Syria, it seems just gets better and better. From the crusader castles on the coast our next stop was a town called Hama, home to these fantastic old waterwheels which were originally used to irrigate the surrounding land.The waterwheels would lift water up to a height of 8 - 12m and drop it into aqueducts which would flow out to the fields. From Hama we made a day trip to the ancient ruins of Apamea, a 2km long street with huge columns down both sides, rea...

We spent a couple of days in Aleppo wondering around the souk, seeing some sights and discovering Syrian food. The people are a constant source of surprise. There is obviously a custom of giving gifts to visitors. A typical example is when we ask a passing woman for directions to a hotel, she insists on taking us there personally and then pulls out a chocolate bar for each of us from her hand-bag. Or another time when Nick picked up a toddler who had fallen over ...

After 3 weeks of beautiful vistas, delicious tea and ancient ruins it became time to leave Turkey and begin the next phase of the trip, heading to the Arab world of Syria. I didn't really know what to expect but nothing I could ever have imagined could have prepared me for the wonderful craziness of Syria. We'll get to stories in a minute but first impressions after 2 days here are that Syrian people are the friendliest, happiest, most welcoming people in the wor...