Sand and Pebbles Travelogue - Reflections of Life

Train Ride to Aleppo

Posted by aim_abdullah in Labels: Syria

Aleppo, which lies about 350 km to the north of Damascus, is another interesting city worth visiting while in Syria. It is the second largest city in Syria and famous for its citadel, mosques, schools, tombs and baths. It used to be the crossroads of traders especially those in the Mediterranean region and had a major role in the development of Syria's trade especially in the early nineties. It is also said to have longest covered souk in the Middle East. During the brief visit to Aleppo (about 28 hours) – from midday Friday till 4.40 pm Saturday, we managed to visit and explored the Great Mosque (Umayyad), the Citadel and the souk as well as an evening at the new shopping mall. Had dinner at Marrybrown, a Malaysian fast food chain.

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Briefly, the Great Mosque was built by the Umayyad Caliph al Walid, and has an enormous 45-meter minaret, which is completely detached from it, built by the Seljuks in 1070. Similar to the one in Damascus, there is a large courtyard between the main entrance and the prayer hall. Inside the prayer hall and to the left of the mihrab is a finely tiled chamber that is said to hold the remains of Prophet Zakaria, father of Prophet Yahya, whose remain lies in the Umayyad mosque in Damascus.

The Aleppo Citadel, meanwhile, is a magnificent fortress and considered to be one of the oldest in the region. The present structure and designs of the Aleppo citadel is slightly different from the Cracs du Chavalier in Homs.

The Aleppo souk, unlike the Damascus one, is covered by stone archways for about 30km. This makes it the longest covered souk in the Middle East. The souk is made up of a complicated maze of narrow cobbled streets that one could easily lost oneself as one moved from shops to shops. Bought some antique lamp shades and other trinkets as souvenirs to remind me of my trip to Aleppo.

There are other interesting places that one could see in Aleppo but I had to miss it this time around because the Latakia Express bound for Damascus has sounded its siren and we have to catch it fast.

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Ancient city of Palmyra

Posted by aim_abdullah in Labels: Syria

Located about 230 km northeast of Damascus lies the ancient city of Palmyra, a great city over 2000 years ago, an important crossroads of trade and cultures between the Far East and the Mediterranean. Palmyra is one of the favorite tourist destinations in Syria where one could see the monumental ruins of a complete city and be brought face to face with the great achievements of past civilization. The magnificent remains showed the art and architecture influence of Graeco-Roman techniques with local traditions and Persian influences. The guide, Najib, when enquired told us that the buildings were built during the reign of the great Queen Zenobia.

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The ruins, covering an area of about 6 square kilometers, include Baal-Shamin Temple, Bel Temple, Arch of Triumph, the Amphitheater, the Baths, the Straight Street, the Congress Council and the Cemeteries. There were not many tourists when we were there and was informed that January is considered a low tourist season for Palmyra due to winter. However, the weather was pleasant when we were there. We also met with a group of Malaysians that were on their way to Palmyra when we stopped for coffee at one of the Baghdad Café along the highway. The highway, from Adra to Palmyra, was practically void of traffic with the exception of the occasional trucks and tourists buses. The whole trip, including the drive, takes more than 12 hours, from 8 am to 7 pm.

After visiting Petra in Jordan and Palmyra in Syria, both stands out with its own unique features. To me the main difference between the two is that in Petra, the ruins are actually carved out of mountains while those in Palmyra are built on flat land. Furthermore, Palmyra showcased an actual city in existence which one could easily visualize within the 6 km area.

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Ma'lula and Seidnaya

Posted by aim_abdullah in Labels: Syria

Went driving out of Damascus during the New Year holidays and visited Ma’lula and Seidnaya. It’s just a half day trip though! Located about 60 km out of Damascus and 1500 meters above sea level lie the picturesque town of Ma’lula, where the houses are being constructed along the face of the mountains, just like a fairy tale town of houses carved out of mountains. Aside from that, Ma’lula has its own history to tell the world and its visitors.

There are two historic Christian monasteries in Ma'lula: Saint Sergius is a Greek Catholic church dedicated to Saint Sergius while the other is a Greek Orthodox church dedicated Saint Thekla. Legend has it that St. Thekla, one of the pupils of St. Paul, was fleeing her pagan father’s guards when she found herself trapped against the face of the high rocky mountain. Her passionate prayers and tears caused the mountain to split, allowing Thekla to escape. Today Thekla’s tears trickle down into a grotto forming a pool, where believers collect water for its miraculous powers.

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The other special significant of Ma'lula is that her inhabitants still speak Aramaic, the language spoken by Christ. Only two other neighbouring villages, Jaba'din and Naj'a speak the same language. The word Ma'lula means "entrance" in Aramaic. Heard the language being spoken when we were at a souvenir shop browsing when the shop owner spoke with a delivery man. It really sounds different from Arabic, Latin or others that we are familiar with.

On the way back to Damascus, we decided to take another route from the way that we came which enabled us to visit another town, Seidnaya, which has another historical landmark. Seidnaya lies about 30 kilometers from Damascus. The town is well known for its Christian heritage, similar to Ma’lula. After Jerusalem, Seidnaya has been the most famous center for Christian pilgrimage in the east since the sixth century A.D., when a vision of the Virgin Mary appeared to the Byzantine Emperor Justinian while he was hunting a deer in the area. The deer miraculously transformed into the Virgin Mary, who asked him to build a shrine in her honor on the site. The convent at Seidnaya contains one of the most important icons in the Christian world, believed to have been painted by St. Luke the Evangelist.

Both town, Ma'lula and Seidnaya, are unique villages, portraying a strange mixture of past and present, reality and legend, sanctity and beauty which should not be missed by anyone having the opportunity to land in Syria..

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Frustration and despair reigns as time stood still for Gazans

Posted by aim_abdullah in Labels: Palestine

One year has lapsed since the beginning of the 22-day military assault on the besieged Gaza Strip on 27 December 2008 but to the people of Gaza time had stood still for them. The assault left extensive destruction of factories, businesses, public service buildings, farms, mosques and schools. One year later and 20,000 people are still displaced, living with relatives, or in makeshift shacks. Many of them have almost resigned themselves to living in temporary accommodations permanently. Israel’s continuous tight restrictions on the movement of people or materials in or out of Gaza means that one year on, Gaza is yet to rebuild itself physically or psychologically. As such for the people of Gaza, frustration and despair reigns as time stood still.

The reported pledges of over 4 billion USD made at a donors' conference in Egypt in March last year for the reconstruction of Gaza remained unfulfilled, and the Israeli siege, supported by the US, the European Union, Arab states, and tacitly by the Palestinian Authority (PA) in Ramallah, continues.

The reconstruction process would not only put the Strip on the road to recovery, but would also provide hundreds of thousands of jobs in a multitude of sectors, and assist in decreasing the unprecedented 60 per cent unemployment rate. But, the continued indefinite delay has created an overwhelming sense of frustration and despair among Gazans.

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The reconstruction process would not only put the Strip on the road to recovery, but would also provide hundreds of thousands of jobs in a multitude of sectors, and assist in decreasing the unprecedented 60 per cent unemployment rate. But, the continued indefinite delay has created an overwhelming sense of frustration and despair among Gazans.
The tunnels that have been the lifeline of the Gazans in meeting their most daily basic needs is now even in question with the media reports of the US Army Corps of Engineers is assisting Egypt in building an underground wall on its border with Gaza to block the tunnels. During the past 12 months the amount and range of items brought in through the tunnels has increased significantly, a development resulting directly from Israel's tightening of the siege on the Strip. Today, 15 per cent of food requirements in the Gaza Strip are being met by items that come in through tunnels, and yet 76 per cent of the population has become food insecure, as opposed to 53 per cent before the war.

Where are the voices of the international community? Why does the UN condone such blatant disregard by Israel for human rights abuse against the Palestinians? It looks like our leaders are only good at grand standing their support at international conferences but remain contented at watching the besieged Palestinian being slowly “slaughtered”. It looks like the real international community – made up of people and movement – need to take a stand against Israel's collective punishment measures as our leaders have failed to take the leadership role. What Israel is really doing is hoodwinking the international community into justifying their action on the pretext of security, but the reality is that they are practicing the policy of ultimate destruction of the Palestinian society.

For all of these crimes, acts of State terrorism and systematic human rights violations committed against the Palestinian people, Israel, the occupying Power, must be held accountable and the perpetrators must be brought to justice. The international community, including the Security Council, has clear responsibilities in this regard and must stand firm and take urgent measures to redress this grave situation and bring an end to Israeli violations of international law, including humanitarian and human rights law.

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Brief Sojourn in Petra

Posted by aim_abdullah in Labels: Syria

Petra is one of the places that I planned to visit since my arrival in neighboring Syria to actually see for myself the ruins of past civilization and the location of the movie such as Indiana Jones and others. So took the opportunity of the public holiday declared by the Syrian government on Thursday 17 December, in conjunction with new Muslim year to visit Petra. Arrived finally in Petra town at about 10 pm, after having twice lost our way. Check into the hotel, freshened up and took a stroll in town in the cool evening breeze. Also took the opportunity to browse some of the souvenir shops that were still opened.

Petra is described as the glittering jewel of Jordan and one of the most famous archaeological sites in the world. It is located about 262 km south of Amman and 133 km north of Aqaba, on the mountainous desert of the Wadi Araba. Hidden between steep-sided mountains lies the the legacy of the Nabataeans, an industrious Arab people who settled in southern Jordan more than 2000 years ago. Admired then for its refined culture, massive architecture and ingenious complex of dams and water channels, Petra is now a UNESCO world heritage site and one of The New 7 Wonders of the World that enchants visitors from all corners of the globe. The approach through a kilometer long, cool, and gloom chasm (or Siq) a long narrow gorge whose steeply rising sides all but obliterate the sun, provides a dramatic contrast with the magic to come. Suddenly the gorge opens into a natural square dominated by Petra's most famous monument, The Treasury (El-Khazneh), whose intricately carved facade glows in the dazzling morning sun.

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The site is semi-arid, the friable sandstone which allowed the Nabataeans to carve their temples and tombs into the rock crumbling easily to sand. The colour of the rock ranges from pale yellow or white through rich reds to the darker brown of more resistant rocks. The contorted strata of different-coloured rock form whorls and waves of colour in the rock face, which the Nabataeans exploited in their architecture. From the official entrance to the site, a dusty trail leads gently downwards along the Wadi Musa (The Valley of Moses). Situated in small rock outcrops to the left and right of the path are some small Nabataean tombs, carved into the dry rock. Beyond these, walls of sandstone rise steeply on the left, and a narrow cleft reveals the entrance to the Siq, the principal route into Petra itself.

The best-known of the monuments at Petra, the Khazneh is also the first to greet the visitor arriving via the Siq. The facade, carved out from the sandstone cliff wall, is 40m high, and is remarkably well-preserved, probably because the confined space in which it was built has protected it somewhat from the effects of erosion. The name Khazneh, which means 'treasury' comes from the legend that it was used as a hiding place for treasure. In practice, it seems to have been something between a temple and a tomb, possibly both at once.

The other awesome monument is El-Deir or the Monastery which resembles the Khazneh but is larger, cruder and more eroded. The structure, similar to Khazneh, had been carved out of the rock face.

We managed to visit the important sites which include the Siq, Khazneh, the theatre, the various tombs (Urn tomb, Palace tomb), Colonnaded Street and finally the Monastery which lies at the peak of Petra within 6 hours, that is from 7.30 am – 1.30 pm. The toughest part was the climb to the peak of Petra to reach the monastery and it would not have been possible for me without my ride (a donkey) because I had not fully recovered from my bout of flu and coughs.

Made acquaintance with a Bedouin lady (the owner of the donkey) and her daughter, Fatma and shared tea that she boiled while we took a rest before proceeding our way downhill.