Our last morning in Turkey and we woke feeling refreshed in mind if not in body. Today would be our sixth straight cycling day and it has taken its toll on our limbs. Hopefully the border crossing and the 65km to Aleppo wouldn't be too testing. At least we would be cycling with the knowledge that we plan to have two days off, maybe more, when we get to the city.
After having breakfast in our room, we carried our gear downstairs and prepared to set off for the border. Having checked to see which direction to head in, we pedalled out of town into a grey and chilly morning.
We could tell we were close to the border when we encountered an enormous queue of lorries all waiting to get into Syria. Fortunately we didn't have to wait with them and for some reason some of the lorry drivers didn't seem that keen on waiting either. There was a certain amount of queue jumping going on, which culminated in a car driver running into the back of another vehicle somewhere behind us. How anyone could be going fast enough to crash in that slower moving traffic probably goes to show the diving standard of some Turkish motorists.
Safely reaching the border we were ushered through to passport control, where the border guard took an age to sign us out. We have no idea what the problem was, other than maybe he was checking to make sure we hadn't overstayed our visa. After clearing customs we began the long ride, about 2km, through no man's land to the Syrian border. We were pointed in the direction of the passport office and filled in our arrivals card. Even though we already had our visas, there was still a long wait while they checked and double checked everything. The process would probably be quicker if any of the Syrians/Turks understood the concept of waiting your turn. Eventually our passports were handed back and we joined the queue to get through customs. We got a slightly bemused look when the vehicle inspectors saw us coming. To be fair we weren't sure where we were supposed to be, so we had just joined the queue with the car drivers. With a grin we were waved through and after one more passport check we were in Syria. The whole process had taken 1hr30minutes.
The difference to Turkey is immediate, everything is a little shabbier and the signs are predominantly in Arabic.
Picking up the correct road we began the 45km ride to Aleppo. Like Turkey before, there was no shortage of friendly waves and several people beckoned for us to stop. Unfortunately today all we really wanted to do was make it to Aleppo, get to a guest-house and rest.
The traffic in Syria has a bit of a 'wacky races' feel to it as there are no clear road markings, so people seem to drive all over the place. Nevertheless it doesn't feel any more dangerous than the traffic in Turkey, with most people giving us plenty of room.
Sticking to the main road, we were a little surprised when it continued through a busy town centre and promptly bottle-necked in a sea of pedestrians, mopeds, mini-buses and trucks. Taking advantage of the mayhem, we stopped and bought a drink and were promptly surrounded by school children. They were all quite good natured and while Debs stayed with the bikes, I went to try and get some snack food for lunch. Across the road there was a man rolling flat breads filled with a paste, not sure what it was, I bought two red filled ones and two green filled ones. We decided against eating them in the town and instead rejoined the mayhem, to try and find a quieter spot.
The flat breads were quite nice, although the red one was clearly chilli filled and fairly hot. I couldn't tell you what the green one was, but it tasted similar to something I have had with lamb in an Indian restaurant though.
Back on the road we slowly made our way towards Aleppo The road wasn't that hilly, but with our heavy legs everything felt like hard work. Stopping at a garage we bought some more drinks and in a random act of generosity a man came up and gave us each a pastry he had just bought.
Eventually Aleppo came onto the horizon and we began the entertaining task of trying to negotiate our way through the city traffic. Despite the noise, crazy traffic, suicidal pedestrians and constantly stopping taxis we eventually found the hotel we had been aiming for. Debs may well disagree, but I quite enjoyed the ride, despite the mayhem drivers let us through gaps and across the traffic. You simply need to pretend you know what you are doing and be bold.
The hotel is great, the staff are really friendly and our bikes are stashed upstairs behind reception. Quite by coincidence we are also staying at the same hotel as an Aussie couple we met at the border this morning. Travelling by bus they obviously got here a bit quicker than us though!
Resting today, tomorrow we will explore the city properly. I think we are going to like Syria.
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