RAIN THUNDERSTORMS WIND CLOUDS!!! whats going on here. friday (holy day) so there is nothing going on a luckily this internet cafe is open! was going to watch the camel racing today, but the roads are washed out and i cant go anywhere! so just chilling in Hama, smoking shisha and drinking chai and playing backgammon! yesterday, visited the Krak des Chevalliers and old crusader castle and possibly one of the best castles in the world. What a site! see a few of th...

Hey there guys! thanks for all the wicked messages - much appreicatted, i will try and reply to all individually - but if not - thanks very much! I'm in Hama, the 4th biggest city in Syria, it's just east of the coastal mountains and a very cool town. It's famous as some of you will know (like matty j) for the Noira, or waterwheels which turn in the river, while at the same time lifting the water with them, in order to elevate the water to irrigate the surroundi...

salaam a likum from aleppo!! have been 2 days up here in the north of syria after hitchhiking my way up from palmyra, along the way stopping at some famous roman ruins in zabadeyah, a little off the beaten track, in fact so far off the beaten track that when we stopped to wave to a few kids (they always laugh and wave at you) that when we walked off the kids (5-6yr olds) started pelting us with stones!!! Earlier in the day we left deir a zur, after i went for a...

also i forgot! hi to uncle and julie! thanks for the messages! i'm off now to find a hammam (turkish steam bath) had one in damascus after a big day sightseeing - what a way to relax, hot steam, scrub, massage! all for 2 pounds! what a deal! finished with chai and shisha pipe!!!mmmmmm highly recommended! p.s. matt, i have lost weight on new syrian diet, i will look like a matchstick next to you!

hello again and thanks for all the great messages! very nice of you!!! i've spent another day in damascus and yesterday arrived in palmyra. to reach palmyra is a 3 hour drive across bleak and barren dessert. i spotted the occassional bedouin tent and the old man with his goats eating what ? i have no idea! luckily our luxury coach was airconditioned (luxury coach ride cost 1:10 pounds)!!! and just as we reached the 3 hour mark the oasis of damascus comes into v...