Dizzy (not really) in DZ (Deir ez Zour)
Day 4
Palmyra to Deir ez Zour
Had a bit of a rough start in Palmyra, after 12 hours of sleep (whoa). No breakfast at 9 am (making for a cranky big Dude, which makes me cranky) and the Pancake House wasn’t open either. Went to the museum instead with two cranky guys and saw a lot of the sculptures and textiles from the site. Pretty great stuff, but the best is in the museum in Damascus. After a failed attempt to find a bakery, we headed back to the hotel where breakfast was ready. Paid the bill after a small battle and took a taxi out to the food stall/ bus station on the outskirts of town. Caught a bus for Deir ez Zour that left right away (2 hours). Got pulled off the bus at
the station in DZ to be ‘registered’ by the police. (The station is sandwiched in between the cemetery and the dump – Noah kept yelling, “What a mess! Abba, come see this mess!”) Passports were taken and details noted and then we went in a cab to our hotel. Clean an spacious, the hotel’s bonus includes an arrow on the ceiling that points towards Mecca. Whew. Thought I was going to have to use a compass. I don’t exist (as a woman), but I don’t really care given that the management sent up sodas, gave us a remote control, and is going to arrange a taxi for tomorrow to take us to Dura Europos and Mari.
Still marveling over the difference between a Bedouin town (Tadmour) and Deir ez Zour, the ‘big city’. Guess the other big difference is the absence of industry in Tadmour (dates and tourism…that’s it), whereas DZ is at the Iraq/ Syria crossroads and it has local oil. Between the two towns is…nothing. Bedouin. Camel. Sheep. Lots of sand. Its remarkable.
Wandered through DZ this afternoon, struck by all the puddles in the street (water from cleaning houses, cars, etc.) and the garbage in the mud. Found the museum and thoroughly enjoyed wandering through it. Each time period is introduced by a replica of a gate from that period. Really well done and great stuff. Noah zoomed through and found all the skeletons. Before exiting the museum, you end up in the courtyard (with a fountain and fledgling rose bushes). The guard turned on the fountain and produced a couple of chairs for us. We had tea while Noah ran around the courtyard. So civilized. So perfect. Wandered back through town and had an amazing felafel sandwich, ‘off the street’. Hope we don’t pay for it later (Saladin’s revenge). Boy was it good. The area of town between the canal and the river seems older, the architecture more Ottoman and colonial. Its lovely. Lots of abandoned buildings that I’d love to m
ove into. Met up with a gaggle of Kurdish university students from NE Syria. They were very sweet practicing their English (which was quite good) and getting photos of Noah. We walked to, and looked at, the Euphrates River together. It’s a pretty remarkable river – in the middle of the desert. Its what I imagine the Nile to look like. Images of baby Moses floating down the river in a basket (I know – cheesy – and wrong river) weren’t hard to conjure. Ducked into the suq for oranges and bananas for tomorrow and Noah got blessed by the regal fruit seller. Back to the hotel for a rest before heading out for dinner. (Noah’s giggling at Al Jazeerah Children’s TV.)
Went to Leilata’s for dinner. Seems like it’s the only restaurant in town where families eat together (the guidebook backs this up). No ‘kebaps’, so at Noah’s request we had cheeseburgers. Had forgotten that “cheeseburgers” usually have cinnamon in the mean and are treated like felafel (chips, salad, and sauce included). Good stuff. Tried ‘hummus Beiruti’ (hummus with herbs) and baba ghanuj (with onion, tomato, and green pepper). Restaurant looked like a Communist era Chinese banquet hall with ‘oriental’ reproduction paintings instead of the red and double happiness draped around Mao. I think a fight broke out while we were dining – there was a clatter, yelling, all the staff ran into the kitchen, then most of the staff came out, and the music got turned way up. Stopped by a store on the way back to the hotel to grab rolls for tomorrow. The shopkeeper enjoyed teasing Noah. Noah’s not going to know what to do when we get back to the States and strangers don’t randomly pinch his cheeks.
Palmyra to Deir ez Zour
Had a bit of a rough start in Palmyra, after 12 hours of sleep (whoa). No breakfast at 9 am (making for a cranky big Dude, which makes me cranky) and the Pancake House wasn’t open either. Went to the museum instead with two cranky guys and saw a lot of the sculptures and textiles from the site. Pretty great stuff, but the best is in the museum in Damascus. After a failed attempt to find a bakery, we headed back to the hotel where breakfast was ready. Paid the bill after a small battle and took a taxi out to the food stall/ bus station on the outskirts of town. Caught a bus for Deir ez Zour that left right away (2 hours). Got pulled off the bus at
the station in DZ to be ‘registered’ by the police. (The station is sandwiched in between the cemetery and the dump – Noah kept yelling, “What a mess! Abba, come see this mess!”) Passports were taken and details noted and then we went in a cab to our hotel. Clean an spacious, the hotel’s bonus includes an arrow on the ceiling that points towards Mecca. Whew. Thought I was going to have to use a compass. I don’t exist (as a woman), but I don’t really care given that the management sent up sodas, gave us a remote control, and is going to arrange a taxi for tomorrow to take us to Dura Europos and Mari.Still marveling over the difference between a Bedouin town (Tadmour) and Deir ez Zour, the ‘big city’. Guess the other big difference is the absence of industry in Tadmour (dates and tourism…that’s it), whereas DZ is at the Iraq/ Syria crossroads and it has local oil. Between the two towns is…nothing. Bedouin. Camel. Sheep. Lots of sand. Its remarkable.
Wandered through DZ this afternoon, struck by all the puddles in the street (water from cleaning houses, cars, etc.) and the garbage in the mud. Found the museum and thoroughly enjoyed wandering through it. Each time period is introduced by a replica of a gate from that period. Really well done and great stuff. Noah zoomed through and found all the skeletons. Before exiting the museum, you end up in the courtyard (with a fountain and fledgling rose bushes). The guard turned on the fountain and produced a couple of chairs for us. We had tea while Noah ran around the courtyard. So civilized. So perfect. Wandered back through town and had an amazing felafel sandwich, ‘off the street’. Hope we don’t pay for it later (Saladin’s revenge). Boy was it good. The area of town between the canal and the river seems older, the architecture more Ottoman and colonial. Its lovely. Lots of abandoned buildings that I’d love to m
ove into. Met up with a gaggle of Kurdish university students from NE Syria. They were very sweet practicing their English (which was quite good) and getting photos of Noah. We walked to, and looked at, the Euphrates River together. It’s a pretty remarkable river – in the middle of the desert. Its what I imagine the Nile to look like. Images of baby Moses floating down the river in a basket (I know – cheesy – and wrong river) weren’t hard to conjure. Ducked into the suq for oranges and bananas for tomorrow and Noah got blessed by the regal fruit seller. Back to the hotel for a rest before heading out for dinner. (Noah’s giggling at Al Jazeerah Children’s TV.)Went to Leilata’s for dinner. Seems like it’s the only restaurant in town where families eat together (the guidebook backs this up). No ‘kebaps’, so at Noah’s request we had cheeseburgers. Had forgotten that “cheeseburgers” usually have cinnamon in the mean and are treated like felafel (chips, salad, and sauce included). Good stuff. Tried ‘hummus Beiruti’ (hummus with herbs) and baba ghanuj (with onion, tomato, and green pepper). Restaurant looked like a Communist era Chinese banquet hall with ‘oriental’ reproduction paintings instead of the red and double happiness draped around Mao. I think a fight broke out while we were dining – there was a clatter, yelling, all the staff ran into the kitchen, then most of the staff came out, and the music got turned way up. Stopped by a store on the way back to the hotel to grab rolls for tomorrow. The shopkeeper enjoyed teasing Noah. Noah’s not going to know what to do when we get back to the States and strangers don’t randomly pinch his cheeks.
Comments
Missing your family's presence here!