THE LAND OF SULTANS & SOUKS
The South African
11 August 2009
The most mysterious part of the Near East, sometimes called the Levant,
is the country whose capital claims to be the oldest inhabited city
in the world.
The almost triangular land of Syria has Turkey as its northern
neighbour, with Lebanon cutting into half the Mediterranean coastline
that still leaves such seaside resorts as Latakia. Further southward
lie Israel and Jordan, but Syria’s easternmost border is marked by the
Tigris, while the Euphrates actually divides the inhabited part from
a large stretch of desert that, like both rivers, continues into Iraq.
Syria is a latecomer to tourism, but more than makes up for this with
an exotic mixture of attractions. For a start, its history includes
Jewish, Persian, Graeco-Roman and Byzantine rule that has left several
ruins such as Palmyra. Syrians made an important contribution to
Islamic civilization even before the Ottoman occupation that lasted
from 1516 until the end of the First World War when the French replaced
them for another quarter-century.
The capital, Damascus, not only remains one of the great cities of
the Arab world but it is so ancient that all history seems to have
passed through it. Clay tablets have been found that referred to
Damashq as far back as 2500 BC, and it is mentioned 26 times in the
Old Testament as early as the Book of Genesis.
The most famous mentions in the New Testament concern Saul of
Tarsus who was on his way to persecute more Christians when he was
converted himself. Once in Damascus, he had to escape his former
Jewish accomplices by going over the battlements by night, and the
site of this event is marked by St Paul’s Chapel behind the Kisan Gate.
Turn right along the wall and you come to another gate at the end of
the "straight street", also mentioned in the Bible, that marks the
Christian quarter of Damascus. In addition to the likely grotto where
St Paul was welcomed by St Ananias, it is dotted with churches of
various rites, such as Armenian, Syriac and Maronite, as far as the
Roman arch opposite the Greek Orthodox patriarchate. This district
boasts some historic mansions, and it is also good for accommodation.
Adjoining is a decayed Jewish quarter that further emphasises how
Syria is actually an amalgam of various races and religions: Copts,
Kurds, Turks, Druze, Chaldeans, Circassians, Nestorians … Even so,
four Syrians out of five are Moslems and the vast majority of these
are Sunni rather than Shiite.
Popular with the latter and with Persian pilgrims is the mosque
named after Mohammed’s grand-daughter, Sayyida Zeinab, who is buried
there. Damascus also boasts what is not only the third holiest mosque
in Islam, of which it was once the caliphate, but certainly the most
historic. This is the Umayyad (meaning great) with a vast courtyard,
built in 636 AD on the site of a pagan temple that had became a
Christian church, and supposedly still preserving the head of John
the Baptist.
Outside is the mausoleum of the first and perhaps greatest of
Arabian warlords, Saladin, a Kurd who conquered Syria from Egypt and
crushed the Crusaders by 1189 only to face Richard the Lionheart soon
afterwards and settle for co-existence before dying in Damascus. The
three minarets of the mosque are also a landmark for the covered bazaar
(souk) on its south side.
>From the capital, a couple of buses per day travel northwards along
a fair highway, periodically marked by large portraits of Syria’s
latest presidents: Bashar al-Assad and his father, Hafez al-Assad.
Bypassing Homs before coming close to the hills of Lebanon, it
terminates after 288 kilometres at Aleppo that has been a commercial
metropolis since the days of the Silk Road between China and Europe. In
the sixteenth century, it became the world’s first town with an
English consul.
Like the two cities mentioned so far, Aleppo has its Christian quarter,
but its main feature is the enormous medieval citadel that held out
against the crusaders. Those who returned to Europe often brought
the famous damascened swords, inlaid with gold and silver.
At the foot of the citadel is the sprawling bazaar, each of whose
covered alleyways specialises in different merchandise: gold, sweets,
perfumes, scarves, carpets, spices, brocade, silver, daggers … and
soap. Aleppo has been renowned for fine soap, made from olive oil
and bay laurel, since it was used by Cleopatra and Nefertiti.
The souk almost surrounds Aleppo’s largest mosque, built only ten
years after the Umayyad and named after Zachary, the father of John
the Baptist whose own major relic is also claimed by the Mosque of
Abraham among other locations.
One kilometre north of the Zachary and close to picturesque Hatab
Square is Aleppo’s most famous restaurant, Cantara, and some of the
inexpensive lodgings are hereabouts, while others are clustered around
the decayed Baron Hotel whose guests included Lawrence of Arabia and
Agatha Christie. Lonely Planet’s Syria is vital for everything from
shopping to sleeping, although diplomatic and commercial readers can
simply be referred to the Dedeman Hotel in Aleppo and the Sheraton
in Damascus.
Syria is a destination in its own right, but Aleppo can be an excursion
from southern Turkey, being linked by buses from Antioch (Antakya)
and a slow train. Visas are needed, and as policy is uncertain at
points of entry, it is best to get one from the Syrian Embassy in good
time before departure. Note that passports betraying entry to Israel –
even with a telltale stamp from the Jordanian side – are unacceptable,
and that side-trips to Lebanon can complicate re-entry. All visas
are expensive and there is an annoying exit-tax on top.