Category Middle East
My Top Ten Big Cities Outside Europe #6 – Beirut
#6 – Beirut, Lebanon (population estimated 1.3 million) I visited the Lebanese capital in 2000 with Hamish, a mighty fine way to start our travels in the new millennium. Beirut had been synonymous with civil war, terrorism & kidnapping but the city I visited was more akin to the Paris of the East title it […]
My Top Ten Big Cities Outside Europe #7 – Damascus
#7 – Damascus, Syria (population estimated 1.8 million) I visited Damascus in 2009, two years before civil war broke out. As a government stronghold, the main city has seen relatively little damage compared to the territories that were held by ‘rebel factions’ or ISIS. I have documented my love of Syria many times on this […]
Monday Morning Blues #16 – Umayyad Mosque, Damascus
Every working Monday me and a few of my Twitter pals (@wilburstravels) post a picture on Monday morning aimed at beating those Monday morning blues. Why not join in and spread the word? Post a picture from a wonderful place that features the colour blue. My choice today is of the fabulous mosque in the […]
Sunday Photos – Citizens of Syria
Yesterday I was honoured to give a talk about my 2009 journey from Istanbul to Damascus at the wonderful Globetrotters Club in London. The journey took me from Istanbul to Ankara, Adana, Antakya, Aleppo, Raqqa Province, Latakia, Hama, Homs, Palmyra and finally Damascus, a distance of over 1,000 miles in 12 wonderful days. I finished […]
Sunday Photo – The Brazen Serpent, Mount Nebo, Jordan
The Epiphany Today is the day of the Epiphany, celebrating the day that Jesus Christ was baptised by John the Baptist in the River Jordan. It also happens to be the ‘name day’ of my wonderful Greek wife Ourania. For many Epiphany also marks the last day of Christmas , the twelfth night and the […]
Carry On, Follow That Camel!
Camels of the Middle East, Africa & Central Asia The unusual title for my blog post is actually the title of one of my favourite films in the long running series of comedic ‘Carry On’ films that became a much loved staple of UK cinema in the ’50s, ’60s & ’70s. This one had our […]
Building Babylon
Every now and again something surprising occurs during your commute to work that makes the monotonous journey that little bit more pleasant. One such occurrence was the recent photographic display of Iraqi architecture past, present and future. I would love to see it for real one day………. Take a look for yourselves.
A-Z April Challenge – Yad Vashem
There is something haunting about visiting somewhere connected to the Holocaust. I am yet to visit an ex concentration camp and the closest that I have come are museums in Warsaw and Terezin in Czechia and the disturbing Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, as well as the subject of my post. Yad Vashem based in […]
A-Z April Challenge – Norias of Hama, Syria
In May 2009 I was lucky enough to visit Syria. This is how it was before the tragic conflict. Hama is famous for its norias, huge wooden water wheels used to lift water from the River Orontes to irrigate the crops. It is claimed that they date back to 1100 BC and although no longer […]
