Lebanon & Syria Part V

Tuesday, 29 December 2009

We didn't go to the Bedevin tent last night because we were feeling tired and lazy. We had a quick bite at the hotel restaurant. Now we are in Aleppo. On our way, we stopped by Crac des Chevaliers. This is in a very different region of Syria in terms of landscape. It is very green. There are olive and pine trees in parts. Where the castle is and Tuscany are no different. The green area is on sets. 

The castle is in the highest point of the region.

It was very foggy today. But when it is clear, it is possible to see the sea and the Lebanon Mountain from here. We forget that we are in Syria because it is so green and due to the way the castle is built. 

All kinds of civilisations passed through here also. The construction of the castle was first started by the Kurds, then the Crusaders developed it, the Egyptian Sultan Baybars conquered it and then the Ottomans, and finally the French took over. All left their marks here. While going around in the castle, one feels like in a European castle built in the Middle Ages. This knight’s castle is really something.

Our hotel in Aleppo is Dar Zamaria. Our room number is 103. Like the Talismann hotel in Damascus, it is a restored house with a big courtyard within the old city walls. It is very beautiful. New Aleppo is much cleaner and orderly than Damascus; it even looks more developed. 

It is possible to see road signs directing to Antioch and Gaziantep and come across cars with Turkish licence plates. But they still show Antioch and Iskenderun within Syrian borders in the maps. Even our charming, hospitable and helpful driver Bessam said: "It is possible to come across many Turks in Aleppo. Also in Antioch!" I guess that because it is not difficult to cross the borders and they are taught that way in school, they really think that Antioch is within Syrian borders.

The streets of old Aleppo are larger than old streets of Damascus; houses are newer, they don't look like they are about to collapse. Old Aleppo has a very Middle Age feel to it. It is clear by the large number of churches that it has a big Christian population. But Aleppo is much more conservative compared to Damascus and other places we have seen in Syria. I saw maybe one or two women in burqas in Damascus. Here, all Muslim women are in burqas. Whilst I was inclined to think in Damascus that Syrians are more open than some Turks, I found a different world in Aleppo. Here, even some women's faces are completely covered with a black veil. Even their eyes! The elderly women walking next to the younger ones, lift the veil covering the younger ones' eyes slightly and hold them by their arm so that they can see where they are stepping!

I guess that they are not as used to seeing tourists here as in Damascus either. They are picking on us a lot more and stare. There is a ginger girl called Ani at the hotel reception. She tries to speak in Turkish with me. And she speaks very well. She told me that she learnt Turkish only by watching TV. I think she is Armenian. But in Syria, there are plenty of ginger, light blond and blue or green eyed among the Arabs as well.
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Lübnan ve Suriye Bölüm V

Salı 29 Aralık 2009

Dün gece yorgun hissettiğimizden ve üşendiğimizden Bedevi çadırına gitmedik. Otelin restoranında çabucak bir şeyler atıştırdık. Şimdi de Halep'teyiz. Yolda Crac des Chevaliers'e uğradık. Burası Suriye'nin doğa bakımından bambaşka bir bölgesinde. Yemyeşil. Yer yer zeytin ağaçları, yer yer çınar ağaçları var. Kalenin olduğu yer ve İtalya’nın Toskanya bölgesi farksız. Yemyeşil bölge setler üstünde. 

Kale de bölgenin en yüksek tepesinde.

Şansımıza hava oldukça sisliydi bugün. Ama havanın açık olduğu günlerde, denizi ve Lübnan Dağı’nı görmek mümkünmüş buradan. Suriye'de olduğumuzu unutuyoruz hem doğanın yeşilliği, hem kalenin yapısından dolayı.

Buradan da her türlü medeniyet geçmiş. Kale ilk Kürtler tarafından inşa edilmeye başlanmış, sonra Haçlılar geliştirmiş, Mısırlı Sultan Baybars tarafından fethedilmiş, sonra Osmanlıların eline geçmiş, en son da Fransızların eline. Hepsi kendi izini bırakmış. Kalede gezerken insan kendini Avrupa'da bir ortaçağ kalesinde hissediyor. Gerçekten bambaşka bir yer bu şövalye kalesi.

Halep'teki otelimiz Dar Zamaria. 103 numaralı odamız. Şam'daki Talismann otel gibi eski şehir surları içinde restore edilmiş, büyük avlulu bir ev. Çok güzel. Yeni Halep Şam'dan çok daha temiz ve düzenli; hatta gelişmiş gözüküyor. 

Antakya ve Gaziantep Yolu gibi yol işaretleri ve Türkçe tabela ve plakalı arabalara rastlamak mümkün. Ancak Antakya ve İskenderun’u hala Suriye haritası içinde gösteriyorlar. Çok sevimli, misafirperver ve yardımcı olan şoförümüz Bessam bile şunu dedi: "Halep'te Türklere rastlamak mümkün. Antakya'da da!" Herhalde sınırdan geçmek çok zor olmadığı için ve okulda öyle öğretildikleri için Antakya’yı gerçekten Suriye sınırları içinde zannediyorlar.

Eski Halep'in sokakları eski Şam sokaklarından daha geniş, evler daha yeni ve yıkılmak üzere gibi gözükmüyor. Eski Halep'in daha bir ortaçağ havası var. Büyük bir Hıristiyan topluluğunun olduğu kiliselerin çokluğundan belli. Ancak Halep, Şam'a ve Suriye'de gördüğümüz diğer yerlere göre daha muhafazakâr. Şam'da belki bir veya iki tane çarşaflı kadın gördüm. Burada tüm Müslüman kadınlar çarşaflar içinde. Şam'dayken Suriyelilerin Türklerden daha açık olduğunu bile düşünürken, Halep'te başka bir dünya buldum. Burada hatta bazı kadınların yüzü tamamen siyah bir örtüyle kapalı. Gözleri bile! Yanlarında yürüyen daha yaşlıca kadınlar, gençlerin gözlerini açıyor ve kapalı olanların kollarından tutuyor yürüyebilmeleri için.

Turistlere de Şam'daki kadar alışkın değiller sanırım. Burada bize daha çok laf ediyorlar ve gözlerini dikiyorlar. Resepsiyonda kızıl saçlı Ani diye bir kız var. Benimle Türkçe konuşmaya çalışıyor. Oldukça da iyi konuşuyor. Söylediğine göre sadece TV izlemekten kapmış Türkçeyi. Sanırım kendisi Ermeni. Ama Suriye'de Araplar arasında da pek çok kızıl, sapsarı saçlı ve mavi veya yeşil gözlü gördüm.
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Lebanon & Syria Part IV

Monday, 28 December 2009

In the morning, we left the polluted Damascene air behind us. 

Travelling through the Syrian Desert, we arrived in Palmyra. 

The Syrian Desert is a stony desert. It doesn't only consist of sand. 

It is possible to find some oasis from time to time. 

I rested like I never did before whilst travelling through dry and empty desert. There was nothing to distract me; not even a tree in some parts...I didn't remember the past and did not worry about the future. The desert has such an impact on me; for some reason it gives me peace. Travelling is to search for oneself and find the truth. I find peace. Everything started looking much nicer to me thanks to the desert. Even though it is a dry, yellow and empty desert.

 In this country (and in Lebanon), which is called a rogue, terrorist and dangerous state, I didn't feel any danger or worry. I even feel safer and less stressful than in London and Istanbul. And I’ve travelled so much, what I see everywhere is that people laugh, cry, yawn, fight and hug. I travelled so much, I don't know with which instinct or to search what. I guess to feel freedom and I really achieve that when I am travelling. But in this country called an enemy, terrorist and dangerous, people live, laugh, cry and take life lightly just like we do. But unfortunately, because of some groups of people, they are framed and their lives and opportunities are restricted. They are all considered in one group, looked down upon, and unfortunately humiliated.

Palmyra ruins are fascinating. 

This place also has been used in turn by all the civilisations that have passed through here. It is very exotic. Palmyra and the under and over ground tombs have a very mysterious air. 

Tonight we are staying in room 121 of Zenobia Sham Hotel, which has the views of the Palmyra ruins and is in walking distance to the ancient site.

Zenobia is the name of the last Palmyran queen. 

A French woman used to run this hotel during the French colonial times.  This woman was acting as a spy for both France and the UK. She married a Bedevin and was the first European woman to go to Mecca. She was arrested there for being a spy but was released with the help of the French and the British. She used to bath naked in the rivers of Palmyra, so the Arabs and the Bedevins would watch her secretly. 

Then she opened an office in Paris assisting Nazis who were escaping to Brazil and Argentina. For this reason, she was murdered by Mossad in Morocco.

 Tonight, we will dine in a Bedevin tent and I believe that there will be some dancers as well. The food, especially the mezes are the same or similar to the ones in Lebanon but I have to say that the food and mezes in Lebanon are much more delicious.
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Lübnan ve Suriye Bölüm IV

Pazartesi 28 Aralık 2009

Sabahtan havası kirli ve kömür kokulu Şam’ı geride bıraktık. 

Suriye Çölü’nde seyahat ederek Palmyra'ya vardık.

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Suriye Çölü taşlık bir çöl. Tamamen kumdan oluşmuyor. 

Ara ara da vahalar görmek mümkün. 

Kuru ve bomboş çölde, bomboş otoyolda seyahat ederken hiç dinlenmediğim kadar dinlendim. Dikkatimi dağıtan hiçbir şey yoktu; tek bir ağaç bile bazı bölgelerde... Ne geçmiş geldi aklıma ne de geleceğe dair endişelendim. Çöl bende böyle bir etki yaratıyor, huzur veriyor bana her nedense. Seyahat etmek kendini aramak, gerçeği bulmak içindir. Ben huzuru buluyorum. Her şey gözüme daha bir hoş görünmeye başladı çölün etkisiyle. Kupkuru, sarı, bomboş bir çöl olmasına rağmen.

Terörist, tehlikeli diye ahdedilen bu ülkede (Lübnan’da da) hiçbir tehlike ve endişe hissetmedim. Hatta Londra ve İstanbul’dan daha güvenli ve stresten uzak hissediyorum. Ve bu kadar seyahat ettim, her yerde gördüm ki insanlar her yerde gülüyor, ağlıyor, esniyor, kavga ediyor, kucaklaşıyor. Bu kadar seyahat ettim, hangi içgüdüyle ve neyi aramak için bilmiyorum. Sanırım özgürlüğü hissetmek için ve bunu da seyahat ederken gerçekten başarıyorum. Ama düşman, terörist ve tehlikeli denen bu ülkelerde de insanlar aynen bizim gibi yaşıyor, gülüyor, ağlıyor, hayatı hafife alıyor. Ama maalesef birkaç grup insan yüzünden damga yiyorlar ve hayatları ve imkanları kısıtlanıyor. Hepsi aynı grupta görülüp hor görülüyor, küçümseniyor, aynı kefene koyuluyor ne yazık ki.

Palmyra kalıntıları inanılmaz büyüleyici. 

Burası da gelen geçen her medeniyet tarafından sırasıyla kullanılmış. Çok egzotik, gizemli bir havası var Palmyra'nın ve yüksek ve yer altındaki mezarların. 

Kalıntıların manzarasını oluşturduğu ve yürüme mesafesinde olan Zenobia Şam otelinde, 121 numaralı odada kalıyoruz bu akşam.

Zenobia son Palmyra kraliçesinin adı. 

Bu oteli Fransız mandası döneminde Fransız bir kadın işletiyormuş. Bu kadın hem Fransa hem İngiltere için ajanlık yapıyormuş. Bir Bedevi ile evlenmiş ve Mekke'ye giden ilk Avrupalı kadın olmuş. Orada ajanlığından dolayı tutuklanmış ama İngiliz ve Fransızların yardımıyla kurtulmuş. Palmyra'nın derelerinde çıplak yıkanırmış. 

Araplar ve Bedeviler de gizlice izlermiş. Sonra Paris'te Brezilya ve Arjantin’e kaçan Nazilere yardım eden bir ofis açmış. Bu nedenden dolayı Mossad tarafından Fas'ta öldürülmüş.

 Bu akşam bir Bedevi çadırında yiyeceğiz yemeğimizi ve sanırım bazı dansçılar olacakmış. Yemekler ve özellikle mezeler Lübnan’dakilerle aynı ya da benzer olsa da, Lübnan’daki yemek ve mezelerin çok daha lezzetli olduğunu söylemeliyim.
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Lebanon & Syria Part III

Sunday, 27 December 2009
Today was a very long and intense day. This is what happens when one tries to fit all Damascene history and monuments in one day. Of course it is impossible for me to write what the guide told us. I can only pass on my impressions about the city.

Damascus is the oldest inhabited city in the world. It is a total chaos. There is always a smell of smoke and coal in the air. The smell got on our cloths and hair. Old Damascus is something in between Sultanahmet and old Dhaka. Of course, it is not as crowded as Dhaka but even then it is disorderly.

Its history going back to pre-historic and Neolithic times have seen the Ancient Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs and Turks (400 years). Even though just like the Lebanese their past goes back to Phoenicians, they don't say that they are not Arabs like the Lebanese. The city is surrounded by mountains. Disorderly urbanism has left no beauty or green in the city.

After the big European powers provoked the Arabs against the Ottomans, the Saudi King Faisal was brought to the head of the lands consisting of today's Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and Jordan.  But this was not long-lasting because King Faisal could be nothing but a puppet of the big powers. This united group of countries was called the Sham Countries and Damascus was its capital. The Syrian Arabic has Turkish words and expressions such as "metelik" and "duz para." The current head of state, Esad el-Bashir doesn't live in his palace. He lives among people, near the hills, in a flat in a rich neighbourhood. 

He uses his palace for work as an office.

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He has an open-door policy toward the public. His pictures are everywhere around the country but according to our guide, he does not like this; the public hang his pictures because they like him.

Their national museum is incredibly rich. Even though they don't have many resources, I think it is the sort of museum, which can compete with the British Museum and the Louvre. They have the replicas of palaces from various civilisations and temples; it is very impressive. Right next to the museum, there is a mosque and caravanserai built by the Ottomans. 

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When one looks at these, one feels like in Istanbul.

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Among the other impressive buildings and places we have seen are the Al-Hamidiye Bazaar (built by Sultan Abdulhamit; its shops and what they sell reminds me of 1001 Nights stories), the Umayyid Mosque and the Azam Palace.

The Umayyid Mosque was a Jupiter temple in ancient times. 

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During ancient Greece times it was a Zeus temple and during the civilisation before the Greeks, it was a Baal temple. So whoever took over adapted the previous god to its own and turned it into a new temple. The Romans' Jupiter Temple was turned into a church by the Byzantine and into a mosque by the Muslims.

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The golden mosaics are stunning.

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Saint John's head is buried here.

The Azam Palace has been built by the Ottomans, the Ottoman Damascus Governor Asad al-Azem in the same style as the Topkapi Palace and has hareem, selamlik and courtyards similar to the palace in Lebanon. It is a nice palace. It is nicer than the one in Lebanon. 

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The orange and lemon trees in the courtyard are lovely.

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The streets of old Damascus are so narrow that it feels like the buildings will collapse onto each other.

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People can pass window to window easily, without having to jump. The streets are not dirty with trash but are very dusty. Air pollution is a big problem. The rivers, which surround the old city walls stink of drainage. Many buildings look like they are about to collapse. 

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As I wrote earlier, it is not a beautiful city but full of history. Because they lack resources of course they cannot restore the historical monuments. In those narrow streets as one enters through one of the small doors though, one finds oneself in a completely different world. The houses, which look small and narrow from the outside, are incredible large inside. Houses with large courtyards, if they belong to rich families, are decorated like a palace.

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The traffic system, though not as bad as Dhaka, is pretty bad.

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If the population was as much as Dhaka, it would be in the same state. Table manners and eating habits [...].

With every passing day, I start to think that by travelling every corner of Turkey, one would be like having travelled all over the world with regards to history and nature. At least, to see the main civilisations and the history of the three big religions surrounding the Mediterranean. Maybe I am getting old.

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By the way, during this trip, I feel so much better psychologically. [...] I don't have questions scrutinising absolutely everything in my brain all the time. Somehow, I am either distanced from myself or because I am not following my daily routine, I am getting closer to my real self, I don't know. Anyway, I feel happy. Even though every morning when I wake up and during the day from time to time again [...] remember and think [...] I am more at peace with myself when I am far from my daily routine and am travelling.

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