Syrian Roadtrip

One of our day trips was to both Krak des Chevaliers and Palmyra, which, if you'll look at a map of Syria, aren't exactly next door. In fact, they're in completely opposite directions from Damascus. One of Tyler's friends was kind enough to drive us to both places in the same day, making it one of the most memorable days of my time in Syria.

Palmyra, the site of some beautiful Roman ruins, was the first Roman ruins site I'd ever been to! All those years of studying Latin, but I'd never traveled to see anywhere in the former Roman Empire. Seeing Palmyra was an amazing experience for me, then. The ruins were amazingly gorgeous - I couldn't stop running back and forth, taking a million pictures.

Below are some pictures from Palmyra.







The Krak Des Chevaliers is a Crusader castle, and apparently one of the best preserved in the world. I know I'm getting spoiled - after Palmyra and the Krak and the other beautiful places we went, I'm afraid no other classical ruins will be able to compare.

Below are some pictures of Krak:
















The last picture is of Tyler, his friend Mohammed (who did all the driving,) another friend Matthias, and I. I have my hood up, as it was extremely cold at the castle. Very windswept, as castles should be, I suppose.