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Eilat (1997) :

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stoempcafe

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Brian Vo

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Syria - Damascus : More pics from Syria will come as I have time!!! Damascus, the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world Controversial explanations have been made to guess etymological origin of the name of the Syrian capital city. Some hold that “damashaq” means the fast-moving camel and the name was given because the building of the city was completed swiftly. Others believe it was named after Damashaq the great grandson of Sam son of Noah, who built the city. Still others presume that the Romans called it “Dumuskus” which means the double musk. Or perhaps the name was taken from Hermes son in Greek mythology who came over to Syria. In Aramean the name might have been derived from Dermask or dersauk as (E deim) means land and (mask) means (red) in Syriac. Whatever the etymological origion of the word, Damascus remains, as ever (the eye of the whole east) as the Roman Julianus described the greatness of the city. Under the Roman it was a chief town, and later the fortress of Bilad-Al-Sham, and the passage to Mecca, the pavilion of all Muslims and God’s paradise on earth have never seen anything so extensive as its orchard, so good as its fruits and so plentiful as its water. It is said the water is so abundant that a fountain can be found in every house. Some historical sources say that the name of Damashaq (Damascus) is derived from the Aramaic word (dam shaq) which means a town built on the rock where the blood of Mash, the fourth son of Aram Bin Sam Bin Noah, flowed soon after a heavy blow by his brother Aws deeply cut Mash’s head. The fight between the two brothers broke out when they could not come into agreement on the name of the new town, some historians had different illustrations with regard to the name of (Dimashaq). The old city of Damascus still preserve its graphical and historical aspects, the high wall which protects the old city of Damascus is crystal clear until today. The citadel was built during the Seljuk rule, and rebuilt during Saladdin rule. It occupies an area of land estimated by 220x190 square meters. It has 13 towers. Nureddin tower in the south west part of the wall, was built in 1168 A.D. Al-saleh Ayoub tower was built in 1248 A.D. There are several gates to the city, some of them date back to the Roman era. Bab Touma and Bab Sharqi are perhaps the most oldest and famous gates of the old city of Damascus. Damascus museum, souk Al-Hamidieh and several other souks, palaces, Khans, and old schools and Bimarestans are additional attraction in the old city of Damascus. www.syriatourism.org/ www.damascus-online.com/ www.oldamascus.com/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/damascene/page13/ (personal fave! Beautiful pics!!)

Syria - Damascus

wanderwoman

More pics from Syria will come as I have time!!! Damascus, the olde ...

Updated: Jul 06, 2008 12:30pm PST

Syria - Aleppo : Aleppo (Arabic: حلب‎ ['ħalab], 36°13′N, 37°10′E) is a city in northern Syria, capital of the Aleppo Governorate; the Governorate extends around the city for over 16,000 km² and has a population of 4,393,000, making it the largest Governorate in Syria (followed by Damascus). Aleppo is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world; it knew human settlement since the eleventh millennium B.C. through the residential houses that were discovered in Tell Qaramel.[2] It was known to antiquity as Khalpe, Khalibon, to the Greeks as Beroea, and to the Turks as Halep. During the Crusades, and again during the French Mandate, the name Alep was used: "Aleppo" is an Italianised version of this. It occupies a strategic trading point midway between the Mediterranean Sea and the Euphrates. Initially, Aleppo was built on a small group of hills surrounding the prominent hill where the castle is erected.[3] The small river Quweiq (قويق) runs through the city. The main role of the city was as a trading place, as it sat at the crossroads of two trade routes and mediated the trade from India, the Tigris and Euphrates regions and the route coming from Damascus in the South, which traced the base of the mountains rather than the rugged seacoast. Although trade was often directed away from the city for political reasons, it continued to thrive until the Europeans began to use the Cape route to India and later to utilize the route through Egypt to the Red Sea. Since then the city has declined and its chief exports now are the agricultural products of the surrounding region, mainly wheat, cotton, pistachios, olives, and sheep. Resources (1856) in Alexander Russell: The Natural History of Aleppo, 1st ed. (in English), London: Unknown, 266. ^ Jackson, Peter (July 1980). "The Crisis in the Holy Land in 1260". The English Historical Review 95: 481–513. ^ "Histoire des Croisades", René Grousset, p581, ISBN 226202569X http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleppo http://www.zeledi.com/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=lastup&cat=-66 http://www.aleppocitadelfriends.org/ http://almashriq.hiof.no/syria/900/the_lure_of_aleppo/ (great article with a lot of information on the city) www.syriatourism.org/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/damascene/page13/ (personal fave! Beautiful pics!!)

Syria - Aleppo

wanderwoman

Aleppo (Arabic: حلب‎ ['ħalab], 36°13′N, 37°10′E) is a city ...

Updated: Jul 06, 2008 11:29am PST

Syria - Krak des Chavalier : A Crusader fortress in Syria and one of the most important preserved medieval military castles in the world. In Arabic, the fortress is called Qal'at al-Ḥiṣn (Arabic: قلعة الحصن‎), the word Krak coming from the Syriac karak, meaning fortress. It is located 65 km west of the city of Homs, close to the border of Lebanon, and is administratively part of the Homs Governorate. Krak des Chevaliers was the headquarters of the Knights Hospitaller during the Crusades. It was expanded between 1150 and 1250 and eventually housed a garrison of 2,000. The inner curtain wall is up to 100 feet thick at the base on the south side, with seven guard towers 30 feet in diameter. King Edward I of England, while on the Ninth Crusade in 1272, saw the fortress and used it as an example for his own castles in England and Wales. The fortress was described as “perhaps the best preserved and most wholly admirable castle in the world” by T.E. Lawrence. This fortress was made a World Heritage Site, along with Qal’at Salah El-Din, in 2006 and is owned by the Syrian government. The fortress is one of the few sites where Crusader art (in the form of frescoes) has been preserved. Resources: A History of the Crusades: The Art And Architecture of the Crusader, page 152, Kenneth M. Setton, Harry W. Hazard, Published 1977, Univ of Wisconsin Press, 448 pages, ISBN 0299068242 Knights Templar: Lost Worlds, July 10, 2006 video documentary on The History Channel. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krak_des_Chevaliers www.syriatourism.org/ http://www.sacred-destinations.com/syria/krak-des-chevaliers.htm

Syria - Krak des Chavalier

wanderwoman

A Crusader fortress in Syria and one of the most important preserved m ...

Updated: Jul 06, 2008 10:41am PST

Dublin (2007) :

Dublin (2007)

stoempcafe

Updated: Jul 05, 2008 7:11pm PST

Anguilla 2008 :

Anguilla 2008

lee-zucco

Updated: Jul 05, 2008 8:05am PST

Kash (1997) :

Kash (1997)

stoempcafe

Updated: Jul 05, 2008 3:40am PST

Tatry :

Tatry

Alex Dylikowski

Updated: Jul 04, 2008 10:58pm PST

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