I was in Syria for 2 weeks (Aug 1 - 17) to visit my grandma. She's living by herself now as my grandpa died 6 years ago, and her sister died 2 months ago. It was probably the last time I'll ever see her, as traveling to Syria is no "vacation" per se. I have three cousins there, but one is going back to her family in Montreal around December, and the other two are finishing school.

I consider this a life-changing experience. The last time I was there was around 11 years ago, when my parents weren't even fully divorced. We spent most of the time at the beach. This time it was just my mom, my brother, and I. We tried to see as much of the country as possible, knowing it would be our last time aside from when my grandma passes (at which point my mom will probably go back on her own). Being in that country is tough; even stranger if you're an American Christian accustomed to the west. Still, I'm very happy I went. Enough from me, here are some pics:


Shawarma, sort of like a fast-food chicken wrap. This guy has been in the same little shop since the last time I was there.



Greek Orthodox church:



A photo of my uncle and his kill (not doctored...)



water pipe



Traffic police



Best falafel I've ever had, outside the souq in Aleppo



Entrance to the Citadel of Aleppo:



The entire citadel is surrounded by that inclined wall, so the only way in for an invading army would have been through the front door.

This is an everyday-type of market...






We went out to Palmyra, which is about a 5-6 hour drive from Latakia, way out in the desert towards Iraq. Some of these pictures, had Mr. Assad known I took them, would have landed me in jail, or worse. Interestingly enough, there was a lot of "movement" out there. The resolution on some of these is poor because I was zoomed in all the way, and we were driving.









Temple of Bel



Me











If you would like to see more, I have well over 1000 pictures of places like Latakia, Aleppo, Palmyra, Slomfeh, and a few other random things at my Flickr page (not all pictures up yet!!):

http://flickr.com/photos/8511671@N05/colle...57606833985054/


Thanks for viewing!

 

Incredible pictures! I've never had the urge to go to Syria, but these pictures may help change my mind. Where was that last one taken, and from about what year were those columns from?

 

Palmyra has been around for several thousands of years. The temple dates back sometime to the first century A.D. Palmyra reached it's height under Queen Zenobia's rule, when it was considered an empire, but she was overrun by the Romans.


The last picture was taken from the citadel of Palmyra:







That picture was taken from in front of the Temple of Bel. See the citadel up there?

 

The most amazing part of Palmyra was the fact that it was at least 115 degrees when we were out there (around 2 PM), but it was actually easier to withstand the heat due to the absolute lack of moisture in the air. Imagine it's 90 degrees and humid, you can barely stand for 10 minutes. But in Palmyra, as soon as your eyes adjust to the brightness of the sun, you're capable of standing the heat for an hour, so long as you keep a water bottle handy. To appreciate how bright it was, the pictures I've taken came out surprisingly crisp, even though it was a simple point and shoot camera.

 

cool pics sir!!!!

looks like an interesting place to visit.