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Yesterday at 9 pm when I was thinking of how I’d start this post, I was thinking of starting it by something on the lines of….it costs only 12 USD to go from a capital of a country to another…and t his is very cheap.
However around 11 or 12(midnight), I wasn’t very fortunate. I was going from Damascus to Amman. Leaving Syria was a breeze. And it was time for me to go into Jordan. When we were in the Jordanian arrivals office at the border, I was told that I wouldn’t be allowed in. When I asked why? I know that Egyptians don’t need any visas to enter Jordan. The official there told me that there’s an agreement between Egypt and Jordan which states that any Egyptians who’re going to Jordan are supposed to be coming from Egypt and not any other country. So if I was coming from Cairo via plane or Aqaba via ferry I would’ve been allowed in. this agreement is supposed to regulate the influx of workers or something on these lines. So I had to go back to Syria where the Syrian officials cancelled the exit stamp. So Thank God I was allowed back in Syria (I wouldn’t be shocked if they told me there was a new rule that doesn’t allow me to enter). I probably would’ve ended being like Tom Hanks in the Terminal except that its not really air conditioned and is in the middle of the desert. Although there was a nice duty free shop. Anyways I went back to the Damascus, checked into a hotel at around 2.30 am or so. Overall I’m not very happy with the Egyptian government (is there anyone who is)? When you get to think of this agreement and where the problem lies..I think there’s more than one factor. But I think the main thing is that Jordan doesn’t want a lot of Egyptian workers (and vice versa). And as you know the unemployment in Egypt is pretty bad. The standard of living in Egypt is quite low. So what is the goverment supposed to do? I think it’d be very hard to dream that things would improve in my generation. I’m not being pessimistic but want to face reality and not trick myself.

Today i called the Egyptian consulate in Damascus and had a chat with them about how I could go into Jordan, they couldn’t prepared to offer any help. I then passed by a very nice mana2eesh place where I had 1 with cheese, another with za3tar and one with meat (la7m ajeen). Their size is pretty small. Then I passed by a closeby shop where I drank some mouz bel laban (bananas with milk). I passed by the Egyptair office and the staff over there were very friendly. I think they were quite sympathetic with me. They put me on a waiting list for Saturday, and I will pass by 4 pm to see what happens. Lets hope I find a flight back to Cairo.

Anyways…looking at the brighter side yesterday afternoon I thought that I should have more time in Syria, and I guess its a wish that came true… I already started thinking of where I’ll go…I could either stay in Damascus and do daytrips to closeby places or I could spend a couple of days in Palmyra…lets hope the flight is sorted out then I’ll see how things go.

Cheers!

Woke up quite early today…around 8 or so. I booked a day (or more like 3/4th of a day). We visited several places, we started by a place called kharabet el shams. I understand its one of the dead cities. Then we went to Qala’at Sam’aan (St.Simon’s citadel). The story behind this place is quite….different. Apparently someone called Simon didn’t deal that well with people and didn’t want people to bug him, so he built a pillar which he lived on top of for years and years. The pillar kept getting taller and taller. He became somewhat important and infact pilgrims starting to come from places as far as France and England. He was a very important personality in his century.
After that we went to another 3 sites that had ruins, frankly they weren’t as good as the things we saw in Apamea.
On the trip we met a french couple, really nice people. They were sort of on their honeymoon. They were spending around 3 weeks in Jordan and Syria. After returning to Halab we went for dinner at AbuNawwas (This is where we had dinner the first nigth in Aleppo). This time we had a mixed grill however we also ate some cooked food, I had really nice eggplants.
We later visited the Great Mosque, inside is really nice, I’ll post pictures of the mosque as soon as I go back to Cairo Insha2Allah. We later entered an old Madrassa which is just infront of the mosque.
Then it was time to get lost in the alleys of the old souq again. And got lost we did!
I had some sugar cane juice…it was cold and refreshing.
Bought a few things and went to the internet cafe. I’m updating the blog quite early today. I also needed to burn some pictures on a CD. The SD card for the camera was nearly full.

I guess I better go now because we have a plane to catch around 10 pm from Aleppo to Damascus. Syrian Airlines…here we come…

I got the special treatment today…I went to Hammam Yalbogha ElNasry..more about that to come later.
Started the day with some konafa nabolseye which is basically konafa bel jebn. However it wasn’t half as good as the ones I ate in Lebanon. But it was still..pretty good..ya3ni better than the ones I eat in Egypt. That was in a street which is a 5 minute walk from the hotel called El Oetly street. Went to exchange some money which we needed…I knew a few hours today were going to be dedicated to shopping.
We passed by the Syrian Air office where we booked a flight to Damascus. The main reason I did that is because we’re quite short on time. My sister’s flight is on Wednesday night from Damascus, and we still have a lot to explore. The flight is pretty cheap, the one way ticket from Aleppo to Damascus is around 19 USD.
We started our walk to The Castle of Halab (Qal3et 7alab). On our way there we passed by the Great Mosque which is an Omayyad mosque that has been around for hundreds of years. The minaret is still intact. We only saw the mosque from the outside but we’ll explore it from the inside tommorrow Insha2Allah.
Arriving at the Castle of Halab (or is it Halab’s castle), the view was stunning. The castle is located on a hilltop overlooking the whole city of Halab. A lot of the parts were being renovated, I think the funding was by the Agha Khan foundation (which I understand was the same foundation that developed the Azhar park in Cairo). The view from the top of the castle is really nice. It is just..so…high. I don’t understand how any army could’ve entered it. I guess wars 1000 years ago were much more interesting than now.
After that we sat in a cafe infront of the castle called the Khan where we had some hommos and drinks. Btw…the hommos over here isn’t as good as the one ni Lebanon….I really miss Lebanese food.
We later wandered around the souqs in the old city which is right next to the citadel. The souq here is pretty big, with alleys that date way back. Things here are pretty cheap.
After several hours of shopping we went back to the hotel. It was around sunset.
I decided to go to an old Hammam called Yalbogha ElNasry. Its a hammam that has been around for centuries. In short here’s how things work there, you first go into the steam room Then you’re called by one of the workers there where you go through a process called takyees. Basically the worker there wears a black glove which has a very rough surface. He rubs all your body with it. Then with the a leefa and soap he rubs all your body. Gives you a massage, and you’re set. You could go take shower again if you want. After that when you’re in a lot of towels, (one around your waist, one on your sholders and a small one on your head) you’re offered a drink, coffee…tea…coca cola…
Went back to the hotel where I met my sister, we later went out for dinner and now we’re in the internet cafe.
It was a long day…quite tiring…overall Halab’s a nice place. Not as crowded as Cairo but more crowded than Beirut.
In most cases when Syrians found I was Egyptian they were quite welcoming. I guess Gamal AbdulNasser left a strong mark over here. Today I’ll be donig some sight seeing outside Aleppo before returning to take the flight to Damascus.

Good night!

Syria ROCKS…literally…it does have a lot of ancient sites. I never knew it had so many ancient sites. This place is loaded, I think it has the potential of being one of the main attractions in the the region.
I arranged for a car to take me and my sister to places around Hama (where we spent the night). The first sight to visit was one of the main highlights of my trip, Krak des Chevaliers. It is truely amazing. According to the Lonely Planet, T.E. Larence called it ‘the finest castle in the world’. And from what I saw indeed it is. This building which is still intact is truely amazing. And the scenery from the top of the mountain is just georgous. It was built by the Crusaders for nearly 75 years or so. Thats what the guide who gave us a nearly 2 hour tour said. By the way, there are really awesome pictures of the castle, it seems that the guide had photography as a hobby..he knows how to take good pictures.
Less than an hour ago was another castle called Al-Mesyaf. It wasn’t as spectacular as the Krak des Chavaliers (I don’t think any castle in the world would), however the air current up there was really awesome. The air was pretty cool, and it was strong. I didnt’ want to go down.
After that we went to to a place called Apamea (pronounced Afameya in Arabic). It was founded around the 3rd century BC. And it is spectacular. However the sad thing is that a lot of the stuff over there is still under tha ground and although there was an excavation team composed of people from Belgium and France, their work is pretty slow as -I was told by one of the security guards- funding is very limited. But what was on top was really spectacular, I never knew Syria had to hide so much goodies…and that wasn’t all…there’s a lot of things under there.
Going as fast as we can off we went to one of the cities of the dead, Serjilla. This is a city that still has several buildings intact, however for some unknown reason it seems that the residents took off and left (several centuries ago). And this city is really dead, very very quite. You could hear the whispers of people far away. Unfortunately we weren’t able to stay for a long time -which I really wanted to- because the sun has set, and it was getting really dark.
Around an hour away was Aleppo where we checked into a hotel called the Tourist hotel. Its quite clean and pretty cheap (like 14 USD for a double). If you come to Aleppo, you know where you should stay.
We checked into the hotel, and then went to a restaurant called Abu-Nawwas where we had some really nice kebab. Apparently what they called kebab here is kind of close to the kofta we have in Egypt. We had several types, there was the kebab halabi, kabab ismiraly and another kind which I don’t remember the name. All of them were really nice.
Its nearly 11 pm right now, and I’m exhausted..really exhausted. I’ll be spending all of today in Aleppo Insha2Allah. The day is going to be pretty crowded.

Good night!

Well..today was my last day in Beirut…I will really miss this place. Although I was kind of sad about this I was excited about going to Syria.
I woke up relatively late today…around 9.30 pm. Maya and her sister who were with Iman my sister in school passed by. Iman wanted to do some shopping so some expert assistance was needed. Maya and her sister were pretty nice.
I got a mana2ish takeaway from Barbar and then met them in Starbucks where we sat had breakfast accompanied by a very nice Caramel Machiato venti…you know what…its much better than Cilantro…Harris..Beano’s…these are among the top cafe’s in Egypt.
Then the grand tour of the American University in Beirut (AUB). Maya who used to study at AUB took us to most of the important places, we even went into several departmes and saw them…their labs…I’ve to admit…AUB has a wonderful campus.
After that we went to Sa7et El Shohada. This is the place where Rafik El-Hariri was buried. If you don’t know that he died or if you don’t know who Rafik ElHariri is…you really need to listen or watch the news more often.
We spent less than 10 mins there, then we went to a street called Mar Elias were Iman bought a couple of things. Their prices were nearly the same as in Cairo, but the clothes over there are much more stylish than Egypt. I was telling my sister today… alot of the Lebanese people have style…most Egyptians try to have style…but do they fail to achieve this…this is a question you’d have to answer.
Went to have lunch at Barbar and back to Hamra street where our hotel is located. But wait..there’s a fuss. Apparently there was a protest celebrating the anniversary of the death of some Martyr. I don’t remember what the organization was called the Syrian something. They’re very organized. They had a few talks, lots and lots of flags and lots of cheering. All of them were wearing the same T-shirts. It seems they have coordinated with the police. Frankly I’m not used to not seeing anti-riot police when there’re demonstrations. The police were actually there to protect them.
Went back to the hotel, picked up our luggage then took a taxi to Charle Helou station. We took a service taxi from there to Hama which is in Syria.
The way took nearly 4 hours. It was a comfortable ride. There were 2 main checkpoints, one at the Lebanese endpoint where we had the exit stamps on our passports then another at the Syrian border were we had an entry stamp on the passport. One thing to note abour Syria, you fill in a card which is stamped (the passport is stamped too). This card stays with you till you exit. So don’t forget to keep this card with you…you’ll need it when exiting. Both checkpoints didn’t take much time. But you know…the moment I entered the one in Syria, you could see the big picture of Bashar El Assad (Syria’s president). It started feeling home…you know how things in Egypt are…
Abu Tawfik, the taxi driver was very very friendly. He explained a lot of things about the people of Syria, their food, the geography to me.
Arrived in Hama, check-in at Cairo Hotel. According to the lonely planet guide, its probably the best budget hotel in Syria. And you know what..its really good. The double room is like 13 USD. The room has an AC, a very clean private bathroom and TV. This is an absolute bargain. And the staff over there are really friendly. After putting the luggage in the room and planning tommorrow’s trip (which is organized by the hotel) I went out with my sister to wander around. The city at this time of the day (around 11 pm) is very active, especially if you compare it to Beirut which closes places at 8 pm…other than clubbing that is. We went into one of the sweet shops, and the local speciality is called jebnet 7alaweih bel eshta. The sweet shop sampled a couple of types, it is REALLY nice….lots and lots of calories though.
Here I’m right now at an internet cafe, the speed is relatively fast (compared to the dialup I had in the hotel back in Beirut). Going through my email and updating the blog.
Tommorrow I’ll be going to Krak de Chav…….I don’t know the spelling…excuse my french. In Arabic its called Qal’at Al7esn which I understand is one of the best Crusader casles in the world. I’ll also try to go to a few other sights before going to Aleppo (7alab).
Good night!

I’d award today the gold medal for the most beatiful natural scenery. The mountains and what you’re going to read is just gorgeous. Today’s kickoff was a takeaway breakfast from Barbar. I had a felafel sandwich and man’ouchet la7m be 3ajeen, both were very delicious. Barbar is like the lebanese equivilant of Gad in Egypt. However there’re a few differences, Barbar is cleaner, tastier and the staff there are more friendly and more hygenic. Anyways…enough food and to today’s events.
First sight to be visited…Beitedein and a few place around it. Went -via service taxi- to the Cola transport hub (I don’t know why its called Cola). Some of the rooms in the palace -which was built in 17something..or was it 18something…anyways- were really spectacular. The designs on the wood which wasn’t restored since the palace were built (ya3ni it was supposedly untouched). After that took a taxi to Qasr Moussa, which in short is a childhood fantasy.
Went back to Beirout where I took a taxi to the Jeitta Grotto. This place is…BEATIFUL. Its one of those things yhou could keep on walking back and forth in and keep saying awe….truely breath taking. There’re 2 grottos over there, one which is covered by foot, and the other one..you take a boat into it..:) Inside them its just very..cool…a cool breeze. The water pretty cold. But there’s only one problem -for me- over there….photography isn’t allowed over there. But I bought 3 posters which I’m going to try to scan when I return to Cairo Insha2Allah. After that we went to Junnieh where we took the telefrique. That is one beatiful ride. It take around 10 mins or so. Parts of it might be kind of scary…afterall..you’re hanging in the air in a box and the only thing to hold you from falling is some iron cable. In the ride you get to go up the mountains that overlook Beirut. On top its a place called Harissa. Once you reach the top there’s a statue of Virgin Mary which has a circular staircase around it. You go up there and basically you have a magnificent view of Beirut. I’ll post pictures when I go back to Cairo Insha2Allah. Took the telefrique back to Junnieh.
The taxi took me to Charles Helou station where I enquired about the buses to Hama in Syria which I’m planning to go to tommorrow evening Insha2Allah. From there I’ll have a day trip to Krak de’Chav…….I don’t know the spelling…excuse my french.
Went back to the hotel, then went for dinner at kabab-ji…very nice kabab. Passed by Starbucks and finally back to the hotel.
Overall…its been a very long day…however very very nice…exhausting..but a lot of fun.
Tommorrow I’ll probably try to pass by the national museum of Beirut, not really sure though. My sister’s friend is going to pass by and she’ll show us around Beirut, maybe do some shopping too. In the evening I’ll be heading off to Syria Insha2Allah.

Good night!

Today was probably the richest day when it comes to history. My sister and myself visited Baalbak which is nearly a 2 hour ride from Beirut. But it was totally worth it.
Baalbak has one of the best roman historical sites in the Middle East. Things over there are just fabulous. Some of the main structures are still intact. One of the temples, the temple of Jupiter was built over 250 years or so. It is huge, its enormous, its breathtaking its in Baalbak. If you come to Lebanon, and you any interest in history Baalbak is a definite place you have to visit. I’m not going to write much because the pictures I’ll post -Insha2Allah- will explain everything I mean.
Went back to Beirut where we went to downtown (near Place De’tole (whatever the french spelling is)). After that we took a service taxi to Zeit we Za3tar for some mana2eesh where again we met with our relative.
Sorry this post is very short..but I’m really exhausted and I’ll probably have a very very long day tommorrow…so please wish me luck…;)

Good night!

On the 4th day I went to Saida (Sidon in English) which is around 40 km to the south of Beirut. It was very clear that the people here were more conservative compared to Beirut.
I started the day with a Felafel (ta3meya) sandwich in a a small restaurant by the sea called Abu Rami. Man…it was good..really good..frankly…I don’t usually enjoy eating a felafel sandwich…but this one..I did..and it was big. Its nothing like the miniature felafel sandwiches we have in Cairo.
After that I went to the Sea Castle, it was alright…I don’t think there was anything really special about it. After that I went and wandered around in the souk area, now if you ever want to go to a souk and get lost in its alleys…Saida is the place to go.
I went to the soap museum which was a relatively small museum but it had very interesting information on how soap was made during history, and it had some of the equipment used in the process…very interesting..at least to me it was…
As you know I’ve a relatively big appetite…(and bel 3arabi keda..ba7eb el 2akl bemazag). So to each city I visit..I’ve to try one of the nice restaurants there(that aren’t too expensive). In Saida I went to a place called Saida Resthouse. Its right by the sea castle and it has a spectacular view…I mean really spectacularly breath taking (is this the correct grammer?). From what I understand it was like an Ottoman building that was renovated and turned into a restaurant. I’ll definitely post a picture for this restaurant when I’m able to.
For the dessert, I went to a place called Pattestrie Kanaan. Very clean place where I had konafa with cheese, and saniorra (which -according to the lonely planet- is the local specially in this region).
Took a minibus back to Beirut, took a 30 minute nap…btw..I understand they’re called powernaps…I don’t think they really work…but I just needed to rest. I went to the airport to pick up my sister then we met my relative for dinner.

Cheers!

Today I went to Byblos (known to the locals as Jbail). Apparently this city has been for quite a long time…actually..thousands of years…we’re talking about years in BC. It is one of the oldest cities in the world that has been continuously inhabited.
The way from Beirut to Jbail is filled with beautiful scenery. I’ll post some of the pics when I go back to Cairo Insha2Allah.

Jbail’s very nice, its not very big, however it has really nice scenery by the sea. You’ll know what I mean once I post the pictures.
I had a quick walk through the souk, again I liked the architecture of the souk. The souk leads to the entrance of the ruins. There’re alot of ruins over there that go really back in time. Among other things there’s a castle, roman pillars, etc. I don’t have the strongest background in history, however people literally mean it when they say that there’re RUINS over there. Yes they’re a good thing, but in a lot of cases its left to your imagination to think about how those things looked like one day. If there’s one thing to say here…the pharos knew how to preserve stuff…I mean today was one of those days I think how good the historical sites in Egypt really are. I guess when I go back to Egypt, I’ll try to head south to Luxor and Aswan again. And this time I’d pay a visit to Abu Simbel.
After that I went for a very nice lunch at the harbour called Ras El-Mina. I had calamari, shrimps, spring rolls (that had potatoes and shrimps in them), hommos…I kind of overate over there. But it was REALLY nice. The waiters over there are very friendly too. If you ever go to Jbail, you know where you’re having your lunch.
On my way back to the center of the city, I found the wax museum which had statues made of wax representing different era’s in the lebanese history. Its nothing like Madame Tussou (is this the correct spelling?) but it was interesting.
Took the bus back to the Dawra area in Beirut. From there I took another bus that goes to Hamra (where my hotel is located). On that bus I met a filipino who’s been in Beirut for a month or so. We had an interesting chat.
Went back to the hotel, I watched a little bit of TV, however I fell into a nap for nearly an hour or so. For dinner, I went to kabab-ji. The food over there is very tasty, had a mixed grill which included kebab, shish tawook and kofta. I also got hommos and salatet thoum (or thoumeyeih?). Service there is very good and I’d put that restaurant on the places you must try while you’re in Beirut.

I’m thinking of going to Sidon tommorrow…we’ll see how things go.

Good night!

Well…if there’s one thing to say about today..it was very tiring. Apparently the weather here is still pretty hot and humid.
After having a very light breakfast at the hotel (which is located in Hamra), I walked to St.George’s Bay. Then from there I did the recommended walk until the Pigeon Rock which was in the Lonely Planet. I did one big mistake today, I picked the wrong time of the day for this walk (around 10 am until 1.30 pm). Although this walk -in the direct sun- exhausted me, I really enjoyed it. At certain points there was some cool mediteranean breeze.
After that I took a service taxi to the American University in Beirut. The campus which dates to 1866 is really fabulous. Unfortunately I didn’t get a real taste of AUB, first day of classes is still on the 26th and today was the freshman orientation. After having a walk around campus, I went to Burger King which is right infront of AUB (I really missed Burger King). I then went back into AUB to the registrar. I was trying to locate a friend who was with me in school. Last time I was ever in touch with him was in 1997 or 1998. From the registrar I was able to convince the lady there to look my friend up in their records. Apparently he entered in 1999, finished his Bachelor’s and was finishing up his Masters. She only gave me 2 email addresses (bingo!). Email address…I didn’t know how often he checks it, thats if he still uses those addresses. So after that I went to the Engineering department where they gave me his mobile phone number. Now that was as major step. But it soon ended with disappointment, I called the number up and his brother told me that he just left to work in Abu Dhabi a couple of days ago. Do I consider my self unlucky…well…I don’t know…
After that I went to downtown Beirut where I saw some historic sites that included a mosque, a cathedral and some roman baths. Although thats a lot of history, that didn’t really impress me, what was admired about that area is its architecture. Some of it is done in the Ottoman style, others were pretty modern. If I show you some of the pictures, you could easily think that I was somewhere in Europe. Over there I went to another place I missed…dunkin donuts. Now in Egypt the closest thing we have to donuts is the house of donuts…which isn’t as good as dunkin donuts. Unfortunately I wasn’t that hungry so I just had one small donut.
I took a service back to the hotel where I rested for a while then I met a relative of mine for dinner.

Overall I had a very good day. Saw a lot of nice building designs. Oh yeah little note, the marketing here is pretty cool Some of the banners are really nice…dont’ get any ideas…I’m not talking about cute lebanese girls on them or something, I’m talking about the content. I’ve a little brochure for Zeit we Za3tar..or is it Za3tar we Zeit, I’ll try to scan it and post it when I come back to Cairo, you’ll get what I mean when you see it.

Anyways I guess I’m going to call it a night right now, I still have some research to do about where I’m going to go tommorrow, I’ll probably go somewhere outside of Beirut.

Good night!