 |
|
|
| Syria and Jordan Our first stop in Syria is Aleppo. We get totally lost while entering the city (all signs are in arabic), but are rescued by a Canadian/Syrian who works in Damascus for the mobile operator and is in Aleppo for business. He brings us to a hotel and we have a lovely dinner together. But we never quite like Aleppo and are glad to leave the next day via the �death cities� to the Krak de Chevalier. At night, we camp next to the castle and get company from a local farmer who discusses a bit the situation in his country. Syria is largely affected by the situation in Iraq, and during our stay, we hardly meet any other tourists. We drive to Palmyra through the desert and partly invited ourselves to stay next to the house of a rich syrian, who is building a five star hotel with 300 rooms. He was very friendly and we could put the car in his garage and sleep there. We spend the night playing cards (he was much better than we), watching local movies and drinking beer. It was a long time since we had a night like that. We tried to e-mail (but site was forbidden by Syrian authorities) and showed him our website. In the morning we got a delicious breakfast full with local specialities. After the visit to the ruins, we left to Damascus. Our time in Syria was running short, because we had to leave the country after one week if we wanted to avoid paying another 100 USD diesel tax. Too bad, because it left a very good impression and we met some of the most friendly people of our trip. The landscape changes as we enter Jordan with nice views of the Jordan valley (occupied territoies). We camp wild in the area around Jerash for two nights, and will do so most of the time in Jordan. They are used to Bedouins and it saves us the difficult search for camping. We then go to Amman to settle some practical things � but don�t stay there long. The �Desert Castle Loop� takes us into the Jordan desert. After visiting some old castles and residents of rich people long ago, we are invited to camp next to a Bedouin tent close to the road. Mohammed turns out to be an Iraqi that fought during the last Gulf War. He surrendered to the Americans and shows us his tattoo. For that reason he cannot enter Iraq anymore and hasn�t seen his family for more than 10 years now. He is a very nice man, but we avoid the political discussion after he expresses his opinion: Bush no good, Saddam good, � Osama good! It is a nice evening where we smoke some cigars, sisha tufa, drink fresh goat milk and lots of tea. The nicest route to take south in Jordan is definitely the Kings Highway. We visit Madaba, famous for its mosaics and drive from Mount Nebo to the Death See and Kerak. At regular intervals, police stops us, because we are now close to the border with Israel. At then end, we end up in Dana Village in a nature reserve and take the opportunity to make a very beautiful walk in the �hobbit like� landscape. Tourism is promoted and developed much more in Jordan compared to Syria. The classical highlight in Jordan is Petra of course (scene for Indiana Jones). For the first time, we also sleep in our rooftent � hoping that at least now it will become a bit warmer. But it rains a lot that night, and when we visit the site, it is freezing cold. Luckily enough, we bought a two-day ticket, and the next day the wheather is much better and we can enjoy it fully. On February 6 2003, we receive a phone call from home that Lucas is born, the first sun of Jeroen�s sister. It is a perfect day. We are in the desert of Wadi Rum and enjoy the beautiful setting for our first real off-raod desert experience. We sleep that night on the roof of our car, without putting up the tent thoug, to be able to fully enjoy and watcht the millions of stars above our heads. After two days, we follow our GPS straight through the desert to Aqaba. Aqaba is situated along the Saudi, Israeli and Egyptian border and alcohol is tax free! We camp a bit out of town and prepare ourself for the ferry to Egypt. |
| Crossing Africa |
 |
 |
| Middle East |
| From to |