Archive for November, 2007
Friday, November 16th, 2007
Our New Image
Here’s what happens when you let Syrian photographers take your passport photo! We needed more photos for our visa renewal so we went along to the local photo shop in Hama, got the picture taken and left for a couple hours while they did the processing. When we returned, not only did we have our passport photos but also two souvenirs. “So you remember us,” the photographer said with a smile. Well, Friedel looks 10 years younger thanks to the touch-up job (if only she’d known this was coming she might have at least given a small smile for the photographer) and Andrew isn’t looking too shabby either. Lovely bamboo frame!
No Comments » - Posted in Random Ramblings, Syria by friedel
Wednesday, November 14th, 2007
65km Kafran Booda to Hama
Sometimes on this trip (very often in Syria, as it’s turning out) someone touches us in a strong way. Today it was the turn of Wafa, a 17 year old girl from the village of Kafran Booda, to take a place in our hearts. She and her brother found us last night in a field near their home and urged us to come visit the next morning. Their house was almost across the road from where we camped and as we entered to share a tea and breakfast we realised instantly that this was not a rich family. Like so many people we saw in the fields all around us, these were farm workers, tending crops of peppers, potatoes and cotton. The home was very simple and chilly in the cool winter air as Wafa showed us the bedroom she shared with three of her sisters. English is her favourite subject and she proudly presented a list of questions she’d prepared for us overnight.
At the top of the paper Wafa wrote: “I am excited to meet you because it is the first time I can practice my English.” The rest of the page was divided into two neat columns filled with questions. (more…)
4 Comments » - Posted in Cycling Trips, Journal Entries, Syria by andrew
Tuesday, November 13th, 2007
56km Marayan to Kafran Booda
Working our way around the world slowly – the initial idea behind this trip – is taking on a whole new meaning in Syria. In the space of just a few hours we had three invitations to come home for the night, countless offers of tea and at least a dozen people who followed us on motorbikes and looked in amazement at the bikes, before peppering us with questions. Many more drive past, staring as they go, then turn around a few meters in front of us and head back to the nearest village. They have come just to look at these strange visitors.
We can’t stop in a town without at least twenty people gathering around and news of our arrival seems to spread like wildfire to anyone who speaks english for miles around. We rarely stop for less than five minutes before the school teacher or doctor arrives to act as translator between us and the crowd of locals. Today we also answered questions from a man who has a visa for Canada and planned to move there – perhaps the first person we’ve met who actually claimed to have papers for Canada, instead of hoping we will magically make the dream of immigrating happen for them. (more…)
No Comments » - Posted in Cycling Trips, Journal Entries, Syria by andrew
Monday, November 12th, 2007
30km Idlib to Marayan
With Friedel still recovering from a bout of illness and Andrew starting to feel under the weather, we were due another day of cycling in the slow lane. Just as well then that a friendly local man found our tent under a tree and invited us for breakfast. Omar turned out to be a local English teacher who was keen to take his language skills to whole new levels. Over tea and scrambled eggs he showed us a vast selection of dictionaries and papers for university courses he’s following, including studies of Shakespeare.
For a good hour we chatted about language and then he took us on a tour of a local school – one specialising in computer science. We were suitably impressed. About one hundred students, both men and women, were learning how to build computers and take them apart, as well as about graphic design, programming and electrical engineering. Everything looked quite modern and the course was fully funded by the government. Lucky students! After a few photos and the usual giggles at the sight of two such bizarre visitors we managed to make our escape, although not before two offers of a place to stay for the night and a third invitation to take a shower and have our laundry done. (more…)
No Comments » - Posted in Cycling Trips, Journal Entries, Syria by andrew
Sunday, November 11th, 2007
15km Taftanaz to Idlib
Such a short day, and yet such a long one at the same time. We left Aleppo after getting Friedel’s wheel fixed with a nifty new Chinese rim (how long it will last is anyone’s guess but hopefully long enough to get back to Turkey) and after fighting off a nasty stomach bug. We both felt worn down as we returned to Taftanaz by bus to collect our bikes and belongings and say a second goodbye to the family who had hosted us and helped us so much. As we waved and pedalled down the road it quickly became clear we were not going to get far. A fierce crosswind impeded every stroke and often blew us across the road. Syria’s streets are dusty at the best of times and the gusts blew heaps of dirt into our eyes. We were already tired and the combination of wind and dirt wore us down quickly so when we spotted a track leading back into a field we quickly decided to call it quits for the day. Funnily enough, none of the farmers milling around seemed to bat an eyelash at our arrival and we had a completely peaceful afternoon, aside from the wind blowing our tent around and rattling it. We collapsed for an afternoon nap, just managed to summon up the energy to make supper and then fell back asleep, hoping for better trails tomorrow.
