World Syria Hamah

Our trip home ....

Hama is cracking good! Oct 22, 2004

Hama is about 1.5 hours from Aleppo, a really small town with not a hell of a lot to see and do but it is a very pretty place and very warm feeling to it. They have these really really old norias (water wheels) which makes walking around very scenic. From here though it is great to make day trips out! When we arrived at the bus station, we asked someone which direction we should walk, he was kind enough to let us share his taxi with him and asked us to come have tea with him (this is usual in Syrian custom) So we spent a fair amount of time chatting to him and his friends. He even invited us to breakfast (the dinner at sunset - Ramadan is on at the moment in the Middle East) He wouldn't let us pay for anything!! It was really a great welcome to this town. The next day the three of us (Steve, a friend we met in Olympos) hired a car and a driver (the car was an old 51 Pontiac - we felt so cool) and visited all the main sites in the area including Crac des Chevaliers, Apamea, Musyaf and a few other sites. There were all awesome, especially Crac though. It is a massive castle on a huge hill overlooking amazing views of the area. That night we met up with another friend who we met in Aleppo, Terry. He is like a pappa smurf and likes to look after the three of us!!

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