I returned to Mersin Monday morning after catching the 2 AM 'Smuggler's Express' bus from Aleppo to Antakya. I think I and a young Iraqi
Turkoman studying in Turkey were probably the only 'genuine' passengers on the bus. The bus' fuel tanks were very full and there were assorted goods packed into various crevices.
The wireless Internet at home is not operating properly so I have been without access for the past week.
When I get the opportunity I will post some photos of my trip.
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Labels: syria, turkey travel
Ever since I saw the war footage during the 1980s, Beirut is one place I've wanted to go. Now I've been.
Thursday morning I was expecting to catch a service taxi from the Baramkeh bus station in the centre of Damascus. All the advice received said I could leave from there. However, I ended up having to take a normal taxi to a place with a name sounding like 'San Marie' on the outskirts of town. Eventually, 3 local men, a Russian guy named Max and myself were in this old yellow American car heading to Beirut. The local trip fee was 500 SYP (10 USD; 1,500 LBP) but Max and I were requested to pay 600.
The distance from Damascus to Syria is only 127 kilometres so a day trip is quite manageable. After exiting Syria and driving through one of the world's largest no man's lands we reached the Lebanese entry point, Masnaa. Before granting me a free transit visa (probably valid for 48 hours) the immigration official asked for the pronunciation and origin of my surname. He wanted to know if I was an Arab. Later, after reading
The Daily Star, Lebanon's English-language daily newspaper, I understood why he wanted this information.
Upon arrival to Beirut, Max and I grabbed a taxi from Charles Helou Bus Station to Downtown Beirut. There were soldiers almost everywhere and all the streets surrounding the parliament were either barricaded with concrete blocks or razor wire or check-pointed. The security along with the burning early afternoon sun kept people off the nearly deserted streets. Both the taxi drivers and the cafes surrounding Parliament Square were desperate for customers. The conflict between the Lebanese military and militants in the north and south of the country is not encouraging tourists to visit, particularly so soon after the war with Israel in 2006.
Despite Beirut's relative insecurity, Downtown is experiencing a construction boom. Huge cranes and the sound of jackhammers were obvious everywhere. The investors must have confidence another conflict will not hit the city or they have money to burn; or both.
Hizbollah have a tent city set up in Beirut's old Green Line but hardly a soul was stirring. I was able to take photographs there and just about everywhere else in the city. I will post some upon return to Turkey.
Beirut is a fascinating mix of architectural styles: ancient ruins; old French and Ottoman buildings; historic mosques and churches side-by-side; new buildings designed in old styles; and ultramodern skyscrapers. Despite the construction work and the new buildings, evidence of the 1980s and 2006 conflicts was visible everywhere. Many structures, including some skyscrapers were in total disrepair. Other buildings were in use but still displayed the tell-tale bullet holes.
Besides the construction, more evidence of Lebanon's wealth is seen on the road. From observation, it seemed every second car was either a luxury four-wheel drive or a luxury sedan. The money just drips in Beirut.
Following a mixed fruit juice and a cappuccino in a French-styled cafe within a stones-throw of the parliament, I walked west towards Hamra. On the way I stopped at a food store displaying all kinds of exotic foods I had never seen in Syria or Turkey.
The French influence is almost everywhere In Beirut (and the rest of Lebanon, I guess). The street signs are generally in Arabic and French as opposed to the Arabic and English seen in Syria. However, based on advertisements and other signs, English is catching up fast.
From Hamra I walked to the
American University of Beirut, one of the most prestigious universities in the Middle East. Here, like everywhere in Beirut, the women were absolutely gorgeous. Beirut has the head-scarfed women but most of the rest were showing plenty of their supermodel-like tanned skin. I have been told that plastic surgery is huge here so not all that blinded my eyes was completely natural. The relative liberalness of Beirut is like an oasis after Syria.
After a stroll along the corniche in the late-afternoon sun I caught a taxi back to Charles Helou Bus Station, tempted though I was to stay another day in Beirut. While waiting for more passengers to share the service taxi to Damascus, several army tanks and jeeps repeatedly passed the bus station. I'm not sure why they were driving around and around but I guess the barracks were driving them to boredom.
Our car for the journey to Damascus was a modern vehicle and not an American classic and we were only 3 passengers. I paid the equivalent of 20 USD and the 2 Arab passenger 10 USD as I was the ignorant non-Arabic speaking foreigner. I enjoyed the extra room this time, though.
One of the passengers was Mira, a Damascus local whose parents live in Beirut. As she spoke some English we managed to converse. Mira mentioned she preferred living in Damascus because the people in Lebanon are "scared".
The hilly road from Beirut to the Syrian border follows a number of bypasses due to damage suffered to the old highway during the 2006 war. One bridge, in particular, was partially destroyed.
31 USD later and I gained another Syrian visa. The visa process at the Masnaa border was far easier than at the Bab al Hawa crossing between Aleppo and Antakya. At Masnaa the official asked me to change 30 USD (although the bank worker requested 31 USD) and then the same border official did everything else. At Bab al Hawa the identical visa process requires visits to 5 or 6 different places in the immigration building.
I arrived back to Damascus around 10 pm. Jeff took me to the US Marine's bar where we played pool and chatted to folks from various different countries. One of the Marines was generous with the Bourbon shots although I watched my consumption closely.
When Beirut becomes more secure and comfortable I would love to live there. It is a unique and fascinating city, consisting of one part Dubai, one part Paris, one part Berlin, one part Damascus and a million parts of Beirut.
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Labels: lebanon, syria
Tuesday night Celine, Bangali and I viewed a jazz concert in the Aleppo Citadel. First, an Italian quartet played followed by a Syrian quartet. The historic setting, and mixed audience made the concert more interesting than normal. Will post photos/video when I return to Turkey.
Yesterday I came to Damascus to meet Jeff. After a pizza in a snazzy Damascene restaurant we went to his pad and then the US Ambassador's residence for a 4th of July BBQ. Attending were US diplomats, their families and American students in Damascus to learn Arabic. Hot dogs, baked beans with bacon, burgers, brownies, US beer and choc-chip cookies were on the menu.
I'm about to jump in a service taxi to another location. Will write again soon.
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Labels: syria
I'm writing from an internet cafe in Aleppo, Syria. To my disgust, the local next to is smoking his 6th cigarette since I've been here and I haven't been here that long!
I came here overland (via Antakya/Antioch) on Saturday as the
Mersin-Latakia ferry only runs Thursdays and Mondays. My 7th Syrian visa from this border cost 30 USD.
This trip has consisted almost entirely of rest and relaxation. Bangali and Celine are looking after me stupendously well. Celine's first night roast lamb with garlic and rosemary, boiled whole potatoes in their skins with butter, and cherry sauce made from fresh cherries was a meal to die for!
One thing slightly annoying is the water outages. Each afternoon/evening the public water supply is cutoff and this lasts until early the next morning. Syria is facing a serious water crisis.
Yesterday afternoon I watched Bangali entertainingly play chess against various opponents in the intellectual cafe on Aleppo's main square. The chess played was almost socialist with the players receiving help from onlookers whether they wanted it or not.
Tomorrow I will take the bus to Damascus to meet Jeff for the first time since his 2002 AIESEC traineeship in Adana.
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Labels: syria
The Mersin, Turkey to Latakia (alternative spelling: Lattakia; in Turkish: Lazkiye) Syria
international ferry will restart on 28 June for the 2007 summer season.
In 2006 the ferry cost USD 48 one way and USD 96 return and ran Mondays and Thursdays, departing Mersin at 9 AM and returning from Latakia at 2 PM. I will update this post when I hear the prices and schedule for this year.
Thank you Christel for the tip!UPDATE: The 2007 ferry schedule is the same as 2006's: departing Mersin at 9 AM on Mondays and Thursdays and returning from Latakia in the afternoon on the same day. The cost is $65 one-way and $130 return, more than 30% more expensive than last year.
Merlat sell tickets: telephone +90-324-237 1668.
NOTE: some advice from Adam in comments:
...these ferries don't seem terribly reliable ... the one on Monday 13 August 2007 was cancelled altogether. Check and double check, if you're thinking of using it!
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Labels: syria, turkey - mersin - general, turkey travel
2007 UPDATE: The ferry has returned in 2007. See the
2007 dates, schedule and prices.
I thought this ferry service would never begin. I hope I have the opportunity to take it at some stage this summer. I wonder if I can receive a Syrian visa upon arrival like I can at the land border.
The impact, if any, this ferry will have on Mersin will be interesting for sure. Arabs are already the main tourists here.
In my 6 trips to Syria I never went to Latakia (alternative spelling: Lattakia, in Turkish: Lazkiye), one of Syria's two main ports (Tartous being the other).
Mersin-Latakia sea line launched
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
A new maritime route between two important Turkish and Syrian ports is expected to stimulate tourism and trade relations. The ferry will make the three-and-a-half-hour trip twice a week.
MERSIN – TDN/Referans
The first seabus departed Mersin port on Monday, launching the Mersin-Latakia ferry and reinvorating tourism and trade between Turkey and Syria.
Speaking at the inauguration Mersin Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MTSO) Chairman Kadri Şaman said they had been working on this project for two years. "With the leadership of the MTSO and the Chamber of Shipping [DTO], a maritime company named Merlat Denizcilik was formed with the participation of 40 corporations and various individuals. We overcame difficulties hand in hand. This maritime line will contribute considerably to the tourism sectors of both countries," he said.
The seabus will run twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays.
"If we have as successful a turnout as we expect, then we will increase the number of trips. This initiative can also be developed further to include other Middle Eastern countries that have coasts on the eastern Mediterranean," Şaman said.
The new line would enable the city to develop tourism, Mersin Governor Hüseyin Aksoy said. "This link to our neighboring country Syria is important in terms of the expansion of Mersin tourism. This line will not only contribute to the tourism dimension but also to trade, economy and culture. What lies ahead is a process starting with tourism and developing into many other areas," the governor said.
Mersin Mayor Macit Özcan said they were always in favor of developing relations with Arab countries. He added that there was a standoff in the relations between Turkey and Syria. "We will overcome the standoff with these kinds of initiatives to eventually get rid of it totally. The two countries need each other," he claimed.
The first Mersin-Latakia seabus took off from Mersin with 210 passengers on board and arrived at Latakia after a three-and-a-half-hour trip.
LinkUPDATEPRICES: the ferry costs $48 one way and $96 return. With these prices it is cheaper but more hassle to cross to Syria overland via Antakya.
SCHEDULE: The ferry runs Mondays and Thursdays, departing Mersin at 9 AM and returning from Latakia at 2 PM.
Labels: syria, turkey - mersin - general, turkey travel
