Black clouds cannot make the snow capped mountain black, white snow cannot hide green trees. Naxi Proverb
We arrived too late in the day to visit the Citadel in Aleppo but managed to takes some external pictures of it.
It's a visually interesting place to visit even if it is remarkably easy to get lost in the twisting alleys and byways of the souk. The strangest thing of all though was the way that The Bank of Syria wouldn't change travellers' cheques but the man in the kebab shop would. Weird !
Palmyre is also an interesting place to visit but orange ruins against an orange background sadly do nott make for good photography. These are the best three of a fairly indifferent collection.
Krak de Chavalier by contrast is an amazing place for pictures with its dramatic locale and its labyrinth of Escher-like corridors and stairs.
Two views of Damascus. To the left is the Grand Mosque and above is a nearby street scene.
We took a day trip to Lebanon. To the left are the ruins at Balbek, below right are the rather more recent ruins of Beirut and next to it the startling contrast of the Beirut sea-front less than half a mile away.
Without doubt the 'ancient ruins' highlight of the whole trip was Patra, an enormous and fascinating site. The eagle eyed among you may spot that this is the location used for the Templars' fortress in Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade.
After Petra we went out into the desert to camp with the Bedouin at Wadi Rum.
