Tartus

Wednesday morning Alden got up nice and early to head up to Tartus. First, a bus to Homs, then a mini-bus (death trap) taxi to Tartus. Luckily, Alden knows how to say "Yes, but I am bigger" and "Yes, because I am much bigger, than you" in Arabic to get littler Syrians to move over to allow Alden a fraction more leg room for the hour long drive. Alden also wonders, much like the Jerry Seinfeld sketch, "What is going on in this driver's life that makes him drive so angrily?"

Tartus is right on the Mediterranean. It is a fairly quiet little city with a very attractive sight for Alden to investigate: An island! Alden does love a good boat ride, and the island of Arwad is 3 km off the coast. This is the only Syrian island with a resident population. It was also one of the very last Crusader hold-outs; it measures 500 by 800 meters- so not that big. Arwad's streets are so narrow it is hard for two people to pass each other. It also has NO CARS, which means NO HONKING. The exchange of honking for the roar of Neptune's relentless wave assault on the shore was indeed music to Alden's ears.

To get to Arwad one takes a wee little ferry that fits maybe 3 dozen people, crammed together, attempting not to puke on each other, since the sea was pretty rough on Wednesday afternoon, with some 10 foot swells that made children cry with horror. It was almost comical. Alden found himself sliding into the mindset, "Well I'm sure that the captain knows what he's doing, right?"

Alden wandered around Arwad for a bit; the narrow little streets follow no logic, but the shore of the island was a wide lane, with kids swimming in little tidal pools. The two Crusader forts on the island have mostly succumbed to either the waves or have been recycled into homes. If it wasn't for the mounds of trash everywhere, the island would be perfectly delightful. But as it is, Arwad was a great place to relax for a bit.

Side note: the trash isn't anything new; Syrians don't have the same conceptions regarding littering as Americans. And it is especially odd for Alden, since one of the first questions he gets from Syrians is "Isn't Syria beautiful?" Indeed it is, but it would be even MORE beautiful if there wasn't crap all over the place. Seriously, stop littering. It's gross.

Back on the mainland, Alden explored the "old city" a bit- basically the area in and around the crusader castle that has been turned into peoples little homes, another very cool recycling effort.

Then over to the Crusader cathedral, "Our Lady of Tortosa." Half church, half fort, this was probably a pretty imposing little fortress back in the day. Now it is filled with dusty display cases of nothing too impressive, as well as two security guards that follow you around, almost annoyingly close, asking to see your entrance ticket every few minutes. Alden's internal dialog: "Seriously, I just showed it to the guy standing RIGHT NEXT TO YOU, do you not trust him?" Luckily Alden always keeps all of his tickets to Syrian tourist sites, because a pile of student tickets works just as well as an international student ID card to get the student discounts. And the pile of student tickets didn't cost $25! Victory!

Alden spent the afternoon walking up and down the shore on the Corniche. It was a stunning sight as the sun set over the water- viewed from a top floor restaurant in the local Dept. of Commerce building.

Thursday Alden got himself up nice and early. Mission: Visit yet another Crusader castle- Qa'alat Marqab. This would turn out to be the best one yet!

A mini-bus ride to Bainyas, switch onto a mini-bus towards Yoanbe- and an hour out of Tartus Alden is at the front door of the most intimidating castle he has seen in the Middle East. Large and very in charge, Marqab is amazing, but a different type of amazing from the other castles he's visited. Krek de C. is very intact, and is right out of a fairy tale. One can easily imagine knights in shining armor, damsels in distress, etc. Saladin's castle is not so intact, but has a great and commanding location over two steep valleys. But Marqab just looks evil. This is partially due to being made entirely out of black (basalt) rock. It overlooks miles of farm land one one side, and the Mediterranean on the other. It is very intact, without too many visitors.

The out-of-date lonely planet claims that Krek de C. stables still smells like horses. This isn't true; it smells like poop alright, but that's from humans. The stables at Marqab are enormous- larger than at Krek de C., and not smelling of human waste. The castle housed thousands of soldiers- it was crucial in the communications and logistical links for the Faranj back in the day. To be honest, Alden's expectations were rather low- his out-of-date lonely planet guide said that most of Marqab was ruined due to an earthquake ("zilzell" in Arabic); but it was in excellent shape on Thursday.

Marqab was so intimidating that Saladin didn't even try to lay siege; he marched right by to go after easier targets- eventually Marqab was basically abandoned when the Faranj retreated back to Europe. Alden enjoyed exploring the several large and intact storerooms and dungeons. The chapel (converted to a mosque when the Faranj left) still had some fresco remnants in the confessional. Very cool. Castles with ocean views are quite nice. Alden also enjoyed the services of a free guide at Marqab. He got quite a bit of attention since he was the only non Syrian at the castle. The guide switched seamlessly between Arabic and (very loud) French; languages that Alden seamlessly speaks only marginally well. Alden insisted on speaking Arabic, while his guide focused on French. It was a nice refresher in French castle vocabulary for Alden, bringing back fond memories of good times, but less than impressive grades, in high school French.

Back in Tartus for a late lunch and a nap, Alden spent the afternoon relaxing by the ocean. Not a bad day.