We woke early, headed downstairs and met up with our driver Mr Omar who would be taking us to Krak Deschevalier and Palmyra.
The journey to Krak Deschevalier took just over an hour, during which time we climbed quite dramatically into the Syrian hills. Unfortunately we also climbed towards some very ominous looking black clouds. I had looked at the forecast yesterday and it had looked promising, so we had our fingers crossed that we would escape the rain.
Krak Deschevalier was first built by the Emir of Homs in AD1031 who was eventually deposed in AD1110 by the Christian Knights of the first crusade. Around the middle of the 12th century the Knights Hospitaller replaced the first crusaders and refortified the castle to its present form. Despite repeated attacks and sieges the fortress was never fully breached. What is left is an amazingly complete, massively impressive fortress.
The scale of some of the rooms is incredible and there are lots of staircases heading up to the ramparts and down to the cellars to investigate. The views from the battlements are great and if it hadn't have been so windy, we could have spent longer just walking along the top of them. As it was though, the weather had the final say and with a light rain starting to fall, we returned to the car for the long drive into the desert and the ruins of Palmyra.
The long journey (200km) into the desert was of interest to us mainly because we had considered riding out to Palmyra. Having seen the road, we now have some idea of what we have to look forward to in North Africa. The biggest problems that we could see from our point of view, was very limited supplies and huge areas of military land that we obviously couldn't make camp in. This time we were very glad that we didn't attempt it, especially as we would only be riding out seeing the ruins and then taking the even longer road down to Damascus.
As we got further into the desert, the rain dried up and the temperature got a lot warmer, especially in the car. We are clearly not used to being cooped up any more, with the bikes there is always some air flowing.
Having passed tiny settlements, oil fields, military bases and signs pointing towards Baghdad, we finally arrived in a dry but cloudy Palmyra. Mr Omar dropped us outside the main ruin site and drove off, leaving us instructions on where to find him.
Our first stop was at the magnificent Temple of Bel, Palmyra's most complete monument, where we purchased our S£500 (£6.70) entrance ticket. I could go on for ages describing the scale and beauty of the buildings, monuments and columns that cover the site, but it would be very difficult to do it justice. Hopefully the photos will give a better overview than I ever could. All I will say is that despite being in the middle of nowhere, it is really worth the trip. The desert location adds to the experience and surprisingly for such an incredible site there appear to be few visitors. For once you aren't fighting your way through hordes of tourists. The only similar place I can think of is probably Persepolis in Iran.
Having looked round the site we found our driver and made a stop at Qala'at ibn Maan, a 17th century castle that offers terrific views of the ruins and surrounding desert. Now quite tired from the heat and walking we began the long journey back to Hama.
Despite having to argue with a restaurateur about some dubious additions to our bill after dinner, we have had a very good but extremely tiring day. Neither of us could face an early start tomorrow, so we have decided to stay in Hama for one more night. Hopefully, Syrian internet willing, I will get some photos uploaded and the blog updated.
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