Palmyra

I was haflway through another post when I heard that Daesh (ISIS) was on the verge of entering Palmyra. And I have been able to think about little else.  In case you don't know, Palmyra's is a UNESCO world heritage site in Syria, and the Daesh barbarians want to bulldoze it just like they bulldozed the Iraqi site of Nimrod.  If I had not been to the Middle East,  I can't say I would have been as bothered as I am, because to be honest, I'm not that knowledgable about most of the ancient sites I've seen;  but believe me, some of the Middle Eastern sites are in a totally different league from anything you will find in the West.

So although I don't usually do long posts, forgive all these pictures. I want to show you what it was like when we went to Palmyra in February 2011, when many people thought the Syrian tourist industry was on the verge of opening up to more people.  As it was, there were few independent travellers, and we had Palmyra almost entirely to ourselves.

We stayed in an old colonial hotel dating from the 1930s,-  the only hotel which is actually in the midst of the ruins.  You could imagine it featuring in an Agatha Christie novel.   The idea was to see Palmyra as the sun rose, and so we got up before dawn and crept through the deserted entrance lobby and outside.

The darkness was lifting and before long the sky had turned a soft rose and violet colour as the moon dropped towards the horizon and the sky began to brighten..

 Very quickly, the first fierce light of the sun appeared, the Roman columns silhouetted against its vivid glow.

... lighting the buildings up in an orange glow and casting long shadows....

It is a true city, and stretches a long way, and a lot of it has survived the last couple of thousand years. 

The sun came up very fast, and the camels woke up

Everything seemed to glow. 

Very quickly, though, the light became bright and white.  There was complete silence.

It was extraordinary having the place almost to ourselves.

Above the city were strange towers.  The barren looking hills on which they stood were covered in tiny transparent flowers which almost glittered in the sun, but I found them impossible to photograph. As we slogged up the hills we were glad it was winter, and still quite cold in the early mornings. 

I did think of the people who built these great towers.

Down on the plain, the sun was getting brighter

You could go inside some of the buildings. This is the Temple of Bel, nearly two thousand years old. 

There were signs of repairs going on, although nobody was doing the work. 

There were a few places along the road to Palmyra offering refreshments. The owner of the one we chose spoke perfect English. He had lived in England for some years, but returned to Palmyra, his hometown, with the idea of creating an authentic desert restaurant for the tourist trade he hoped would materialise.  

In early 2011, life seemed to be improving in Syria.  Assad was becoming more liberal and, as in Libya, some of the extraordinary ancient ruins were becoming more accessible to individual travellers.  The owner didn't want to charge us for the tea because he wasn't yet officially open - typical of Syrian hospitality.

There's a small unpretentious settlement some way from the ruins with eating places and shops, catering for what tourists there were - nearly all groups.  This was the view from our cafe window. 

The camels I think were supposed to give tourists rides - although there were almost no tourists.  Horses are a good way of getting around the site, since there are no roads. 

By the late afternoon, a handful of other travellers had turned up, although the city was still almost empty. Many people like to climb the mountain to the east of  Palmyra as evening comes on, to view the sunset over the plain.

In the dusty light of evening, some parts of of the landscape looks almost unreal.   Here are those towers.

The sun drops quickly, the desert goes pink again. In the distance are the date plantations.

A telecom mast on the mountain adds a touch of modernity.  About a dozen people were on the mountain, plus many Bedouin, desperate to sell trinkets. The Bedouin, desert dwellers, were the only people who pestered us to buy during our stay in Palmyra.  They are very poor. 

And so the sun disappeared, and that rose glow entered the sky again as night came on

We had a car and drove away from Palmyra then, across the desert.

I spotted this single joker card tucked in among the rocks in Palmyra. For me it sums up the present situation, when anything could happen. Syrian forces are bombing IS to try and stop it from getting into the city.  I do hope that luck is on the side of Palmyra.



As for my political rantings last week, I am quite happy with the results of the election, because I am profoundly grateful to live in a true parliamentary democracy with a stable government.