Crac des Chevaliers

Last night, the manager of the hotel asked if I would be interested in accompanying a German tourist on a tour of the area castles, including Crac des Chevaliers. He told me the taxi would take us up into the mountains. I thought about it for a little while and then declined. He said it was too bad, that I would miss many nice things. It may be true, but I also think when taking a tour you miss out on the many nice things local transportation affords and the many nice people you meet.

This morning I woke with the muzzein, getting up a few hours later. The streets of Hama were all but deserted. I made my way to the microbus station on the edge of town and boarded a van headed to Homs. There I transfered to a van heading to Hosn and the Crac des Chevaliers, a fortress originally built by the Emir of Homs in 1031, but expanded by the Crusader knights around the middle of the 12th century. The castle commands an extraordinary view of the surrounding countryside from its hilltop perch.

The van drove past the turnoff and when I made to get out, the man next to me told me to wait. He indicated the van would turn around and then ascend to the very foot of the castle. I waited and sure enough it did. The van groaned, protesting the climb.

I toured the fortress for the better part of two hours. The bus driver had indicated service would resume in the other direction at one. Being impatient, I hitched a ride to the Homs/Tartus highway and from there, it was but a few moments wait until a Homs-bound van blinked its headlights and I was on my way home.

I'm taking it easy today. Once I returned to Hama, I toured the museum and walked the cobblestone streets of its old town. Tomorrow I head to Tadmor and one of Syria's main attractions, the Roman ruins of Palmyra. Posted by eku at May 7, 2004 3:53 PM