Palmyra (Syria): pink city, burial chambers, Arab Castle and animal sacrifices (11-13 Aug).

Alex and were joined by Serena, a Malaysian lawyer on the way to an internship with the UN in New York, whom we meet the previous day, for the trip to Palmyra in the mid-east of Syria – on the road to the border with Iraq. I sat on the back seat with a family from Dehr-ul Doon (right on the border) who told me of the town’s difficulties from the influx of Iraqis fleeing the conflict and invited me to stay. We got in quite late to the Sun Hotel and managed to arrange a taxi for the next day’s exploration of the legendary pink city.

A bugger early start took us to the Arab Castle (Qala’at ibn Maan) for sunrise and a magnificent view over the plain of Palmyra, a city that rivals Petra and Angkor Wat. Palmyra started off as an Assyrian caravan stop for the Silk Road, then grew to glory under the Greeks and was annexed by Rome in AD217. The taxi dropped us back at the hotel and after a power snooze we walked to the main ruins along the dusty roads. Highlights at Palmyra were:

* Temple of Baal Shamin: with its inner sanctum and sunken passage for animal sacrifices.
* Monumental Arch: actually two arches built on 30 degree angle to mask kink in road.
* Main street: glorious row of columns, flanked by theatre and blocked by the Camp of (Roman) Diocletian.
* Towers of Yemliko: multi-story burial chambers that look like a giant has plonked them in the sand.
* Hypogeum of 3 Brothers: underground burial chamber with amazing frescoes and big wooden door needing giant brass key.

As sunset fast approached, we slogged our way across the sandy desert back to the foot of the Arab Castle and raced (scrambled) for the top. Alex went straight up the steep rocky slope and was very impressive but I followed a local shepherd up the windy path to the left and beat Alex there (ha!) – not that I am competitive. After the glorious sunset, utterly knackered and close to complete dehydration we hitched a ride back to town with a Polish tour group and fed ourselves then crashed. Tomorrow back to Damascus for final days in Syria.