Venus & Ulysses 2004

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Home » Archives » May 2004 » Ruins

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05/19/2004: "Ruins"


It was quite unexpected that there would be an Internet cafe right next to the entrance to our hotel in Hama, but there was, so here's a little post. It seems much less likely that we'll find one out in the desert in Palmyra the next two nights.

This morning we picked up our rental car, a dark green Renault Clio, and headed out from Aleppo to see various ruins. The challenge was that there was almost no Roman script with place names or road names anywhere we went, and invariably we had to ask somebody directions, who would either wave and point, or perhaps speak in French. The best example was when we arrived this evening in Hama, where we were completely lost. We stopped in front of a candy store downtown and asked how to get to our hotel -- addressing a kid behind the counter, the owner waved his hands and pointed, and then the kid got in our car and guided us the two blocks from the candy store to the hotel. We went back later and got some really good candy.

We saw the Citadel of San Simeon, ruins of a Christian chapel from the 5th century. The monk who lived there sat atop high pillars for the last 36 years of his life. All that was left of this pillar was a large boulder -- apparently pieces of it have been claimed as souvenirs over the years.

Then we drove to Ebla, an ancient city from the 3rd century BC. It's been being excavated continuously for the last 40 years. You can see where the city walls used to be -- wheat fields now gradually slope up to the top of them.

Then we went to Apamea, a Roman ruin from 64 BC. They set up a colonnade which extended for about a mile. Many of the columns are still standing, and it's a little surprising to see them all of a sudden. It was a particularly nice place to take pictures, especially late in the afternoon, and we'll see soon how they came out.

Ray suggested that there should be "tomato tourism" -- all the tomatoes we've had in Syrian salads have been top-notch, and for people who appreciate that, this is a great place to come.