Aleppo

Dear Friends.



We left Antakya not early in the morning, maybe at 11 am, because too much staff to tie on the bike. After a short and nice ride we reached the border in about half hour. Crossing the Turkish Side was so easy. But the Syrian one was much easier than I expected, but maybe is because after Central Asia everything seems to me friendly and soft. First I got my passport stamped. In just five minutes I realised that in Arab countries work some kind of ordered chaos. There was not a queue of people, just a bulk of them surrounding the small window. So you have to put yourself into de group and leave your document on the desk and pray to be attended. But things work and in minutes I got my stamp. The police smiled and showed me his mobile phone. The Real Madrid logo was there. Once and again football lovers know Spain by that game I really hate. But it helps sometimes. Then I had to get insurance for the bike and pay road taxes but not import duties because I had Carne du Passage or travelling car passport. So it was 40$. No one shouted and no one was impolite and no one wanted money for helping. We even had a tea with the Turist Office workers and had a good chat about Islam and Christianity.



What can I say about Syria? It is hot in summer, of course, over 45 or 50 degrees, but its people are even warmer in their welcome. Arabs are nice and friendly, but they drive very bad. They may trust Ala but I think God has too much work here. We arrived Aleppo and got into its deep heart. Bar Antakia is in the old city, is a market and a labyrinth of narrow streets. They looked amazed to the Little Fat and we were shocked by them. We got what I needed: a map, a sim card and some sticker of Syria and then we went to the visit Saint Simeon Monastery and the Death Cities. Again into the wild. No people, just hot, dust, gravel roads and sheep. Tough country with thousands of archelogical sites. Here lived the Asirians, the Persians, the Romans, the first Christians and the Arabs and the Sky is still really blue.



Be well.