The Great Middle Eastern Journey Begins

Trip Start Nov 22, 2010

Trip End Jan 11, 2011

Loading Map

Map your own trip!

Map Options

Show trip route

Hide lines

Where I stayed

Afamia Hotel Damascus

Flag of Syria Damascus, Syria
Saturday, December 11, 2010

I had planned to do some sightseeing in the Old City of Damascus on the day of my arrival, but the weather didn't cooperate. By the time I get to my hotel and find lunch, it's two in the afternoon and starting to drizzle. The rain picks up more as I walk back to the hotel, so I know I've made the right choice when it's become a full-fledged downpour by the time I get back.

Afternoon is nothing but a relaxing nap until dinner, where I meet our guide and two of my fellow travelers. Next morning, the real fun begins!

The next morning I meet the other couple on the trip. The five of us (and our guide Bashar) depart for the bus station around 8:30 amidst sleet and freezing rain. By the time we're at the bus station, it's full on snowing. Even the locals are snapping pictures as this is relatively unusual weather for Damascus, although not unheard of. Thuy kindly loans me a scarf and cap so I don't freeze, as I resolve to buy gloves and a hat in Aleppo.

We have to wait at the bus station for nearly an hour, as our bus to Aleppo has been canceled. Bashar manages to find the only bus that's willing to make the trip through the snow. I'm not sure that finding the one bus willing to take a chance on the roads when everyone else has decided it's too risky is exactly a good thing, but at 9:30 we're off through the Damascus traffic to Allepo.

Slideshow