Hama, Syria

We took the bus from Aleppo to Hama after a morning bout of stomach sickness. It may have been the street food for dinner, the 1/2 lb of cherries we devoured (some without washing), or the multiple pieces of baklava we scarfed right before bed (don't tell my paternal grandmother - but it was the best I've ever had!) Whatever the cause, we decided to skip breakfast in hopes that our stomachs would settle.

By four in the afternoon we were feeling pretty good. And starving. We went to lunch with a new friend from Arizona at the Four Norias Restaurant, named so for the ancient norias Hama is famous for.

For this meal, we went all out with mezze and salads. Fattoush, tabouleh, baba gahnoush, and lots of rice and bread. The fattoush is by far my favorite dish when made well. A simple salad of cucumbers and tomatos (maybe bits of cabbage) tossed with crispy fried pita pieces and generously doused in sweet pomegranate sauce. Heavenly.

Our dinner companion was interested in the raw kibbeh after I pointed it out to him. He ordered a plate and offered to share, but I didn't want to push my stomach after the morning's events. The Husband took a piece, though.

The raw lamb he consumed, while probably unsanitary, most likely wasn't the cause of his late night fever.

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Around 2 am, he jumped out of bed with a ruckus, mumbling lowdly about how he Just can't take it! The AC and the fan! I'm freezing! He's so intense I let him turn everything off, knowing full well I'll be sweating balls in about 3 minutes. Even after the room has warmed up, he's still shivering. I take his temperature.
100.5 Great. Here, take some ibuprofen.
101.8 Shit. Listen, I hate to do this to you, but we don't have a bath. You need to take a lukewarm shower. (Imagine a cursing response.)
He hops in. Lock jaw, uncontrollable shivering.
Dry him off, put him to bed. Try not to worry for about 1/2 hour while the ibuprofen (hopefully) kicks in.
98.7 Bingo. Goodnight at 4am.

Tomorrow morning - Krak des Chevaliers and Mysraf.

Day 2, Aleppo

We relaxed all morning after deciding to stay in Aleppo another night. I'm happy that we made the decision to stay in bed, read, relax. It is so easy for us to get caught up in a gogoGO! mentality. We have to see everything now!

But really, this is vacation. And a honeymoon at that! Of course it can be trying, traveling in a foreign country, but it's also supposed to be relaxing and fun.

Fun is what we're having. People in Syria are ecstatic to see American tourists and overwhelmingly welcoming. We even got 1/3 off our hotel room! For being the country on our itinerary that people from our home are most afraid of, Syria has done more than prove itself. Many remark that they have never seen an American tourist, and "I think all Americans think we are terrorists" in a hopeful, half question. They hope we will say no.

Truthfully, I'm not sure how to respond.

Snapshot

Aleppo, Syria

Sitting. Resting in the hotel commons room. Dim light coming in through a large window behind me. High ceiling and glossy white walls accented in salmon. Dusty chandelier dipping into the room. Even on the second floor with no visible people, the air is permeated with smoke. I'm either repulsed or craving one, I can't tell. It would compliment my Arabic coffee for sure. From miscommunication, my inky, sludgy coffee in a tiny chipped cup and saucer has no trace of sugar - unheard of. The taste is pungent. Bitter, almost sour.

Aleppo, Syria

We're closing out our first day in Aleppo, and despite our late start, I think we did a bang up job.

We didn't venture out until about 3pm. We hadn't eaten in nearly 24 hours, so obviously food was first on our to do list. Even before first, though, we had to withdraw money.
YOUR REQUEST IS DENIED
YOUR REQUEST IS DENIED

YOUR REQUEST IS DENIED

YOUR REQUEST IS DENIED

At every ATM, DENIED. Talk about worrisome.

We convinced a restaurant to accept USD (not hard) and decided to worry about our money problems when we could actually concentrate on anything beside hunger.

To make a long story short, we found an ATM that was not Central Bank of Syria that worked just fine. Phew!

After lots of sights, we hit up the internet cafe. A dingy, underground, blue-lit room that made me feel like I was in some hacker movie. No doubt, the point. Despite the lack of ventilation, a ton of young guys were smoking. They really don't give a fuck here. This region is consumed with smoke...despite the no-smoking signs everywhere!

The day ended with a street vendor meal. Two felafel sandwiches (actually a wrap), and another nameless, spiced wrap for under 1USD. Mmm.

Well, I'm signing off from the hotel commons room. The Husband is exhausted and no doubt already asleep in bed.

<3

Citadel of Aleppo

Long Buses and Border Crossings

Aleppo, Syria

We just arrived to our hotel in Aleppo after 16+ hours on five buses. Phew. I thought I would be exhausted, but a cup of tea and a shower have proved extremely renewing.

The border crossing was tedious. It took about an hour and a half of our passports changing hands approximately one million times. At one point, they asked us our parents' names which they could barely pronounce and recorded in Arabic. Very accurate and useful, I'm sure.

For all our waiting, it seems we are the lucky ones. Our charismatic, tea touting, America loving hotelier told us that it is not uncommon for Americans to wait at the border for 4-6 hours. Dang. (He also gave us 1/3 off our room for being American. Whoo! - Al-Gawaher Hotel)

Alright, I'm signing off. We haven't had anything to eat except for soy bars (thanks, Mother in Law!) for over 20 hours. Not a good feeling as we walked passed delicious looking rotisserie chickens on our walk to the hotel!