Aleppo Citadel
The road from Aleppo to Damascus goes through the city of Hama and its famous water wheels, or Norias of Hama. They are the tallest water wheels in the world and about 500 years old. Back in the 12th century, they were used for irrigation. These days, there are 17 water wheels left in Hama and they are purely just for tourists.
After having lunch in Hama in a restaurant with a view of the river and wheels, we were on the road again until we stopped for dinner at Fadi’s parents’ home. Our group could hardly fit in their modest apartment. The tables were set in the hallway to allow all of us eat together. Fadi’s parents went to great lengths to feed us. The tables were crowded with dishes. We had tea in the lounge room and rested a little. We already spent most of the day on the bus and still had a long road ahead.
We were going to Maaloula, a Christian village in Southern Syria, high in the mountains to attend an annual Festival of the Cross. Our trip to Syria was planned around that specific date, so we were in the area at the time of the festival.
Maaloula is home to the Greek Orthodox monastery of St. Takla who was one of early followers of Jesus. When Roman soldiers chased her, Takla prayed to God and the mountain miraculously opened. Takla escaped into a cave and was saved from the Romans. She spent all her life in that cave and was buried in it.
The region of Maaloula is the only place in the world where they still speak Aramaic, the language of Jesus. The village is located in a deep canyon and its name in Aramaic means ‘entrance’ or ‘passage’. We went up a narrow passageway between two steep mountains to the top to see an ancient church that is still functioning.
It was midnight when we checked in into our hotel in Damascus. It was small, only 10 rooms and our group occupied all of them. Originally, it was a residential building reconstructed to be a hotel. Somehow, I got one of the two suites beautifully decorated in a traditional Oriental style. A sitting area and a bathroom were on the first floor and a spacious bedroom with 2 beds on the second floor. There were 8 windows that faced the street and the inner courtyard with the reception. The number of light switches was mindboggling and it took me a while to figure out what lights they turned on. Tired after a long day, I climbed two high flights of creaky wooden stairs to the bedroom and fell into bed. Breakfast was at 7.30, departure for Golan Heights on the following day was set for 8.30 a.m. which meant that I did not have much time to sleep.