34
SYRIA (2)
548 Kilometres – 9 DaysSyrian border - Damascus – 115 kilometres
After mountainous Jordan, the lack of hills in Syria made for delightful cycling. The
day turned out pleasant and sported views of green fields and distant snow-
capped mountains. Finally, the weather was in our favour, and we rolled into
Damascus at around 4 o’clock where two full days were spent.
Founded in the 3rd millennium B.C., Damascus is one of the oldest cities in the
Middle East and was an important cultural and commercial centre at the
crossroads between Africa and Asia. Damascus’s old town is considered among the
oldest continually inhabited cities globally and, therefore, a UNESCO World
Heritage Site. I was in Damascus barely six months earlier and was thus super
keen to show Ernest around this remarkable city. Unfortunately, he was
disinterested in sightseeing and only visited the historic walled city and markets.
As a result, I spent most of my time exploring the city’s remarkable and ancient
sights and attractions.
Luckily, the Umayyah Mosque, known as the Great Mosque of Damascus, said to
be one of the oldest and largest mosques in the world, was explored with my sister
a few months prior. The fascinating part of the mosque was that it was constructed
following the Muslim conquest of Damascus in 634 CE. The mosque was further
built upon a Christian basilica dedicated to John the Baptist, honoured by both
Christians and Muslims as a prophet. Legend has it the building contains the head
of John the Baptist, which I considered pretty bizarre.