The road to Damascus

The plan was initially to head to Idlib to withdraw cash, and fill up on petrol. The decision was based on reports of protests taking place in the nearby city of Aleppo. After approximately an hour on the road we arrived in Idlib, and as is a general rule in Turkey and the Middle East, were assisted around the town in search of cash machines, local sim cards, and a cheap hotel, by an incredibly welcoming local shopkeeper, who also gave them much needed refreshments free of charge.

The cash wasn’t a problem, unfortunately the other two were. The phone shop refused to sell a local sim card to us, and seemed incredibly suspicious, and after Arabic conversations at two small hotels, ended in being turned away, the only hotel that seemed to be open for business, requested $170 for one night. With the light fading, and a prior decision to only drive during daylight hours, we headed back onto the highway, and opted instead to spend the night in the car outside a roadside restaurant, a couple of hours short of Damascus, and passed much of the major protest hotspots.

The following morning the team were back on the road early doors, and after discovering that the change office at Damascus Airport would only transfer currency to Syrian Pounds and not vice versa, we headed into Damascus to change their cash into dollars in preparation for the Jordanian border. Stopping the car just inside the city, we had a quick bite to eat, and headed into town in a cab to collect their much need dollars. Again we were on the receiving end of incredibly generous local assistance, and were joined in the car by another local shopkeeper, who guided us out to the main highway to the border with Jordan.

After a quick stop to refuel, and passing through only one army checkpoint, where men with guns waved us through with a welcoming smile, we arrived at the border to the most friendly border police in history. The process on both sides was a pleasure, and soon, Cindy, me, and most importantly perhaps the 22-year-old heap of yellow metal were all safe and sound in Jordan. We were tired and relieved, and after the short journey onto Amman, booked into a cheap hostel for the night to get some much needed rest.

The one remaining piece to the puzzle was to be resolved the following day at 6pm, when Phil arrived at the hostel with new friend, and now hostel dorm mate, Raf. His experiences had also been of continued hospitality in Turkey, and an easy and welcoming entrance into Jordan. We have spent a couple of days with veterinary charity, ‘SPANA’ in Amman, and the car is at the local Land Rover garage getting a final piece of TLC before we head to Egypt early next week.

We are hugely relieved to have succeeded in crossing Syria, although disappointed that our experiences there were limited. The Syrian people’s hospitality is more often than not the highlight of London to Cape Town expeditions, and although we had a brief sample of this, we feel it was a shame that we couldn’t have been in a more politically stable Syria.

We would like to express how incredibly welcoming and friendly Syria were, general public, and security forces alike, and how we hope that in other parts of the world the view is of a nation peacefully fighting for freedom, against one man and his refusal to relinquish power. Jordan reeks of a nation built on positivity, youthful exuberance, and progression, and soon it is our hope that Syria too, can claim the same. Despite an increased presence of tanks, and armed policemen on the streets, as well as a sequence of roadblocks, we never once felt threatened. Of course Syria is experiencing a fragile stage in its progression at the moment, and the ‘Real Way Down’ team would like to offer both their compassion and support to the cause of the Syrian people. It is, however, a nation of kind and welcoming people, and not the angry mob sometimes being portrayed on the news. More about our Jordanian charity will follow soon.