Tag Archives: Lake Assad
King of the Asian Castles
Everybody loves a castle or a fort. We imagine knights on horseback, lowering the drawbridge & portcullis, a battering ram, catapult, perhaps even crocodiles in the moat. The truth of course is that they were brutal places. Built to be impregnable, usually somewhere high up, they could reign terror on any attackers – arrows, boiling […]
Syria Before The Conflict Part Two, Castles & Monasteries
Aleppo had proved to be a superb host city, but this did not stop us from going on a couple of full on day trips by private taxi. First up was St Simeon’s Monastery, some 30km north. St Simeon is the guy who legend has it was driven up the pole! Simeon the Stylite lived […]
Syria Before The Conflict Part Two, Castles & Monasteries
Aleppo had proved to be a superb host city, but this did not stop us from going on a couple of full on day trips by private taxi. First up was St Simeon’s Monastery, some 30km north. St Simeon is the guy who legend has it was driven up the pole! Simeon the Stylite lived […]
A-Z April Challenge – Qal’at Najm
During our stay in wonderful Aleppo in 2009 we hired a taxi driver to take us northwards to two castles named Qal’at Ja’bar and Qal’at Najm. OK I am cheating somewhat as the word qal’at means castle in Arabic, but having never been to Quebec or Queensferry I was struggling somewhat for a place I have visited beginning […]
