When we leave early the next morning, the streets are quiet. We drive around Damascus for an hour, not to see the place again, but because we are lost. Eventually, we find the road north to Homs which will take us to Crac Des Chevalier. We follow the road for 2 hours and on reaching Homs we head west following the signs for Lattakia. About 40 KM along the western road we start to see signs for the castle. We turn off and follow a road through small villages, climbing gradually to the fortress. About 5KM away we start to see the castle on top of the hill. It is an impressive sight. It is just a shame that today is very hazy. As we get closer to the castle, the road becomes very steep and I am glad of the power of the Range Rover.
We arrive at the entrance and park up. It is immediately obvious that this castle is no ruin. It looks from the outside like it is 100 % intact. We pay the entrance fee and hire an English speaking guide called Ramadan. He explains the structure and history of the castle. As we walk around you can actually feel how it must have been to have lived here during the time of the crusades. As we reach the upper levels the wind gets up and is very strong. Looking down from the top you can really appreciate the strategic position of the castle. It was actually designed to stand a siege for up to 4 years.
After 3 hours we leave the castle and head back to the highway. We follow the signs to Lattakia and arrive about 4PM. We don’t have a hotel reservation so we need to find somewhere to sleep. The Lonely Planet book recommends the “Al Riyad Hotel”. We find it on the map and rock up outside. Charles checks on room availability and we are in. This is by far the roughest hotel I have ever stayed in, but it has a bed and shower and will do the job. We spend a pleasant evening on the terrace of a local bar before hitting the sack. There is a point I need to make here. I have lived and worked in many countries. I believe that, collectively, the women of Syria are the most beautiful I have seen. This is not a beauty assisted by Max Factor or L’Oreal, it is a natural beauty rarely seen in other countries.
We will leave in the morning for Turkey. Syria has been a real experience. I really didn’t know what to expect but it is clear that this is a progressing nation. Damascus has a lot of history, but it is outside the city that the country really has a lot to offer. My problem is that we started the trip in Cairo, moved to Petra then came to Damascus. After Cairo and Petra anything will be an anti climax. We were there with limited time but I plan to come back some time to explore the country further. I would recommend a visit to this country to anyone.
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