Week 40, 28.Nov.09 - 4.Dec.09
Damascus, Syria to Amman, Jordan
28.11.2009 - 04.12.2009
View
Week 40
on rd wrld1yr's travel map.
28.Nov.09
Beirut, Lebanon
I'm in Beirut, Lebanon (crazy I'm able to say that!), and just had a shower in probably one of THE worst hotels I've stayed in yet!... I couldn't guess the last time the bed sheet was changed (probably better not to know!). Took a bus this morning from Damascus and had to bid 'farewell' to Syria - really perhaps the nicest people I have ever met. If I had a dollar for every time someone "welcomed" me to Syria, I'd have collected quite a bankroll. So last night back in Old Damascus, the Aussie and Danish guys staying in the same hotel (2nd time around, also back in Hama) and I head out to find "Marmar", the supposedly BEST nightclub in Damascus. Well, after wandering around for probably 2 hours, finally find it down some alleyway and find it as just a small, lame bar - what!!

Well, fast forward to today, at the bus station in Damascus met this kind of crazy old man with one leg originally from Lebanon but lived in the States for a while and now Syria, who was absolutely HILARIOUS - asked me where I was from, and with my reply smacks me on the back laughing, "New York! Get outta here you son-of-a-bitch! You gotta be kidding me you mother f-er! Come on, I'm going to buy you a coffee you son-of-a-bitch!"... and kept swearing up a storm in an old sailor's way (he happened to be ex-Navy, so it made sense). Kept "chatting" for a bit, and I'm pretty sure he was going to ask for money, but I said, "Well, that's my bus -- gotta go!" Getting to the border, met some guys also crossing over - French and 2 Brits. We all get screwed with the kids changing money at the border, but don't really have other options as there are no ATMs there and their visa must be paid in Lebanese Lira. When we get to Beirut we tried several hotel options but all full due to an Arabic holiday, but finally found this one in the French guy, Clement's, outdated guidebook (not surprising it was delisted from the next edition) - one of the Brits, Steve, makes the call, and when asking the price for a room for 4, gets a response "I don't want to talk about prices over the phone." Uh, ok? Well, arriving at the building I'm not sure if it was evacuated of just never finished, but the lobby is an empty shell.
We get to the floor of the pension - not much better! Well, to avoid thinking about the conditions for a few hours, we're about to head out and find a bar or club here in Beirut's famed nightlife, good way to mark 9 months of traveling!
29.Nov.09
Clement and I are about to head out to a club with 2 Romanian girls staying in the new hotel we moved to today (no way we were going to spend one more night in that dump from yesterday!), who I met in the lobby and spent about 2 hours helping them download & transfer photos from my laptop to theirs (I'm such a sucker). No idea what happened to the Brits, but earlier today we all taxied to southern Beirut, passing all kinds of barbed wire barricaded checkpoints,
to the Hippodrome (which most locals had no idea what/where it was) to catch a horse race (how random).
Absolutely pandemonium for those who picked the winning horse, yelling and throwing their jackets in the air etc. After we wandered around the neighborhoods of southern Beirut which are a sharp contrast from the wealthy/ritzy places "downtown" (which is actually north). Somewhat ubiquitous are the super long, usually striped curtains dangling outside the windows and draped over balcony railings - definitely brings back images of Beirut I had as a kid watching TV in the States.
We headed back up to downtown and along the corniche seafront, enjoyed a sheesha (and the views of Lebanese women) as the sunset - good day!
30.Nov.09
Not much activity today... after bidding goodbye to the French and British guys, spent some time getting caught up on emails (good thing, as the family has issued APBs out for my whereabouts). Strolled around the swanky Hamda neighborhood, and relaxed with some coffee.
1.Dec.09
Baalbek, Lebanon
I've returned to frigid weather traveling some 90 km northeast of Beirut, in order to see the ruins of Baalbek, dating from the 1st c. AD. Approaching Baalbek, about 1 km out, lining the median all the way to the center were banners and yellow Hezbollah flags flying proudly in their self-declared "capital".
Arrived here and got myself checked in to a hotel. Making small talk with the manager, I ask if he's Lebanese, he replies, "I'm Palestinian. I am from Palestine."... I guess I should expect that a lot around here. So he takes my passport to register, frowns a bit while sharing his views on American government policies, although he thinks American people are "good", I decide not to question him on Hezbollah's policies. But then after he scans my passport and returns with a smile, looking me in the eye nodding, "I think your roots are German". I say, "Well yes, from a long time ago...", but he just nods and hands me my passport, walking away satisfied - I decide not to pursue the subject with him and head out past the hordes of touts selling Hezbollah t-shirts to the really well-preserved ruins. The Temple of Bacchus, dedicated to Venus, was really impressive.
Also impressive were the 6 remaining standing columns (some of the biggest Rome ever built) of Temple of Jupiter.
Crazy, I certainly didn't imagine Lebanon with awesome Roman ruins!
2. Dec. 09
Beirut, Lebanon
Took forever to get back to Beirut today, and unfortunately other than a coffee there wasn't too much excitement to write about for the day! Did stop by the ancient St. George's cathedral and the Cardo Maximus, where archeologist excavations are still going on - pretty cool!
3.Dec.09
Tripoli, Lebanon
Day tripped up here today to Lebanon's second city, Tripoli. There is definitely a different vide going on here compared to Beirut. Arrived at the Abdel Hamid Karami square,
and was almost instantly once again surrounded by genuine people who were happy to help, not just looking for a tourist buck - I guess that's one thing I couldn't say about Beirut or Baalbek. First checked out the Taynal Mosque from the 14th c.,
then as I was wandering up to the Great Mosque (which was closed),
a man approaches me on the street asking where I'm from, and upon hearing the States, tells me how he won a gold medal at a kickboxing championship in Orlando - based on how bad he was limping (I think maybe a prosthetic leg but I'm not sure?), I'm thinking he either is really good at kicking with one leg, or that tournament was a long time ago. He decides he wants to be my tour guide and brings me to this shop where in the back is an old former Turkish bath house - huge place with dozens of rooms, which was really cool because it wasn't listed in my guidebook and the entrance was hidden behind this small shop.
We're walking along, and as he is telling me he's now a police officer, everyone we pass stops to greet him, seems like some kind of mafioso going on! We stop by the Old Souqs - Gold (Al-Sayyaghin), Perfume/Spice (Al-Attarin), and the very interesting Khan As-Saboun, the 16th c. soap market with hundreds of different soaps, where all of it is still hand-made.
There was one carved out shaped like the Quran!
So my impromptu guide bids farewell, I continue exploring and trek up the steep steps to the 12th c. Citadel of Raymond De Saint-Gilles, built by the Crusaders and seemingly occupied today by the Lebanese military, with all the tanks stationed outside. There are also some modern-looking battle scars from the outside as well.
Now I'm making my way back to Beirut for the last night here. Tomorrow, Jordan!
4.Dec.09
Amman, Jordan
This morning, bid farewell to Lebanon... all-in-all, not the most memorable of places, and arrived here in Amman via flight (wasn't about to repeat another Syrian border crossing adventure) and after the airport bus to service taxi connection, arrived at a cheap hotel/hostel and got checked in and wandered around a bit. So now there are a group of travelers (and workers in the hotel) heading out to an irish pub for some drinks, don't mind if I do!
Posted by rd wrld1yr 05:34 Comments (0)