Tag Archives: Syria
Mother’s Day
It is Mother’s Day in the UK today, so here are some pictures from my travels in honour of mothers everywhere. And not forgetting granny…….
My Top 15 Travel Pleasures – 9 to 7
9. Riding Unusual Transport You tend to try new modes of transport on your travels, be they animal (elephant in Laos, donkey in Luxor, camel in Wadi Rum), man powered (cyclo in Saigon, rickshaw in Singapore, canoe in Vietnam) or mechanical (street car in Hong Kong, felucca in Aswan, helicopter in Monaco). My favourite mode […]
Memorable Overseas Train Journeys #4 – Turkey
Journey – May 2009, Ankara to Adana Depart 20.05 Scheduled Arrival 07.25, 674 KM Following the passport dramas at Ankara train station, we were finally able to relax on the Toros Express bound for Adana in Eastern Turkey as we followed our route into Syria. After dumping our gear in our sleeper compartment, we shuttled […]
Palmyra’s Triumphal Arch
With the news that there was a marble replica that would be in display in London for three days, I had of course to go and look for myself. I visited the historical site myself in May 2009 and you can see the replica and the original photographed by me below. This is how the […]
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 […]
Sunday Photo – 20
This is another of my favourite photos from Syria. It shows me and my travel buddy Hamish with the marvellous castle of Krak des Chevaliers behind us. Notice we were wearing identical t-shirts – a thoughtful gift from Mrs Wilbur presented to us on the morning of our departure.
Friday Photo – 19
In celebration of the news that apparently Palmyra is not as badly damaged as had been thought, I am posting one of my favourite pictures taken from my trip in May 2009. May the great site stand tall again and delight travellers for generations!
Sunday Photo – 9
This photo was taken in May 2009 and follows the theme of Friday’s post about Aleppo in Syria. The chap I am with was the General Manager of the historic Hotel Baron in the city. He clearly loved his hotel and will of course be devastated by recent events. Inshallah he is OK…….
Ancient Aleppo
Aleppo has the status of my favourite city ever visited and as the metropolis that vies with Damascus as the world’s oldest continually occupied settlement of significant size, I have convinced myself that it will rise again from the devastation caused by the civil war that has raged since 2011. With the attention of the […]
Sunday Photo
This will always one of my favourite photos. Taken in 2009 in Palmyra, Syria, it is now tinged with a great deal of sadness of course. I remember at the time feeling totally elated. I love the character of camels, finding them bizarre beasts that could just as easily be mythical like the unicorn or […]
