2008/11/18

Aleppo and Hama

Doorway Ahh, I haven't had much luck with the internet connections. I don't know if it's the whole country or just the cafes I've been to, but the connections are equivalent to dial-up. Coupled with the government bans on blogging websites and facebook, and dirty/sticky keyboards, it's been a frustrating experience using the internet here.

To make matters worse, I'm pretty much illiterate here. In Turkey I could at least read signs, maps, etc. Here the Arabic script is unique and I've had a greater amount of difficulty finding places. Even the numbering is different, though I learned it fairly quickly. There are signs in the latin alphabet, but few and far between.

Aleppo was not as fun as I thought it would be. Part of that was because it's Tuesday. It's a holiday and most of the sights were closed. The one I was looking forward to most, the citadel, was also closed. The Great Mosque was open, but it was a bit of a let down for photos. All I did really was walk around Aleppo's souq (market place), which was pretty fun. It's much more interesting than Istanbul's Grand Bazaar, though the guidebook says otherwise.

Great Mosque MinaretIn all honestly, I couldn't wait to get out of Aleppo. To me it seemed overpriced, dirty and overrated. I decided my next destination would be Hama. That's where I'm writing from now. It's so much better. The first hotel I went to was very clean and I wasted no time booking a room for almost half the price I paid in Aleppo. I then made my way around the town, getting oriented with the neighborhoods and taking some photos. I met a handful of locals, all were very friendly and I saw a very welcoming and clean town. I'll probably spend a couple of days here. Tomorrow I'll visit a couple of nearby castles and some Roman ruins.

Aleppo:Aleppo



My breakfast:Breakfast



Aleppo Citadel:Citadel



A man fights with a sheep:Sheep



Aleppo Souq (marketplace):Aleppo Souq



Carpet shops:Aleppo Carpets



All natural soap:Soap



Nut shop:Aleppo Nuts



Aleppo's Great Mosque:Great Mosque



A Beautiful Hama Mosque with Norias (water wheels):Hama