Beehive Homes, Qala'at Ja'abar and Lake Assad

Yesterday we (a nice Dutch couple - Kees and Klementine :-) - and myself) started off early as we had a long day of driving ahead of us. The fist stop was the village of Sarouj where we found strange beehive-shaped mud houses, found only here and in the far flung West African country of Mali. The structures are over a hundred years old and perfectly adapted to the climate. The temperature inside does not change regardless of the summer heat or the cold of winter nights. After tea and some special Eid biscuits from our generous hosts inside a nicely decorated mud hut we were on our way again. The next stop was Qasr Ibn Wardan, a beautiful sandstone palace deep in the desert on a road that leads nowhere else. The beautiful sparse lunar-like terrain made a spectacular backdrop for this intriguing 6th Century structure and Bedouin shepherds roamed the surrounding area with their flocks. The caretaker, Mohammed, showed us around with enthusiasm and despite not speaking any English was keen to teach us all he knew with sometimes comical gestures and charades. He clearly doesn’t see too many tourists.

Driving North again we stopped at Resafe, an abandoned Byzantine city in the middle of nowhere whose size alone cannot fail to impress. The site was built from the 3^rd to 5^th Century and the stone that makes up the walls and the inner constructions is a crystallised gypsum and it positively sparkles in the sun. The city walls are almost completely intact and measure almost 2km in circumference. Inside are the remains of several churches, notably the St. Sergius Basilica. The Northern gate is also particularly ornate with impressive columns and arches. A sunhat was a must here as the site is all uncovered and the sun was beating down.

Next we drove north to the banks of the beautiful azure-coloured Lake Assad, the lake a result of damning the Euphrates back in the 60s and 70s. The lake stretches for 60km and contrasts spectacularly with the desert that surrounds it. Sitting high above the lake on a peak surrounded by the lakes waters is the citadel known as Qala’at Ja’abar. This impressive Mesopotamian fort pre-dates the lake, and in fact pre-dates the arrival of Islam. We wandered around the fort for a while, taking in the stunning views of the lake below before stopping in the restaurant where they served us an ice-cold can of whiskey when we had asked for beer. I had never seen a can of whisky before but there were others drinking it around us! That was a lot of whiskey. After some fresh fish from the lake served with salad and hummus we started the long drive back to Hama. We spent the evening chatting and drinking beer in a pleasant garden restaurant in front of some of the famous water wheels. - David