Sultans, Kings, Crusaders and the bloody Romans again!! (Turkey, Syria and Jordan)

24th Feb – 10th March

It has been 2 weeks since we last updated the blog and I must say a pretty eventful 2 weeks at that!! Apologies for leaving such a gap for those tracking our progress but a combination of my laziness and internet access has resulted in the delay!

Where to start and keep it brief?? When we last left you we were at Galipolli in Turkey (boy that seems ages ago!). The remainder of Turkey continued to be most enjoyable as we headed down the western coast visiting Troy (no Brad Pitt unfortunately for C), Pergamon (Roman Ruins) and Ephesus (more Roman ruins but more impressive though have been spoilt by Pompeii!). Heading inland we went to Pamukkale, a very popular (particularly with the Germans) hot springs with sodium white cliffs! We soon hit the southern coast and meandered along the very twisty and scenic coastal road through various holiday resorts. After a huge thunderstorm on the 28th Feb the weather cleared, the sun finally stuck its head out and the Mediterranean looked fabulous – Clare even took off one of her fleeces (I generally like to wear about 5 layers!).

The roads in Turkey continued to be good all the way (even if a bit too twisty at times for C) and we had moved from Hotels to Pensions or B & B’s to us Brits but unfortunately still no camping, though it was probably still to cold to camp (it was definitely to cold to camp!). We ate well, more often than not home cooked with the B & B’s families, far better than hotels and restaurants. We started to see more tourists at the various sites and resorts but met very few where we were staying, certainly no Brits. From Istanbul onwards we enjoyed Turkey, its people are friendly, the food excellent and accommodation clean & reasonably cheap, though their architecture leaves a little to be desired!

On the 1st March after 12 days in Turkey and 1,900 miles we were poised to enter the Middle East proper & we crossed into Syria over a fairly remote mountain crossing on the East Coast with little trouble and were soon in the town of Latakia, which turned out to be of a hole but found somewhere to stay and had dinner for £3.15 (pizza, beer and wine!) Syria is cheap!! The next 3 days in Syria were ‘interesting’ and very different from Turkey! I seem to remember slating the Italian drivers earlier in the trip but they are nothing compared with the Syrians – thank god we are in Bula! It’s not easy to describe but imagine driving down the M1, the 2 ‘official’ lanes soon become 3 and sometimes 4 and not always driving in the same direction! While I watched out for hurtling trucks and buses coming from both directions, Clare kept a look out for herds of sheep and goats grazing on the hard shoulder and central reservation and occasionally interspersed with dead animals, mostly dogs but did include a dead cow in a very bloated state and a donkey! This ‘motorway’ was the main road through Syria to Damascus in the south and was through very arid desert, not a good place to break down; being the Middle East we assumed petrol stations would not be a problem but oh no big mistake! Out of desperation we stopped at a road side stall to ask at which the old fella produced a 5 litre plastic container from behind his shed which he promised me (in Arabic) contained diesel; thankfully he was not lying and we crawled onto the next petrol station where we were cheered up by filling Bula (70 liters) for £4.75 – confirmation that Burglar Brown is milking it in the UK! Having survived the ‘Road of Death’ as we called it we arrived in Damascus and had to negotiate its traffic – another experience in itself! Sites in Syria included a couple of impressive Crusader Castles occupied by Richard the Lion Heart and his merry men, and another roman amphitheatre – these Romans got everywhere. We met out first gay Arab running a restaurant where Sean Connery had apparently eaten; a very amusing meal consisting of 12 courses! We explored Damascus (the oldest inhabited city in the world) and its souks; smoked the hubba bubble pipe and drank dreadful Arabic coffee – (stick to the tea which is pretty good). We had always decided to get through Syria quickly as were not keen on being so close to the West Bank and Lebanon, which at one stage was only 1 mile away! Therefore, we missed a few of the key Syrian sites but were glad to move on as did not find the people as friendly as the Turks and everywhere was much more run down and poorer plus, unsurprisingly, a fairly heavy military presence.

So on the 5th March we crossed into Jordan with high expectations the border was a breeze, but since then is has all been frustration!! Jordan scenery is more dramatic, the people are very friendly, the driving a bit better, but it is much more expensive and impossible to find your way around with the worst sign posting we have ever encountered. We could have driven around Amman all year if we had not eventually stopped and been rescued by a very generous Palestinian (without a back pack). Its hard to describe the frustration but Clare’s best shot is “the lights are on but no one is in” or “loads of sizzle but no sausage” which is a pretty good summary of the place as it has loads of potential but falls well short on delivery. However, we have had some good highs particularly as we have finally managed to start roughing it and use Bula to her max! A couple of very contrasting nights under canvas, the first in the middle of the dessert, Laurence of Arabia territory, which was fab and then another in a car park on the edge of the Dead Sea which we soon discovered was ‘The’ spot for all night Arabian parties, boy what a long night! The Dead Sea though is unbelievable in both the surrounding scenery and the incredibly bizarre ability to be able to float in its water, which was absolutely amazing (apparently even Lord has claimed to have floated in the Dead Sea, though he states he was some what lighter at the time).

From the dead sea we climbed back up above sea level (the Dead Sea is the lowest point on earth, 400m below sea level) and into the desert for two wonderful nights in an Eco Lodge in the Dana Nature Reserve, which we had exclusively to our selves. Today we have traveled further in land to the famous site of Petra which we will visit tonight and tomorrow so more on Petra next time, but I can say the drive here through the desert mountains was quite spectacular but quite hairy at times & even poor old Bula over heated with the effort. From Petra we are finally poised to enter Africa and should be in Egypt or at least the Sinai Peninsula by Thursday all being well.

After all most three months on the road we are really into the routine which surprisingly is actually quite tough as the traveling, finding somewhere to stay, getting lost, understanding the language etc does take its toll, so we are hoping to “park up” somewhere soon and have a few days holiday!