Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Peter and his friend with Arabian horse
On our return from the farm, we missed out the beehive village of Fah, which was 13 k
outside Aleppo. We later saw several examples of beehive villages on the way to Palmyra.
Time was running out and it was already getting late, so we returned to Aleppo. I wanted
to see the Armenian quarter on my first day and we were taken to the Armenian Cathedral
of the Forty Martyrs. We saw a memorial to the Armenian Genocide and were reminded of
the role that the Syrians and foreign missionaries had played in helping the survivors of the
Turkish massacres of 1915 and later. Syria at the time of the massacres was still a part of the
Ottoman Empire and subject to the commands of the leadership of the Empire. However,
some local leaders refused to be complicit with the orders of the Young Turk triumvirate
who were effectively running the country at the time, and Syria, with its sympathetic gov-
ernor, became a haven for the traumatised survivors. Thus, a prosperous and hard-working
Armenian community was established in Syria and Lebanon to add to the cultural and eth-
nic diversity of the two countries.
On our return to Aleppo, we strolled round the Christian quarter of Jdeideh, where Greek
Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox, Maronites and Armenians lived, worked and worshipped. It
was interesting to see the shops with Armenian lettering and there were lots of evidence
of Armenian craftsmen: cobblers' shops, mechanics' workshops and jewelers. It was also a
good place to find Armenian restaurants and cafes.
