Transportation of all types is bountiful and inexpensive.  Food is perhaps more reasonably priced than any place else in the world.  For foreign visitors, the top class hotels would be the most expensive item on their itinerary - 4 stars hotels and up are artificially priced in U.S. dollars.

            Guided by Munir through the crimeless streets of Damascus, we moved amid European and white-gowned Gulf Arabs jostling colourfully robed peasants and city dwellers dressed in the most modern of attire, some strutting in designer fashions.  Even late at night, as we walked the jasmine-scented avenues of the modern city, we felt safe.  Not a person accosted us to beg, sell or rob.  Only one problem haunted us, the rushing and honking traffic, especially during the day, frayed our nerves.

            Many times when we walked in Souk al-Hamadiya, a covered street in the old city much favoured by tourists, young children would smile as we passed and greet us in surprisingly good English with, "Welcome to Syria!"  At other times, when peasant women would stare at us - easily identified as foreigners in a crowd - a few words of pleasantry would bring out their smiles and they would in embarrassment say, "Welcome!" in Arabic, then quickly disappear.

            In this city of the Umayyads, a famous Arab dynasty which made it the capital of one of the largest empires the world has ever known, our tour of historic sites began at the Umayyad Mosque - for centuries known as ‘the jewel of Damascus’.  In May 2001, it became even better known to the outside world after being visited by Pope John Paul II - the first mosque any pope has visited.  After relaxing in its restful atmosphere, we explored the nearby Azem Palace Museum and Saladin's tomb, then walked to the Street Called Straight. 

            Here, following in the steps of Saint Paul, we strolled past a Roman arch to Bab Sharqi, then turned through the Christian quarter of Bab Touma to the Chapel of Saint Ananias - the first bishop of Damascus.  From there, it was only a five minute walk to Keissan Gate where Saint Paul was let down in a basket to escape the Roman soldiers. 

            The next day we found that, different than the old city, new Damascus, exploding at the seams, also has its charms.  In its shopping sections, the most modern of fashions are displayed in the tiny shops, always crammed with shoppers.  Its villas and wide avenues are years away from the crowded old section, adding another dimension to the lure of the city. 

            For visitors like us who value grandeur, there is no better way of appreciating the magnificence of Damascus than to survey it in the evening from the slopes of Mount Kassioun.  The view at sundown is magnificent.  The city shines like a galaxy on the far horizon of the neighbouring desert.  Sitting in one of a string of cafes, seemingly on the edge of the sky, we enjoyed a hot cup of coffee while being caressed by the fresh cool breezes - enthralled by the twinkling of lights covering the city's skyline.

            On this very spot it is said Cain slew Abel and it is also on this same place that the Prophet Muhammad stopped to survey the town.  Seeing the beautiful city below set in the midst of streams and orchards, the Prophet is reported to have turned away from this earthly paradise - only wanting to enter heaven once. 

            Today, even though the pollution of the last few decades has eroded this paradise image, Damascus, for some 7,000 years the cradle of rich civilizations, still has much to offer a traveller.                                                                                                             

            When we tired of Damascus and its many pleasures, Munir found us an acquaintance, Omar, with a small auto for rent.  Over cups of cardamom-flavoured bitter black coffee, intoxicating in its aroma, we agreed to a price of US$100. per day for him and his small auto, plus paying for the gas.  He would be with us from early morning until late in the evening.

            Our first trip was to Jabal al-Arab, edging the Jordanian border.  As we travelled through its lava-strewn landscape, Omar remarked, "I always like to take visitors for their first trip through this dark-desolate part of Syria so that they can appreciate the beauty of the remainder of our country."  Looking around at the black volcanic stones which appeared to cover every inch of the land, it was easy to see that Omar had a point.

            However, half an hour later, lunching at the ultra-modern Cham Palace Hotel in historical Bosra overlooking the inhabited ruins of that Nabatean/Roman city, I forgot Omar's words.  The well-preserved Roman amphitheatre we could clearly see from the restaurant window was a picturesque black structure, enticing and appealing. 

            A few moments later, we were inside the majestic Roman amphitheatre with a seating capacity of some 15,000.  Unlike most other Roman arenas which were built into hillsides, Bosra's theatre is free-standing.  Considered the best preserved, most perfect and beautiful theatre built in the ancient world, it is the very symbol of the town and is considered one of the most captivating sites an Syria.  Inside its black basalt walls the entire history of the city can be retraced.

            The sobriety of the stadium's lines and harmony of its proportions enhance the natural brilliance of the black stone facade ennobled with touches of white limestone.  In Roman times, during the hot summer months, the theatre used to be covered with a silk canopy which was sprayed with perfumed water in order to refresh the spectators.

            The theatre's acoustics are still perfect.  A mere whisper on the immense 45 m (148 ft) long and 8.5 m (28 ft) wide stage is heard by the audience in the furthest seats.  Today, entertainment without electronics can still be enjoyed as in Roman times when, during festivals, against Roman columns and arches, actors, dancers and singers perform within its walls.

            Our visit happened to be on Friday, Syria's day of rest.  Besides tourists and farmers from the nearby countryside, hundreds of school children had been bused in to explore this handiwork of their ancestors.  The crowds were so great that we could barely make our way through the masses of people. It was a living tribute to the genius of Nabatean/Roman builders who have left Syria a tourist site par excellence.

            As we passed it on our way out of town, I turned to our driver, "Look Omar!  Isn't it a splendid building?  Black in not always gloomy."

            Next morning a few hours after the muezzin's call to prayer from the  nearest of the 250 Damascus mosques had awoke us, we drove to explore the mountain resorts of Zabadani and Bludan.  Their eye-catching attractive villas, sprawled on the mountain side and deep in the valley below, gave these summer resorts an aura of affluence and allurement.  The cool mountain breezes, modifying the sun's rays, allowed us, for a few hours, to enjoy an invigorating feeling of contentment.

            In the afternoon we travelled to Maloula where Aramaic, the language of Christ, is still spoken.  After touring the town, noted for its two ancient churches and the modern deluxe Safir Hotel, we left for Saydnaya - a second Jerusalem for Eastern Christians.  From the near beginning of Christianity its Monastery, housing an icon drawn by Saint Luke, has been the mecca for streams of pilgrims.

            Early the next morning, as we made our way on the desert road leading to Palmyra, known to the Arabs by its pre-Semitic name of Tadmour, Omar was in an upbeat mood.  "I love to take visitors to Tadmour.  It's my favourite historic city.  When I walk between its majestic columns I visualize Zenobia's armies marching to fight the Roman legions."

            To the people of the Arab region of the Middle East, Zenobia is a daring heroine who defeated the greatest world empire of her day and established a short-lived kingdom which once struck fear in the heart of mighty Rome.  Even though she was eventually defeated and taken to the Roman capital, hand-cuffed in gold chains, she is remembered in history and folklore as one of Syria's great.

            About two and a half hours after leaving Damascus, 243 km (150 mi) away, we were strolling in Zenobia's streets - first trod by man more than 2,000 years ago.  At the pinnacle of its golden age, 267 to 272 A.D., its 80,000 merchants and craftsmen made it the capital of the silk and spice trade between the Far East and Roman West.  In its souks, people from many nations came together, bargained and socialized, making it one of the great meeting places in the ancient world.

            Today, the 30% of Palmyra's excavated marble and granite remains are the most awe-inspiring of all the ruins in the lands where civilization first began.  The dull-gold 300 pillars, along both sides of the mile-long stone paved main street, each once holding on a stone shelf the statues of a god or one of the city's wealthy; intact porticos scattered around these columns; the impressive temples of Bel and Bel Shamine; the reconstructed amphitheatre; the Palace and Baths of Zenobia; and much more make it one of the most intact cities of antiquity.

            As I gazed down from Fakhir al-Din castle, located on a nearby hilltop and accessible by an newly opened road, at the ruins of Zenobia's city looming majestically in the distance, I felt a deep thrill.  They seemed to convey a message in stone - the tale of the once renowned ‘Queen of the Syrian Desert’.  They told of riches, romance and courage produced by a brilliant civilization which flowered for a few years before being snuffed out by the Roman Emperor Aurelian.

            For the final day we journeyed northward to the city of Homs, then turned westward on a four-lane expressway toward the Syrian coast.  In about half an hour, near Talkalakh, we turned northward and drove on a two-lane road through a lush green valley.  A few minutes later, we could see, silhouetted on a high hill, the most extraordinary of all Crusader strongholds in the Middle East.

            As we drove upwards through the town of al-Husn, our small auto and even the town itself were dwarfed by the huge overshadowing fortress.  After we stopped the car near the citadel's eastern entrance, I was amazed to see the massive walls towering above us and marvelled of how men, before the invention of gun powder, could have breached its defences.

            With steep sloping cliffs on three sides, Crac des Chevaliers, known in Arabic as Qalaat al-Husn (the Bastion of al-Husn)is strategically perched atop a stone mountain 650 m (2,132 ft) above sea level.  It was built to control the 'Homs Gap' which divides the rugged Alawi Mountains to the north from the higher Lebanese range to the south.

            For thousands of years, the pass was Syria's pathway to the Mediterranean.  When the Crusaders came they found that this corridor was crucial to their control of the coast.  Hence, they made Crac des Chevaliers their most important stronghold in the Levant.  From its ramparts and towers, they could see and control all movements from the coast to the inland cities.

            Crac des Chevaliers is the best preserved evidence of military fortifications from the Middle Ages.  Although it has most of the features common to other Crusader fortresses, its setting and the majesty of it cloud- reaching walls and towers - the eyes of the castle - give it regal appearance and an aura of grandeur with which few other structures in the world can compare.  Historians have stated that its completeness, setting, size and sheer magnificence make it the finest citadel on earth.  One of the most admired castles, it is a symbol of the utmost defence creation by medieval man.

            In the same fashion as all Crusader castles, Crac des Chevaliers was utilized for defence, as a marshalling centre for men and horses, as a monastery, as a control stronghold for the subject inhabitants; and as a storehouse for food, horses, water and other provisions.  Enough supplies were stored to last a 2,000 to 4,000 men army for up to a five year siege.

            We walked through the entrance which is called by the area’s local residents ‘Door of Richard the Lion-Hearted’ to examine its barbicans, casements, towers, bastions and storerooms, much of which we found in excellent condition.  After wandering through these relics from the past, we had a meal in a chamber which, according to our waiter, was the abode of the daughter of Richard the Lion-Hearted.  As we dined on succulent kababs, we had a fantastic view of the rich fig and olive orchards in the valley below.

            The panorama was conducive to reminiscing about this mighty crusader castle and its former occupiers who came, conquered, but eventually were forced to withdraw in disarray.  To the Europeans they were heros; to the Arabs they were savage invaders.  It all depends on who writes history.

            Back in Damascus, we were soon dining at  the Abo Alez Restaurant, housed in a renovated beautifully tiled old Arab home.  Here, surrounded by groups of tourists, we dined on the tastiest food in Damascus - a city noted for its fine dishes. 

            As we gorged ourselves while listening to the melodies of the mawashahat (classical music and song developed in Arab Spain), Damascus with all its activity and colour was still vividly racing through my mind.  To me, the captivating tunes of the mawashahat were like sirens calling world travellers to come and enjoy the pleasures of this city - both the ancient and the new.  It was a fitting farewell to our stay in the historic and hospitable land of Syria where, it is said, almost every door is opened to strangers. 

Habeeb Salloum