Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Camel's feet anyone?
Our next stop was to the famous Aleppo Souq. It was busy and noisy. We did not want
to purchase anything but were eager to sample the atmosphere. Ahmed spared us from the
commission-generating tourist traps, which we were keen to avoid and which were beneath
his integrity as a serious guide. One sight of camel's feet was an unusual discovery and
enough to sate our curiosity. I was still shooting film in those days and not as cavalier or
carefree in my compositions as I am now with digital. The 17
th
Century souq was extens-
ive, lively, colourful and crowded. It was the first real Arab market I had been to and I had
nothing to base my expectations on. It turned out that it was one of the largest and most
famous souqs in the whole of the Arab world and, unfortunately, it has suffered very badly
in the ongoing fighting in Syria and was largely destroyed by fire in 2012.
From the frenetic activity of the souq, our next stop was to meet Peter's acquaintance at the
horse stud farm. He bred pure Arabian horses, and had been to Dubai and may even have
sold horses there. This was a welcome trip outside the town and it was to be our first taste
of the countryside.
As we made our way there, Peter sat in the front of the car as he claimed that he got car
sick when not driving. That was strange as I usually felt car sick when he was driving; as
he drives with the recklessness of 20 years of bad habits acquired in the U.A.E. and the
carefree attitude of someone who has a super charged company car. I suspect that this was
a clever ruse, which played on my compassionate nature, in order for him to get the best
views and the best seat, but that would be uncharitable of me to think such a thing and so
I went along with his story. Meanwhile, Ahmed told us about his former career as an ag-
