Following on from Hi From Aleppo.

Besides Alicia , I met many other interesting people in Syria:

Sasha, the middle-aged Russian journalist who added a shot of gin to her morning Syrian coffee at Saint Simeon’s. On the tour we also visited Krake Shamass, the Valley of Death at Qatura, the Basilica of Muchabk (next to a military area) and a hilltop temple with statues that bore a passing resemblance to Mount Nemrut in Adiyamon Province, Turkey. The area we visited was full of rocks, similar to Ireland’s Aran Islands. At one place I fell and I was very lucky my hands hit the rocks the same time as my nose, causing grazes but nothing more. The day after the tour Sasha was hand in hand with a local ‘tourist-hunter’ at a cafe near the citadel.

Dominic, the recent Arts/Law graduate and Bombers supporter from Melbourne who had previously helped Texas death row inmates. He came to Aleppo from Beirut where, the previous night, he had visited an over the top, outrageously expensive and hip nightclub. The 10% alcohol beer imported from Denmark did not tempt Dominic on this occasion.

Rick, the Vancouverite travelling with his wife. They are graphic designers visiting the Middle East after studying arts courses in Italy and Greece. Rick told a great story about meeting a CIA agent on a Greek ferry. The agent didn’t tell Rick that he was an agent, just all his movements, speech patterns, looks and circumstances lead Rick to this conclusion. After this story I guessed that Rick was from Vancouver. He asked me, “How did you know?” I started telling him “Because of your speech, the way you walked, etcetera.” And then I told him he had previously stated he was from Vancouver!

Sameer, the tour driver and brother of the hostel owner, Ussama. In the hostel and on the tour to settlements north of Aleppo we chatted about almost everything including the pressure to get married in Syria, the potential for illness from the stone quarry dust and the border dispute between Turkey and Syria. The Syrian government still officially recognises Antakya (Antakia) and Iskenderun (Iskandaroun) as part of Syria.

Click on the map to see a larger version.

Selam and the other hostel workers.

The Italian couple, the female of whom illustrated children’s books. With them I chatted about the political and media situations in Italy.

Antje, the German lady who Alicia had met in Lebanon. Antje was fresh from being entertained in the Lebanese mountains by a Maronite (?) priest and his family. One evening the three of us ate dinner at an Aleppian restaurant. The local red wine tasted like dessert wine and the bottle was placed in an ice bucket but the kebabs were good!
The next morning we eventually made it to Aleppo’s Christian Quarter where an old truck with angels on the back grabbed our attention. The truck looked as though it was a hearse. At one stage church bells intermingled with a neighbouring mosque’s call to prayer.

The Japanese couple I shared the taxi ride from Aleppo to Antakya with. The man was in the middle of a two year Arabic language learning stint in Damascus and the woman had previously visited Egypt 6 or 7 times but never Turkey or Syria. At the border, dozens and dozens of passengerless Turkish buses were waiting to cross into Syria. I guess they were going to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, to help with Hajj pilgrimage logistics. Antakya bus station (otogar) seemed very quiet. I guess cars weren’t constantly tooting their horns like they were in Aleppo.

Other random points:
* The streets of Aleppo teemed with soldiers in uniform, particularly on the holiday Friday
* I found a fresh sugarcane juice shop near the Christian Quarter
* One shop in the souq (bazaar, pazar) sold fresh ginger
* The weather for the whole trip was sunny but cool
* With the clear weather, the views from the citadel were much nicer than on my visit two years previous
* For myself or other people I brought back from Syria sweets, biscuits, Saudi dates, flat bread, two spice mixes, pita bread, Arabic coffee, cashews, almonds, shell-less pumpkin seeds, a small can of pineapple and duty-free bottles of tequila and vodka. Most of these items were either unavailable or more expensive in Mersin.

I’m back in Syria again. I write ‘again’ because this is my 4th visit. I’ve now visited Syria as many times as I’ve visited Australia, believe it or not!

Ah, Syria, the country still obsessed with the Lambada tune. When cars reverse and mobile phones ring, out comes Lambada – I like it.

East of Adana on the bus from Mersin to Antakya I saw two interesting things:
1) At a roadside stop and on two different bridges there were soldiers observing the traffic. This military presence is unusual for around Adana. I don’t recall seeing it before. I wonder if the military received a tip-off for something.

2) Six or seven Turkish Red Crescent (Kizilay) trucks in random intervals passed us travelling west in the opposite lane. I (again) wonder if the trucks were coming from delivering aid to Iraq. I’ve never seen Red Cross trucks before.

In Antakya, on a previously vacant plot of land, what seemed like hundreds of utes and small trucks were parked. In between the trucks were hundreds of men and hundreds of calves (young cattle). My guess is the cattle were being bought and sold to be killed for the Sacrifice Holiday which will begin on the 20th. Funnily, I again hope to be in Syria then.

The taxi across from Antakya to Aleppo was only USD $10. This time I came with Zead. Unfortunately we could not complete the Turkish border procedures before the officials went on their 12 pm lunch break. Also at the border were several busloads of Macedonian Muslims heading to Mecca for the Hadj religious pilgrimage. The men and women looked very pale compared to the Turkish and Syrians.

Finally we exited the Turkish border. At the Syrian border, some bureaucracy and USD $30 later I recieved my Syrian visa. To obtain a Syrian visa one must change the USD into Syrian pounds. You can’t just pay with pounds, even if you already have them!

So far in Aleppo I’ve checked into the Spring Flower Hostel (where I stayed two years ago), walked right around the fort and drunk a fresh fruit juice cocktail at the juice shop where I first met Bangali and Celine more than 1 year ago. Unfortunately, Bangali, Celine and Yuko are not in Aleppo but I hope to see them in a few weeks. I will, however, see Alicia, who should be arriving from Tartus later tonight.

I’ve had enough pan pipe music in the Internet cafe, so I’m leaving…

Besides the wedding, other notable points from my trip to Syria were:

– Celine and Bangali’s wonderful cooking. The tomato soup and African peanut chicken dish were exquisite!

– On Saturday we visited the sight of Saint Simeon just out of Aleppo where the ruined cathedral, including St. Simeon’s pillar are located.

– Shopping! After visiting Saint Simeon, we went shopping in the centre of Aleppo for goodies to bring back to Turkey. I bought Cashew nuts (not found in Mersin), Arabic coffee, Syrian flat bread, Saudi dates and 6 kilos of gourmet Aleppian sweets.

– Rain poured all day Sunday. The taxi back to Antakya attempted to surf the puddles on the road several times.

– At the border I purchased 1-litre bottles of Kahlua and Tia Maria for the bargain price of 13 Euros each. I don’t know why I chose 2 coffee liqueurs when I already have homemade Kahlua maturing at home. I guess I had coffee on the brain. My receipt given to me by the very friendly shop worker not only included the 2 bottles but also 3 cartons of Marlboro cigarettes. Hmmm… I wonder if tax-free cigarettes are smuggled into Turkey. Of course not…

On the weekend I travelled to Aleppo to see friends Bangali and Celine again. The journey there on Friday consisted of a bus to Antakya (10,000,000 TRL) followed by a taxi to Aleppo (USD $15 or 750 Syrian pounds or 22,500,000 TRL or 22.50 YTL). The visa at the border now costs the equivalent of USD $32 versus the $30 from last year.

That night we, along with Yuko, Bangali and Celine’s Japanese neighbour, were to attend the wedding reception of their landlord’s son. He was marrying the daughter of the owner of Aleppo’s 2nd largest hotel, the Pullman Al Shahba. The reception was to begin at 10, yes, 10 pm!

After some difficulty finding the Aleppo Club, we eventually arrived at the venue. Through the door, past the jacket counter and up the dual twirling staircases the bride and groom’s families greeted us at the half tacky, half sophisticated function room entrance. The ‘handshakes’ by a few of the women were the limpest I have ever felt. Culture, I guess. I did not felt ultra comfortable, not knowing anybody whose hard earned $$$ were paying for my entertainment tonight. Still, I was very much looking forward to the experience.

The four of us were placed at a table with 3 middle-aged German couples (the landlord was first married to a now deceased German lady, so the children are half-German). This was the foreigner table, located in the corner close to the drink stand from where the waiters obtained the alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Out of respect, I remained completely sober.

Approximately 150-200 formally dressed guests were seated. Most of the women did not wear headscarves and I believe it was a mixed Muslim and Christian audience. As Celine stated, the “creme de la creme” of Aleppian society were in attendance. Trade wise, I would love to be on a friendly basis with all the business people in the room.

Food
Salads, cheese and cold meat platters covered the tablecloths. For an event beginning at 10 pm, the 5 courses lasted well into the night. A copy of the menu is below. Even though the international audience of the reception was just one table with only one native English speaker, the menu is in both Arabic and English.

Fresh dill and rind less lemon slices complemented the fish well. The lemon sorbet, I was told, pushed the previously eaten food down, creating an appetite for the following courses. I don’t recall eating truffles before, not in Syria, anyway!

The dessert consisted of a flat apple pie with ice cream along, a piece of wedding cake and exotic fruits. The fruits included delicious custard apple (new to my 3 companions), pineapple, an out of season hard but edible mango, kiwi fruit and the usual banana and apple.

Music, Ceremony and Dancing
Near the start of the evening, a violinist played a few tunes to add to the atmosphere.

The music the couple arrived to was actually the same classical tune my work uses for its radio advertisements. I do not recall its name, but it is not a tune I would normally associate with either radio commercials or weddings.

Around the 3 layers of wedding cake, glorified sparklers lit up the central area and grabbed everyone’s attention.

The second live music act was a singer who sang old European standards, largely French, but also the odd English, Spanish and Italian song.

The third, main and final music group included a guitarist, percussionist, keyboardist and singer. This quartet played music very similar to the music at many Turkish weddings, a kind of Arabesque. According to Bangali (who is fluent in Arabic) the singer entertained the audience very well with his singing, quips and remarks.

Unsurprisingly, the couple were the first on the dance floor. Following them were immediate family couples and then other couples joined fray, waltzing to the European standards.

With the Arabesque, more of the guests (including myself) went on the dance floor and danced similarly to the Turkish style I had seen so many times before. I was actually surprised at how many people did dance. I expected the affair to be a bit more conservative.

At various times of the night, some guests ululated (thanks Tom) as a sign of appreciation for the wedding couple.

By 3 am the night was winding down and the four of us joined many of the other guests in exiting the building, saying good bye to the wedding couple and immediate family on the way. Waiting outside for the newly married husband and wife was a Lebanese number plated stretch limousine. I guess the vehicle was going to head to the Pullman hotel, where the husband and wife would enjoy their night together in the penthouse suite …… THE END

I will write more about the trip to Syria and catch up with my emails soon, I promise!