MELITOUR 2011 SYRIA TOUR JOURNAL

The city of Antakya is built on two sides of a river which, in the Biblical times was called Orontos. Since the head waters of the river is in the south in Syria and it flows north, the Turks call the river ASI "rebellious". St Peter and St. Paul had started a big church here in Antakya ( Antioch) in around 48 AD. to differentiate the followers of Christ from the Gentiles, the church members were called followers of Christ, Christian. So the name which has been used for more than 2000 years had started here in this city. At the museum we met the earliest followers of Christ.

As soon as we left Antakya , we found our selves in a very fertile valley, Amik Ovasi, where vine yards, olive orchards, pepper fields popped out from dark red soil. As we approached Syria, the border runs through dry, rocky land. Turkey protects its border with a fence and bales of coiled razor wire. A few lonely soldiers are stationed along this barrier. We arrived at the Turkish border. There was a long caravan of trucks lined up waiting at the border. Our driver meandered through the trucks and different gates and took us in the customs area. The Turkish customs was easy. We al got our passports quickly stamped . We were now all ready to roll in to Syria. Our first stop was the Turkey passport control for an exit stamp, vying for our place with a long line of truck drivers waiting to cross the border. Everyone made a pit stop not knowing how long we might wait on the Syrian side before being allowed to enter. Usually there is a bathrooms charge, but in this case we were literally held hostage by three men and not allowed to exit the bathroom area until someone came up with money --- and by the way, we also had to pay for Jim who managed to sneak out without paying!

We hauled our suitcases from the Turkey side to the Syrian side of the border. Passport Control was a large white building with a special window for tourist groups. After our passports were collected, we waited anxiously on a bench inside. After nearly one hour, we moved outside into the lovely sunshine. We were entertained by a worker pruning a hedge to fit an arch above.
	An important man dressed in a white shirt and slacks came out to review the work. He grabbed the hedge trimmer and began showing the worker how it should be done. Several other workers came to pick up the trimmings, and soon they made five. The map of the Arab world below the map of Syria was interesting. It was a good reminder that not only we were stepping in Syria but we are now going to be exposed to a complete different culture of the Semitic world. As we walked through the last check point I was wondering how this borderless map will be fractured in to minute units of "states". Iraq, Palestine, Libya, Syria are all going to be decimated soon.
We waited for our passports to be "stamped" for about one hour. No body in the group asked why it takes so long to stamp 8 passports. We were welcomed by our Syrian guide Aiman Ahmad Maliha from Aleppo and bus driver Mohamed. Our great adventure to discover the treasures of Syria had begun.

The first stop in Syria was the gate of Havva, Eve. The Roman road which was the major military and trade road for the Romans stretched in front of our eyes as great as it must have been 2000 years ago. A very wide, well paved road must have been trotted over by thousands of horse shoes and sandals for ages. We now had our foot prints somewhere recorded in the history. The northern part of Syria is the bread basket of the country. The land looked very fertile and the villages looked prosperous with the beautiful stone houses. The fields which were not cultivated yet were covered with yellow mustard flowers and the red poppies. the scent in the air was fresh. Off the road to Aleppo, we took a detour to visit the Monastery of St. Simon - the complex of churches from the 5^th century. This was a pilgrimage site where St. Simeon, a “pillar saint,” held court. St Simeon was a curious character. From an early age he appears to have displayed an aptitude for self-inflicted pain. On entering the monastery at age 16, he wore a spiked girdle that drew blood and spent his summers buried in the ground up to his chin. Such odd behavior naturally attracted attention, so he perched on a pillar to escape the crowds. The more crowds, the higher his pillar grew, eventually reaching 64 feet. The Basilica has four naves, and in the center is the pillar stump which is all that remains of the pillar. The church is a masterpiece of early Christian architecture and is one of the largest churches ever built. It held up to 10,000 worshippers. We took a break at a small cafe near the entry and enjoyed fresh-squeezed orange juice and tea under spreading pines. A sweet but flea-bitten dog with chewed-up ears looked at us hopefully. He had a penchant for chewing on our shoes.

We entered Aleppo also known as Halep near the Antakia gate. Legend has it that Abraham milked his cow at the top of the imposing citadel. We were introduced to Aleppo with a walk around the old town, through narrow streets lined with small shops selling candy bags of all shapes and sizes, women’s handbags, scarves and other items. We had lunch at Sissi House, a large old house with an open courtyard and several stories of rooms on each side. We started with a selection of mezes followed by a mixed kebab platter, and dessert. It was a fantastic lunch – we did not need to eat for a week!

Nearby was a Greek Orthodox church with interesting iconography. In the same quarter was the Armenian church of Saint Forty Martyrs. A fervent young Armenian cleric offered us a tour. He began by telling us how the Ottomans slaughtered his grandfather and that he hates the Ottomans. The question was posed as to how the Turks differed from the Ottomans. He was quite agitated as he told this story. Ultimately, he admitted he hated the Turks. His agitation pervaded the tour of the church, and he made much of all the art showing the suffering of the people. He showed us a painting from the school of Leonardo and the suckling Jesus. We were happy it was the end of the day and we could slip away.