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story and photos by Kitty Wheeler
Coastal Journal contributor
SOMEWHERE ON THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS - The thrill of experiencing Syria and Lebanon last month has left me mentally spinning. Our wonderful Syrian guide, Marwan, wished us well as we said goodbye; then he laughed as he added, “You have just had 12 days visiting 'the axis of evil'”. Our current administration also labels the country 'a state sponsor of terror'.
Lebanon, a strikingly beautiful country draped on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, doesn't have a president at the moment; some Hezbollah are living in tents in the downtown capitol of Beirut; 500,000 Palestinian refugees exist in seven camps throughout the country; and Lebanese soldiers with rifles cradled in their arms swing on and off tanks casually.
Yet I have never felt so safe and welcomed by both countries. In Syria, we walked through the streets of Damascus at night. We were invited to share coffee and home made marmalade in a private house outside Beirut. And we were graciously given a delicious gelato scoop of ice cream. No evil and no terror materialized.
The rich layers of history dazzled me at the sites our group visited. Each of the following civilizations left its mark: Neolithic, Babylonian, Hittite, Phoenician, Assyrian, Persian, Hellenistic, Nabatean, Roman, Byzantine, Muslim, Crusader, the Ottoman Empire, and finally the French. The French turned former territories into instant countries when new borders were drawn at will on 20th century maps. Lebanon became a country in 1943, and the Syrian Arab Republic was independent in 1946.
The Syrian capitol, Damascus, claims to be the oldest city in the world. And the old city with its warren of bazaars, palaces, and early Christian churches has as its main attraction the Umayyad Mosque. It is the fourth holiest mosque for the Muslims; only the mosques in Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem attract more pilgrims. Brilliantly colored tiles encase the Treasury in the immense courtyard, and more tiles surround the entrance to the mosque itself. St. John the Baptist is said to be buried there. And some claim that Jesus will return by coming down on one of its white minarets.
Along with seeing more Damascene sites, we also met with Dr. Mohammed Habish, a member of the Syrian parliament and General Director of the Islamic Studies Center. He touched on critical issues in the Middle East: the US invasion of Iraq; the sharp division between reformist and radical Islam; the evolution and division of the Shiites and Sunnis; the involvement of Syria in Lebanon; and the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli crisis. This last crisis is THE issue roiling in the Middle East. Peace, the establishment of two separate states, and the return of lands taken in the 1967 war must be addressed.
Syria is fertile in the western region, a desert in the east. Each historical period has left its mark on the landscape. The Crusaders built Krak des Chevaliers, an imposing fairy-tale castle perched on a hilltop near the Mediterranean Sea, in the 12th century. A large moat surrounds the fortification; hot oil could be dripped down on invaders and arrows shot through the slits. The Mamluk Dynasty wrested the castle from the Knights of Hospitalers in the 13th century.
The Castle of Saladin is another fortification built precariously on a ridge between two ravines. The Byzantines had once controlled this site, and a ruined chapel remains. Hammams or baths are apparent with broken pipes still visible to bring the water into the hot and cool bathing areas.
The famous Silk Road weaving from China to the Mediterranean Sea passed through Aleppo and Palmyra, both Syrian cities. Aleppo has a huge citadel dominating the landscape at 350 feet above ground. The 2nd millennium BC Hittites created sculptured relief on the walls of the Temple of the Storm God, Haddid. Romans, Byzantines and Muslim dynasties continued to occupy the site. Now the Aga Kahn Foundation is funding its restoration. The foundation is also transforming the surrounding areas into pedestrian-only attractions. Even the ancient covered souks empty out at the base of the citadel.
Temple of Bacchus, Baalbek, Lebanon
Krak des Chevalier, Syria
16th century mosque, Tripoli, Lebanon
Carpets in Aleppo, Syria
Spices in Aleppo, Syria
Tiles on the Treasury, Courtyard, Ommayid Mosque, Damascus, Syria
Martyr's Statue, downtown Beirut, Lebanon
The Romans built Palmyra. It lies in ruins in the desert, and it captivated me. Columns with Corinthian capitals march across the sands, broken up by archways, an amphitheater, an agora and house walls. A large Temple of Baal pulls one's eye toward the oasis of date palm trees beyond it. And the memory of Zenobia, Queen of the East, grabs one's imagination. She envisioned becoming Queen of the Roman Empire and had coins minted with her face on each side. Tower tombs, reaching for the skies, are another unusual feature of the ruined city.
Apamea is another Roman city in northwestern Syria. Our group embraced the ruins alone; only Bedouin goatherds moved their flocks silently through the cobbled Cardo Maximus, the long mercantile street where you can still see the imprint of chariot wheels. Plain, fluted and spiraled white stone columns soared. Some barely supported crumbling entablatures; their graceful capitols, which were strewn on the ground, had been decapitated from some pillars. The partly reconstructed city stands, ethereal in its grandeur and a testament to its earlier glorious heyday.
A dominant Byzantine compound, the Church of San Simeon the Stylite, towers over northern Syrian lands, which sweep toward Turkey. St. Simeon lived on top of a 40-foot column for many years; he was an eccentric 3rd century Christian who chose to isolate himself in a self-sacrificial way. When the church and baptistery were built in the 4th century to honor the saint, many pilgrims flocked there.
Lebanon, too, has its share of Roman ruins. Anjar's ruins are nestled near the Anti-Lebanon Mountains near Syria. The reconstructed palace walls use stone with bricks in between as the masonry. An outline of a Roman temple and some columns on the Cardo Maxima give a sense of the city at that time. The Crusaders built a church there, but not the Byzantines. Then the 8th century Ubaayid Dynasty turned Anjar into a major Islamic city; mosques, palaces and baths evolved from the Roman ruins. There were no other tourists as we strolled through archways, and scattered around the ruins, a delightful smell of jasmine wafted toward us.
Ba'albek, one of the largest Roman cities in the Middle East, dominates the central area of the Lebanese Bekka Valley. Its Temples of Jupiter and Bacchus are immense; its courtyard with pagan altars, sculptured relief around fountains and columned walkways is, likewise, imposing. Six pillars are still standing from 2000 years ago, undaunted by earthquakes through the centuries. We stayed at a French-built hotel that overlooked the ruins; Jean Cocteau and French film stars were several of its guests in the 1940's.
The Phoenicians left their mark on coast settlements. Byblos, Sidon and Tyre were established some 6000 years ago, and the Canaanites built settlements there. King Hiram of Tyre, an Old Testament figure from the 12th century BC, sent cedars of Lebanon to Solomon in Jerusalem to build the first temple. Ramses II traveled to Byblos and aided in building a temple with obelisk statuary. Romans followed.
Tyre has spectacular Roman ruins, some of which stretch down to the sea. Parts of a hippodrome remain, and a necropolis with sarcophagi scattered around the grounds demands attention. Abutting the ruins is a Palestinian refugee camp squeezed behind barbed wire.
Soap was an important trade object. Sidon has a restored soap factory that shows how soap, made from olive oil and stacked at an angle, dried. This city also has a stunning caravanserai where merchants and their animals bedded down and wares were sold. A sea castle jutting into the harbor was another Crusader fortification. Then the Muslims arrived and rebuilt the castle for their own use. Mosques, hammams and souks were also constructed.
There is a delicate balance of residents living in Lebanon. One third are Christians, mostly Maronites; one third are Sunnis, and one third are Shiites of which the Hezbollah are part. The devastating Civil War that has racked the country since 1976 has left the land pockmarked with bullet holes and rocket craters. Recent assassinations of political figures have further eroded the government's structure. After many years of Syrian occupation, that country has left, and the Israelis who attacked the Hezbollah in 2006 have also departed. UN peacekeeping soldiers patrol the southern borders.
Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, Beirut is rebuilding itself. The Corniche still attracts local residents who saunter along the seashore. Martyrs' Square in central downtown is a revered spot where a dominating statue of former heroes looks over the park. Parliament Circle and surrounding streets are now for pedestrians only. The partially destroyed National Museum has reopened, proudly displaying the country's artifacts of 6000 years.
These two countries can rightly boast of their histories and the marks they have left from earlier civilizations. And both countries are grappling with today's political problems. Their cries for peace are resounding. Their hope for international conversation, as individuals and as governments, is etched in my mind. We have an overriding obligation to stand with them and help their long fought dreams become a reality. An open-minded journey to these two lands is another way to support them. Goodbye, “ Axis of Evil”; hello, “Friendship”.
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