Hama, SYRIA

From Palmyra I went over to Crac de Chevalliers, near the Lebanon border.

Crac des Chevaliers is 65km west of the town of Homs and is the greatest of all Crusader castles, and one of the greatest sights of Syria. The Crac des Chevaliers was described by T E Lawrence as ‘perhaps the best preserved and most wholly admirable castle in the world’. Was amazing indeed.

My next stop was further north to the town of Hama. The main reason why I'm here: the great norias (waterwheels)!! Originating in Byzantine times, the oldest surviving wheels date from the 13th century. The norias, which all have names, were used to raise water from the river into aqueducts for agricultural use. The purpose of the wheels nowadays is purely decorative and of historical interest....but still amazing to see (and hear) as they slowly lift buckets of water from the river below into the high aqueducts.

Another reason for coming to this area: The beehive houses which are dotting the landscape north east of Hama towards the Afghanistan border. These very traditional houses are on the edges of the Syrian desert as well as along the Euphrates river. The mudbrick (reinforced with straw) houses are used as housing and nowadays increasingly as storage - keeping things cool in the stifling heat of summer and warm in the cold of winter. People are very friendly and I got pulled into a few of these houses for tea. One of the more memorable ladıes had her face tattooed - which ıs customary among people of her generation - what a face!...and a couple of great photos.


Also went north of Hama to see the Roman ruins of Aphamea (Afimia) which is 60 km northwest of Hama. Quite a nice and interesting village among the ruines of the olf fortress with beautiful views of the surroundings.

Next...Aleppo, northern Syria...and my last stop before crossing into south eastern Turkey.