BootsnAll Travel Community

Hi everyone. My gf and I are planning on spending 6 or 7 weeks in the middle east starting late March of this year. We're starting out in Istanbul and then travelling overland to Syria via Cappadocia. I'm okay with plans for Turkey, as I've been there before and will (mostly) be taking my gf back to my favourite parts.

As for Syria and Jordan, I really only have what I've gathered from reading guidebooks and other posts here. We have 4-6 weeks for the two countries and a rough schedule of things that I think would be nice to do follows:

Aleppo - 4 Days
Latakia - 1 Day
Hamah - 2 Days
Krak Des Chevaliers - 1 Day
Palmyra - 2 Days
Damascus - 4 Days

Kerak - 1 Day
Wadi Rum - 3 Days (two hiking, one on a jeep tour)
Petra - 3 Days
Amman - 1 Day
Dead Sea visit - 1 Day

Beyond the stuff above, there are a few other things I'm thinking about:

Lebanon - We'd like to go, but the decision will probably have to wait as the political situation there looks pretty volatile at the moment.

Jerash - I've seen some pictures and it looks nice, but I'm not convinced it'll be the best use of time after having already been to Ephesus and Palmyra

Eastern Deserts - Given how much of the tourism is concentrated in the western parts of Syria and Jordan I think it would be interesting to get off the beaten path a bit somewhere out east. But where? And how?

What else? - The above schedule takes under four weeks, even with some travel days thrown in, so we clearly have some more time to work with, especially if we don't go to Lebanon. Anyone have other suggestions?

I'm really interested in the history of the Crusades (would love to go and visit Hattin, but, to my surprise, I discovered that it's not in Syria, but Israel) and am also big on hiking (though the gf won't want anything too challenging.)

Any advice you have would be most welcome

Syria

I found Syria in particular to be a difficult country to get off the beaten track in. Mostly, there's just not a lot of information available. When I asked a similar question, this is the answer I got, which was helpful. To get to some of them, you'll have to hire a drivier, but Syria's cheap, so it's not a huge expense. Be sure to negotiate.

Some spots I enjoyed:
- Qasr al Heir al Sharki - It's a castle. In the the middle of the desert, about halfway between Palmyra and Raqqa. Beautiful spot, and it's just a little bizarre, because there is absolutely no source of water anywhere nearby...I seem to recall being told about 40 km.

- Rasafeh - If you're going to the castle above, Rasafeh is in the same area, though much closer to Raqqa. In some respects, it's just an abandoned city, but it's a mix of Roman, Byzantine and Ummayad influences, and I found it to be a great city to wander around. One of the things I loved about historic sites in Syria is that there's almost no one around, and no one tells you where you can a can't go. Also, aside from Palmyra, there isn't a great deal of restoration work, so everything feels a great deal more authentic.

- Euphrates River - We just stopped at one spot along the banks, and I've got to say it's the most impressive river I've seen. The thing is massive, and, almost unbelievably, it's clean. It's one of the great rivers of civilisation, so I kind of regret not going along it a bit more, or staying in either Deir or Raqqa to see a bit more.

Things I missed that you might like:
- Qalaat al Saladin - you mention an interest in Crusader history, so this is probably a good spot, as a glimpse at the other side.

Things we did that I don't recommend:
- Apamea and the Dead Cities - the drive for this trip was great, in a kind of terrifying way, as it involved driving along some pretty obscure roads along the eastern slopes of the anti-Lebanon mountains. But the actual attractions were, umm, dull. Apamea was suggested to us as "better than Palmyra." It's not. All that's left there is the columned street, and while it contrasts nicely with Palmyra in that there's grass and flowers, the colours just aren't all that memorable. The dead cities were just some random ruins, nothing special.

Some other general notes:
- Hama's a good base for day-trips, as the two main backpacker hotels (the Cairo and the Riyadh) are very competitive so they're cheap (even by Syrian standards), and offer reasonably priced day tours by private car.

- There may be some things in southern Syria worth a look. It's not well travelled, since most people just take a bus between Damascus and Amman.

I'll post again if I come up with anything else.

Jordan

quote:

Jerash - I've seen some pictures and it looks nice, but I'm not convinced it'll be the best use of time after having already been to Ephesus and Palmyra

Both Palmyra and Jerash have their points, and I thought they were both a million times better than Ephesus. I think the sheer size of Jerash makes it worth the trip, and the hippodrome is something to see that the other two lack (OK, Ephesus technically has a hippodrome, but it's just a couple of lumps of stone now).

We also really liked Dana village. It's a beautiful spot and just has an ancient feel to it, yet it's still a living village. It's about halfway between Karak and Petra. It does see a number of visitors but not massive numbers or anything.

One thing I would have liked to do, but skipped because of budget restrictions, is to just hire a car and drive (or be driven) the length of the King's Highway. Most of Jordan's tourist attractions lie along this route, but when you go by public transit, they all run up and down the country along the desert highway (just a boring, modern, flat road) and hop off at the appropriate exit.

I would definetly recommend Lebanon. Get your visas ahead of time and get a private driver from Syria or Lebanon. There are no organized tours that I was able to find because of the current (ongoing...) situation. Every single person I travelled with last year in Syria and Jordan also went to Lebanon. Some for one day only, some a whole week. It is worth visiting, and I would recommend more like a week long visit. Very important is to have multiple entry visas for Syria so you can go back in.
( you can go around this if you make your own group of 3 or more and you have a travel agent that will get you a free tourist visa...possible but too complicated)
The situation in Lebanon, just as in the whole of ME, looks significantly differnt when you get there from what you see on TV or hear when you're here. On the other hand things can turn "complicated" there so I would not recommend flying directly in Beirut as airline tickets are hard and expensive to change.
If you travel with a Canadian passport you should have no problems getting visas at the border for both Lebanon and Jordan, but for the sake of saving time at the borders, just get the visas ahead.

Lebanon will not be cheap, think around 100USD/night hotels. Food and atractions are not expensive. Price for drivers will vary significantly from one agency to another. By the way forget about driving there. It is very hectic!


I would also recomemnd at least a night in Dead Sea resort. Pricey but worthwhile.

2Wanderers is right about Dana reserve. If you are into nature you may want to book a tour there.

With 4 - 6 weeks you may have time to swing into Egypt!!!!!

Thanks very much for your suggestions!

Raqqa, including Qasr al Heir al Sharkiand especially hanging around near the Euphrates sound like great ideas. I'd already planned on visiting Qalaat al Saladin while in Latakia; the time around the crusades was perhaps even more interesting from a Saracen perspective than a Frankish one...

Dana sounds fabulous! I'd read about it in your (2wanderers) blog, but it had already slipped my mind.

And thanks for the suggestions about Lebanon Travler_2007. If we were there today we'd probably go, but with the constitutional/political crisis there not looking to get better any time soon we'll have to see. Fortunately we're entirely flexible in that respect, as we're flying into Istanbul and out of Amman.

Thanks again for your advice.

I also recommend not missing Jerash, it has it's own vibe and flavor and is definitely worth seeing. (Plus I had the best falafel of my whole Middle East trip from a food stall in the village next to the site.)

I wouldn't spend 4 days in Damascus, maybe add a day to Aleppo? I'm jealous of your itinerary, I had only 8 days each in Jordan and Syria and I easily could have spent double the time in each country.

2Wanderers pretty much speaks for both of us.
But, I should add, if your gf is at all interested in shopping at the souqs, Damascus is definitely the best bet. We went in the opposite direction, and I had been told that Aleppo has one of the best souqs in the world, so I held off on buying much in Damascus, and quite regretted it. In Damascus, there were so many locals, that we almost blended in, except for that fact that we didn't. By that I mean, we really weren't touted. We were pretty much treated like the locals, who do their daily shopping there. Pretty sure we were charged more for what we bought than a local, but I didn't feel ripped off the way we did in Egypt. And not at all harassed. There are definitely touts in Aleppo, and it just wasn't as nice.

That said, the souq in Aleppo does have some of the finest architecture, and is absolutely worth a visit if just to check that out - if you know what caravanserai (?) are (basically the markets/resting points along the silk road), you can imagine a large one of these sort of evolving over time into a large modern-ish market - some covered, some open-air. I believe the souq is as old (or almost) as the city itself, which claims to be (along with Damascus and probably a couple of others), to be the oldest continually inhabited city on earth.
Also in Aleppo, there is a really amazing Armenian church in the old Christian quarter. Some really amazing paintings (including the coolest judgement painting I've ever seen), and fascinating history.


Latakkia - not sure what you're expecting there, but we were disappointed. I seem to recall reading something that made me want to go there, but the only part of that side trip that was at all worthwhile was the train ride to Aleppo - best train ride ever! I think we paid about $5 total for first class seats, (which were actually first class), and the most amazing scenery!

Jerash - I loved Jerash. While there were a few tourists, including a couple of bus loads, the site is so huge, that it was barely noticeable. The show they put on was rather interesting (at the hippodrome, they do a demonstration of chariot races, legions, and gladiators), and the bagpipes definitely added character. Since we did the reverse trip than you, by the time we got to Ephesus, it was really just an overcrowded, over-marketed just-another-ruin kind of place. At Jerash you can walk pretty much anywhere.
Oh, and if you read our blog, you'll know that that's the town where we were invited home for lunch by the friendliest, most hospitable gentleman!

ah shucks. now I want to go back.


ok, now I realize I haven't actually contributed to the 'where else to go' idea... but hopefully the post isn't totally in vain.

So I'm not gonna reccomend a 'spot', because it seems you've been well taken care of. But I will remind you that the best thing to do in any Middle Eastern country is to sit in a local coffee house and just sip. They should have fantastic pastries and maybe ice cream...sit with your girlfriend, watch the TV (which will no doubt be playing Melody Arabia or Melody Hits [google both if you want they are the MTV of the Arab world]) Have them add different syrups and treats to your coffee and have conversations with locals.
Seriously it's about as authentic as it gets.
Watch the dynamics of the coffee house. The woman who sits alone smoking and working ...the men who sit alone doing the same, the girlfriends that snuck in there for a quick meet inbetween classes, the husbands escaping their wives. It's the bar scene of the Islamic world. It's a lot of fun when you get into it.

You guys rock!

Thanks very much for every one of your suggestions and comments.

We're getting really excited for the trip... Two more weeks of work, and 22 days 'til departure. Can't wait!

Well, I guess I'll have to go back and visit Jerash - I missed it!

If you like castles, then rent a care out of Amman or Madaba & do a couple-day drive. Kerak and Shobak are great, but there's no need to spend a night there. Also, you'll probably need a car to get to Dana.

But it looks like you've already left, so hoping that you're having a great time!

quote:

Also, you'll probably need a car to get to Dana.

It's not readily accessible by public transit - though it is possible - but it's easy, and fairly inexpensive, to take a taxi from Petra. Our hotel arranged a private car, and I believe it was 11 JD. We were able to get to Amman by bus without much difficulty, though I wouldn't want to do the reverse trip.