Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
My recollections of the flight are hazy, as it had been a hectic few days in the build up to our
trip and we had slept very little the night before. I have never had a bad experience on Air
Arabia and this was no exception. Flight conditions were comfortable but a little Spartan
by comparison with Emirates. The service was good and efficient and the airhostesses had
less of an attitude problem than those on Emirates' flights. The inflight p.a. system crackled
on with the chants of a prayer before departure and we were off on our adventure.
Initially, Peter had only wanted to go to Aleppo to see a tenuous contact in a stud farm for
horses and he had only set aside a couple of days. I agreed to accompany him there but
then I would stay on and explore the country further. Peter had also read the fascinating
biography of Lady Jane Digby (who was buried in Damascus) and that gave us an excuse
to visit one more site. Somehow, I managed to persuade Peter to add Palmyra, the ruined
Parthian/Roman oasis city of Queen Zenobia, Maalula (one of the few Aramaic speaking
places in the world), Tartus on the coast and a few places in-between to the itinerary. Thus
we extended our time and our range of experiences (some not so good as I was to find out
later).
On arrival at Aleppo International Airport, were met by our guide for Aleppo and a driver. I
forget the driver's name but could never forget our guide. Ahmed was a sprightly 65-year-
old retired agronomist, son of one of the most famous Syrian singers (who was still alive at
the time and well into his nineties). Ahmed wore comfortable running shoes and baseball
cap and had a cheeky sense of humour. He was also very bright and a fount of knowledge,
which extended well above-and-beyond everything that could be expected from a normal
guide. His professional life had taken him to distant places for work and study and he was
very adaptable to our various, constant and diverse demands.
One other person who loomed large during our trip in a motherly and almost mythical way
was Rafa, the extravert owner of the company. No sooner had we arrived, than we were
handed a mobile with Rafa on the end of the line wishing us a great stay and assuring us
of her full attention. To illustrate our relationship, I enclose in the appendix all our corres-
pondence during the planning stages for our trip. What is not included there is that I believe
I jokingly told her that we were famous musicians and that I was a travel writer (partially
true at the time although I was still unpublished). Concerning the famous musician claim,
the documentary of our band, compiled by our friend Ricardo Vallejos, had just been up-
loaded on YouTube, so there was some evidence of recent and historic musical activity (if
nothing else). Regular calls from Rafa, enquiring about our health and satisfaction were to
become a constant during our trip. This was much appreciated and when we eventually got
the worst guide in the world and told her so, she was quick to replace him. She became a
kind of omnipresence although we only met her once, and even then, very briefly.
