Krak is wack - Aleppo to Damascus via Hama and Krak

Day 10 – Aleppo, Krak, Damascus
Said our goodbyes at the Baron Hotel this morning. There was a very funny scene where Mr. Walid was doing some antics that were making Noah howl with laughter. It got him (Mr. Walid) a goodbye hug from Noah that he seemed to genuinely cherish. Met Jihad (yeah, yeah) and began our journey south. Note to self – two nights without a lot of sleep (I shared a bed with Noah, who travels in his sleep) + a five hour taxi ride trapped in the backseat with a 3.5 year old going through his philosophical phase = some creative and some crabby answers to the question WHY. I’m ‘why-ed’ out. "I don’t know" doesn’t seem to be an acceptable answer. What a drag.
Jihad’s family is from Aleppo and Hama (three brothers died in the 1982 massacre and this led to his mother’s death as well). He stopped in Hama and showed us the waterwheels and drove us through the old town and by the citadel. It’s a beautiful city. Lots of Ottoman architecture still left, streets bisected by overpassing aquaducts, and lush countryside. Quaint.
Several ‘why’s later, we arrived at Krak le Chevalier. The surrounding area is so beautiful – green, fertile, with streams, happy cows sitting in fields chewing (and I thought happy cows came from Berkeley), fat sheep wandering around, and wildflowers highlighting the livestock….beautiful.
And Krak. Krak is wack. The most complete castle I’ve seen. Built (or beefed up) in the 12th and 13th centuries (?) by the Knights of St. John, the castle could garrison up to 2,000 soldiers, but housed 2-300 at the time of its takeover. There are stables, toilets (two kinds!), large arched and domed halls, a HUGE oven, storage area with the jars half buried in situ, and a basilica reused as a mosque. Words can’t describe it and photos won’t do it justice – it was awe-inspiring. Walked the ramparts (a near death experience when factoring in the wind and Three Feet of Fun) and got lost in – we think – the sewer with Noah leading the way with a cell phone flashlight. No worries – we clung desperately to Noah’s little hands. Old castles are scary places with a toddler. You never know where there’s going to be a 400 ft. drop. Wonder if the knights did that on purpose…
Finally ended our eternal quest to find a knight in a castle (unsuccessfully, I might add) and headed down into Damascus. Jihad kindly dropped us at the Afamia hotel (no small feat given Damascus traffic) and we delighted in an hour of cartoons. Thank goodness for the one-eyed babysitter. Headed to Al Khawali, off Straight Street (which is not so straight), for dinner. Its in a beautiful old house (you’re noticing a theme with our dining choices, yes?) built in the 1300s, renovated in the 1800s and again in 2000-2003. We were famished and dinner didn’t disappoint. The restaurant makes its own bread – and it was divine. The hummus with meat had cashews instead of pine nuts…so tasty. The zaatar salad was different from the one Aleppo, but very good. The shish tawook was served in a pot, like korma, but was delicious. A big basket of fruit for dessert excited Noah, who carefully peeled and chopped up a banana (after chatting into his ‘banana phone’ – “Hello? Mama? Are you there?”). Headed back to the hotel and ran into a man from Tunisia – a sociologist. He claimed not to speak English (but did quite well) so we had a conversation in Arabic and Fren-glish. Cute. He kept praising Noah (who was falling asleep on my back) as “very good”. There’s a shop next to our hotel where Noah dismounted. The owner came running out and offered us candy from a plate explaining it was for the New Year (? Mohammed’s birthday was yesterday). He told Noah that he could take two candies, which pleased Noah no end and he chanted as we climbed the stairs to our room, “TWO, Mama. He said I could have TWO.” Sigh. Was a very good Damascene evening.