Jordan (Amman) Sept/Oct 2008 D-17

I woke up earlier and took a morning walk to the shopping area of Damascus. The area was deserted as it was a public holiday.

I took pictures of statutes of Syrian statesman in the city center and also Hotel Al-Haramain, which is 3-4 door away from Al-Rabie, both are old French colonial buildings with spacious courtyards in the interior of their buildings.

After checking out of the hostel, I took a microbus to Baramke Garage for my bus trip (500SP=Rm38) to Amman, Jordan. No hassle at the Syrian/Jordan border apart from paying a departure tax of 500SP.

Bye bye Syria !

On Saturday, 29 Sept 08, a car bomb attack by terrorists, blew up a security check point on a road to Damascus airport, which killed 17 people. I came to know of this incident after reading a local English Daily newspaper upon my return to Malaysia ! Scary, isn't it ?I arrived in Amman in late afternoon and checked into Mansour Hotel, Downtown.

"My time spent in Syria was short as the focus of my visit was on Damascus & Palmyra - both rated as the civilized wonders of the world. Syria was under the influence of Christian, Islam and Ottoman eras and in later years, under the French dominance .... so there is still much to see and explore in Syria …. I shall return"