078: Pae's Syria Journal (part II)

Okay..meh bace sambungan citer trip ke Syria hari tu =)
Pae: "Lari..lari, cepat.." (nak gak menyibuk masuk dalam gmbar posing si ardi ni haa..=p )

Ardi : "kontrol hensem..kontrol macho..pasni trus nak gi CC upload gambar kat friendster"

Let’s start with this photo. Ok, this one taken exactly in front of the Souk-hamidiyah’s entrance which is known as Bab An-Nasr (An-Nasr Door). The handsome guy in the poster is the most famous person in Syria..muka dia ada kat mane2..sampai jadi sunscreen untuk kereta haaa..camtu skali sayang nye org2 syria ni kat presiden dorg – president Bashar Al-Assad. On the most left that looks like a castle is the citadel. But not much that I could say bout the citadel coz it was under restoration work. So, we didn’t manage to get inside.

Pae-Rais-Ardi at the other side of the outside-citadel.

For information..Old Damascus or Damshiq is located within the wall. Zaman dulu, dia macam fort la. So, ade tujuh pintu alltogether untuk laluan keluar masuk ke Old Damascus ni. All the doors are known as Bab Al-Faraj, Bab Al-Faradees, Bab Salam, Bab Touma, Bab Sharqi, Bab Kisan, and Bab Saghir. Antara kesemua pintu, Bab Sharqi yang paling significant sebab dia ada minaret dan still nampak in good condition (maybe dorg dah buat balik ke..taktaula)

Sepanjang kat syria, we spend more time at Old Damascus. Tapi ade jugak la visit ke tempat2 lain such as- Bosra, Homs, Hama ngan Palmyra. Among all those places, the most far from Damascus is Palmyra- took ‘bout 3 hrs travel by bus. Ikutkan program asal nak gi Aleppo skali. Aleppo ni kat belah Utara, dah dekat ke Turki. Travelling will take 4 and half hrs.Atas sebab kesuntukan mase, program ke Aleppo kena cancel ;-(

It is spring in Damascus now, so cuaca tu takdelah sejuk sgt. Sempat la rase sejuk dalam 4 hari gitu. Time sampai kat Damascus International Airport (malam) rase cam “ish3..sejuknyeeerrrr..(shivering)”. Saya sangat tidak cold - resistant..mmg la susah nak survive kat negara empat musim time winter.haha…Anyway, sejuk dia tak lama..masuk je hari kelima dah start panas..time nak balik last week lagila panas..rase cam dah kat m’sia plak panas nye. I was told that during summer is 43º..ayyo, panas kan..takpelah, nasib baik tak gi time summer

Ok, this one taken at school (can’t remember what is the school name but it is at Al-Amin street) ..time tu budak2 sumer tgh kuar beramai2 nak balik umah..Sebabkan mase tu, kitorang tgh pening kepala cari jalan (Old Damascus ni jalan dia pelik2 sket..dah macam maze dah..so, kitorg pun try la tanye cikgu dia ni (standing next to me)..“Mdm, do you speak english?”..”Yes, I do” penuh semangat cikgu tu jawab, .tapi bila tanye pasal jalan..cikgu tu jawab completely in Arabic pulak..huhuhu, mmg la tak paham..dia cuma cakap English mase jawab “Yes, I do” tu je..hampesss

The most outstanding building here in Damascus is Umayyad Mosque. Masjid tu merupakan mercu tanda Islam kat sana. Tapi, architecture banyak dipengaruhi oleh Byzantine architecture (Roman Period) sebab binaan masjid tu mainly done by the Byzantine architects and craftsmen. Dulu, masjid ni pernah digunakan sbagai church dan masjid at same time. Time tu orang kristian ngan orang Islam tak kisah gunakan tempat ibadat yang sama sampaila zaman Khalifa Al-Walid, barula orang2 kristian diasingkan kat bahagian Timur Old Damascus (Bab Touma area). Tempat tu ada underground church called St. Ananiya church. Church ni tak besar sangat pun..tapi zaman dulu, dia jadi tempat persembunyian orang2 kristian daripada dibunuh oleh Jews.

On the left is St. Ananiya church. Next to it is St. Paul’s Chapel.

Ni plak sabil aka drinking fountain. Sabil ni memang banyak..merata-rata. Air tu tadah je boleh minum terus..tapi sepanjang kat sane takde plak tergerak nak minum air dari situ..amik air kat hotel bubuh dalam botol mineral..tapi punca air same je ..ye dak ?:p

Melestarikan kenangan dengan "Tamarind-juice-guy" in their traditional costume at souk-Hamidiyah. Teko besar yang dia bawak tu ialah air asam jawa..taktau la sedap ke tak coz i dont really like air asam jawa:p

Souk Al-Hamidiyah plak letak dia betul2 kat axis pintu masuk Umayyad mosque. Souk (Bazaar) ni lebih kurang 600m la panjang dia. Gambar kat atas ni is the other end of Souk A-Hamidyah. View ni diambil daripada entrance Umayyad Mosque. Haa..macam2 ada kat sini..kiranye ni shopping mall org2 kat Old Damascus ni la. Tapi dari segi souvenir, tak jauh beza cam kat Turkey.Most of them same je cam barang2 yang boleh dapat kat Istanbul..yelah, Negara jiran je..so, takdela bli sgt..sbb dah bli time gi turki dulu =p (I’ve been in Turkey in 2004 for my heritage studies when I was in my 3rd year, studying achitecture. Buat measured drawing untuk daruzziyafe (kitchen) kat Suleymaniye Mosque, Istanbul).

Paling tak lupe Bakdash Ice-Cream kat souk ni. Memang sangaaaat2 la ramai org bli ice-cream kat kedai tu.Berasak-asak org nak bli..Tension pun ade gak time nak bli ice-cream tu..Nampak org lain beli, nak bli la jugak..nak tau la what so special ‘bout the ice-cream..Huhu, can u see the ‘petite-me’in the frame? Huhu, tenggelam di lautan manusia yg nak bli ice-cream..dok kat depan tu punye lame pun tak dilayan..huhu sedey tau..lame tunggu. Kat luar pintu kedai tu pun panjang lagi orang queue…fuh, tapi ice-cream yang kitorang bli kat Al-qaimariyeh lane laaaaagi sedap. (Gambar kat bawah lagi satu tu) Strawberry flavor dia siap ade cebisan2 fresh strawbery lagi…yummy ^__^
Me and Rais..muke seronok giler dapat ice-cream sedap dgn harga 25 syrian pound. Sangat murah ok, bile convert sama dengan lebih kurang RM 2 sahaja.

Nak kate shopping sakan tak jugak..tapi ade la bli kain (kain2 chantek sangaat sampai naik juling mata nak pilih..kehkeh). Kain2 yang cantik are available at Jumrok Khan (in case kalau ade org nak pegi damshiq lak pas ni..hihi, sharing info)

Selain drp tu adela bli pashmina, tarbus, t-shirt Syria (yg ni wajib beli..bole pakai time gi jogging :p), and few other small2 things. Orang2 kat sane plak..memang cun dan lawa..hihi, ladies je la..yang lelaki tu..hmmmm, very rare la nak jumpe yang hensem..(haha, selambe je komen) Ish, tak dapek nak cari boifren kedua kat Syria (boifren pertama dah bagi greenlight..muahaha)..tapi adela sorang dua yang berjaya dikesan kehenseman mereka..One of them yang tengah promote pashmina ni ha…hensem tak ? :p

Tapi dlm ramai2 awek syria, ade la plak sorg yang agak kurang cun..dah la kurang cun, pakai tudung pun sememeh je..hihi, awek ni kitorg jumpe kat khemah bedouin mase dalam perjalanan ke palmyra..kat tengah2 gurun lak tu, tah ape awek tu buat kat situ ntah..=p

Pae: “ha..tengokla kamera, nak tunjuk gambar awk kat org2 malaysia ni”

Awek gurun bertudung hijau: “lak lak..ana malu la…” (sambil tersipu-sipu)

Mase nak gi Palmyra, kitorang memang merentas gurun. Huhu, padang pasir je..takde view lain, pandang kiri-pasir, kanan-pasir..susah nak nampak green tu..kalau ade pun green, sebab tanaman pokok olive ngan pokok almond. Ha..sape2 tak pernah tengok pokok almond, kat atas ni ade gambar ..Buah almond ni kaler hijau saiz lebih kurang cam buah mangga telur. Biji dia tu la kacang almond yang kite slalu makan..(first time tengok pokok almond ni:p)

Pastu kulit plak dah kering semacam..asek pau moisturizer myra je la spanjang kat sane..(punye la kelam kabut mlm nak pegi tu smpai tak sempat nak bli moisturizer, packing baju pun last minit je). Bertolak dari KLIA pukul 3am then transit plak kat Kuwait sbb naik Kuwait Airways kan (hihi, sorila..melompat-lompat plak plot cerita ni) Lame tu transit, time pegi transit 9 jam, time balik lak transit 8 jam..nasibbaik la ade bahan bacaan? Remember Me by Sophie Kinsella (thanx Nad sebab bagi pinjam ^_^ )

Kat Safir hotel, Kuwait..mase tengah transit
Now..cakap pasal makan plakk..I would say Malaysia memanggggg menang bab makanan. Yelah, ade macam2..Walaupun turkish cuisine is the richest in the world,(syrian food banyak influenced by turkish) tapi tekak Asia saye ni tak berapa nak melayan makanan2 dorang. Asik makan chicken shawarma, lamb..takde menu lain..chicken-lamb-chicken-lamb..rinduuu rase nak makan ikan. Food plak tak pedas..time tu terbayang2 makan nasik kat umah..ade skali kat sane makan nasik lemak (orang Malaysia masak)..fuuh, sangat best..tapi dok terbayang2 plak nasi lemak Mali :p. Compared tu Istanbul, kat Old Damascus susah nak jumpe makanan yang pelbagai. But then, tak leh lupa restoran Pizza Dr. Nadia (one of lecturer in Damascus University)

Me with Dr. Hannan at Dr. Nadia’s restaurant..baru lepas melantak 4 jenis pizza yang very crispy dan sgt mouth-watering..fresh salad pastu disogok plak ngan ice-cream sebagai pencuci mulut..huhu, memang fully loaded la mlm tu..kehkehkeh..

Ni plak gambar kat Umayyad Palace Restaurant. Malam terakhir kat sane..Malam last tu la baru dapat tengok tarian pusing2 dorag tu.ape name ntah..Darwish dance ke ape. Noticed the two guys in white dress and red tarbus?..ha..dorg tula yang perform tarian pusing2 tu…hihi, tak pening ke kepala dorang?Dah la kot..panjang plak nulihnyer..kang korang bosan lak nak bace panjang2 sgt. Kalau ade mood, sambung lagi la ..kalau tak, cukup je la citer ni takat ni ek=p