Syria

[Heresson]

can't see

[Heresson]

...

[Heresson]

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[Heresson]

Mar Musa. This ancient monastery was abandoned, but it was brought back to life by an Italian monk - the rest of the crew is Syrian, though. You can sleep and eat there for free.

here is the cave of the sleeping brothers or whatever

[Ted Striker]

Great pics, keep em coming

[Heresson]

Originally posted by Ted Striker
Great pics, keep em coming

thanks, it means a lot to me. Don't worry, I'm running out of pictures from Syria, but still haven't posted my pics from Lebanon and Jordan, and soon I'm going to Turkey and Lebanon again, and then - perhaps - to Yemen.

[Heresson]

y

[Heresson]

u

[Ted Striker]

Originally posted by Heresson


thanks, it means a lot to me. Don't worry, I'm running out of pictures from Syria, but still haven't posted my pics from Lebanon and Jordan, and soon I'm going to Turkey and Lebanon again, and then - perhaps - to Yemen.

Have you run across any Americans in Syria or Lebanon?

[Heresson]

this same view. I just couldn't figure out which one is better.

[Heresson]

the Dead Sea - in Jordan

There are some beaches on the very north edge of the sea, and some wild beaches close to it. I've been to the beach where You had to pay, and I was disappointed - it was, I think, 5 JD (7 dolars) for one person, and there's nothing in exchange - not even a place to sit on. There were showers, but on one shower pillar there should be 4 showers I believe - only one was working.
I advise You to go a bit further south, after a merry-go-round turn right. It's dirty, and You need 2-3 bottles of mineral water to wash yourself. Keep in mind there are lots of muslim girls there, that only go up to knees into the water and wouldn't like to see your sexual organs. There are some rocks You can hide behind.

[Heresson]

Originally posted by Ted Striker


Have you run across any Americans in Syria or Lebanon?

Yup. A couple. Some of them were learning in our institute and among them was Vanessa which had Italian/east European origin, and very nice Pakistani-American girl named A'isha. Also, my friends met some American travelers, and I've seen them, but haven't talked much with them.
Oh, and there were the Americans I've met on the airport. Peggy, Yuri (or sth like this) that were teaching English here I think.

Here's Akaba.
Al-Aqaba, the only jordanian port over Red Sea, is the place where in the weekends all the young Jordanians go, sleeping wherever they can. We wanted to sleep in our car, but one police patrol told us to get lost from our place, because sleeping in a car is forbidden, but another policemen some kms away from the city have even shown us a nice place to park our car to sleep there.
The city is pretty modern and makes much bettern impression than the capital. There aren't many places to see there, though - just mamluk post-crusader castle and ruins of the first muslim city here, from VII century. There are some beaches, but unless You go outside the city, You have to pay for it - and not little. Chosing to swim away from the city has one more advantage - there's a coral reef there.

[Heresson]

Here's Amman, the capital of Jordan.

the citadel.

Amman is huge and it's easy to get lost driving a car. Especially that jordanian roads are very poorly signed, and often signs are not visible due to their age or some tree that started growing there years ago and nobody ever noticed.
But anyway, when You get to the city center You're bound to be disappointed. Amman could be at best a provincional city in Syria. It also offers little historical monuments - a few collumns in the citadel, an antical theatre, and a nympheum. There's a giant flag of Jordan (another one in Al-Aqaba) and a couple of nice mosques and churches, but in general it is barely worth even one day visit.

[Heresson]

a nice mosque in Amman

enough for now. Many more waiting - like it or not!

[Mercator]

Awesome pictures, Heresson!

How long are you staying? Is all the travelling around part of your studies or do you just have enough opportunities (and money) for holidays?