Headed off for Syria today. We were supposed to visit Jaresh, a Greco-Roman ruin, but the tour operator obviously cocked up as our non-English speaking driver took us straight to Syria. The only border crossing between Jordan and Syria is at Ramtha/Der'a. Ramtha, on the Jordanian side, is about 88 kilometres north of Amman, and Der'a is 100 kilometers south of Damascus. Border control was an anticlimax really as I was expecting to be ushered into a small, darkened room with a wet floor and car battery, for several hours of interrogation. Instead it consisted of Jordanian departure stamp, drive, check of stamp by Jordanian border guard, drive, check of stamp by Syrian border guard, drive, Syrian entry stamp, drive!! But, to be fair, the Syrians kindly gave us a free single entry visa so we're extremely chuffed that we spent £80 getting our visas in London!! Lots of waiting around but we finally got in and headed off for Bosra. Bosra is an ancient city in southern Syria and is a major archaeological site which has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The settlement was first mentioned in the documents of Tutmose III and Akhenaton (14th century BC) and was the first Nabatean city in the 2nd century BC. Of the city which once counted 80,000 inhabitants, there remains today only a village settled among the ruins. The second century Roman theatre is the only monument of its type with the upper gallery in the form of a covered portico which has been integrally preserved. It was fortified between 481 and 1231 AD.Nabatean and Roman monuments, Christian churches, mosques and Madrasahs are present within the half ruined enceinte of the city.

Our guide said we'd need 90 minutes to see the sights. Three hours later, having been followed by kids keen to show us around, we finally set off for Damascus.