[Middle East]

Jordan
After the slow pace of Dahab it was time to travel again. Thanks to Syria I had to catch an expensive ferry across to Jordan from Egypt in order to avoid occupied Palestine. Catching a glimpse of the weather girl in a tight t-shirt on tv, who was surely hired for her *large* features, I realised Jordan is quite western in its mentality.

To see Jordan is to see Petra. A large ancient city amidst the dessert hills, where all the buildings are cut into the rock faces, churches, city hall, houses etc. An impressive site, elaborate carvings highlighted by the blues, reds, and whites of the colours of the rock. A dip into the dead sea was such a laugh. Its very salty, about 30% content and any scratches in ones skin is immediately felt as the salt eats into it. To be able to lay on my back and read a newspaper whilst floating in the sea (technically a lake) was cool!

The middle east has some of the best preserved roman ruins and in north Jordan I visited Jerash, with large roman columns and temples. A usual season sees about 2000 people here every day but USAs grab for power in Iraq this year meant I could view the ruins for the entire day with no more than 20 other visitors.

Syria
Syria was a pleasant surprise, I expected a strict Muslim country frozen in some distant century time zone. It was nothing of the sort. It was modern, easy to travel in, incredibly welcoming hospitality and many attractive women wearing tight western clothes could be seen. Mind you, the Syrian regime has banned access to hotmail and yahoo email accounts and there is no mobile roaming.....a communication isolation.

Damascus, the capital, has a beautiful old city centre and is a favourite city of mine. It claims to be the oldest continuous living city in the world, dating back some 5000 BC. The remains of medieval architecture in the city can still be seen.

Syria has the most amazing castle, more impressive than any I have seen in Europe. Its the only castle I have seen with 2 walls- an outer wall, a moat and then a inner wall. Its truly a large castle and thanks to the strong fortification it has remained intact over the centuries. Its beautifully perched on a hill overlooking the rolling hills below, that could easily be mistaken for Tuscany in Italy.

North of Syria is another ruined city from the roman period, the main street is filled with large roman columns, a distant castle as a backdrop on the hill nearby. A large roman temple dedicated to a god is a testament to the wealth of the ancient city. Its amazing to think that such a great and powerful city could fall away and be forgotten for centuries.

So after a flighty 3 weeks and having to endure a painful 5 hours waiting at the border whilst men tried to look important and scrutinise every detail on our passports.....I entered a greener looking Turkey, a welcoming relief from the predominantly brown and dusty dessert hills of Syria and Jordan.

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