no other purpose than to fill a dip in the landscape. It competes with Damascus for being the longest continually inhabited city in the world and can boast a commensurate level of culture and history. The recorded history alone goes back to the early second millennium BC! Al...