Syria 2

I lose track of time once more. Another good crowd evolves over the coming days. A couple from Lithuania convinced me that I need to add it to the list of future destinations – simply by their being so cool. I sink many a beer with Alex from America – he happens to be studying Arabic which comes in very handy on many occasions.

At the citadel we spend an afternoon with a group a students. We talk about life in Aleppo, the difficulties of dating and their studies. After the chit chat they offer to teach us some local dances. With tinny music pumping from a mobile phone we join hands in a circle and get groovy - actually, it's a bit more "okey cokey", but lots of fun all the same.

Daily explorations take us around the souqs and eateries. I discover Syrian food to be some of my favourite of the whole trip – their wine is not so flash! My favourite dish being fuul (tahini and humus, red beans and olive oil) served with bread, onion, tomato and radish – might sound heavy going for a breakfast but wwwoooooowwwww it's good!

Alex and I eventually move on to Latakia. We arw both attracted by its reputation for being the most progressive city in Syria with more of a Western feel. My original plan was to ride – but after realising that the train costs £1.20 first class – I reconsider. Alex and I split a bottle of Raki on the train – this becoming a habit on train journeys. It did make for a fun journey though.

The weather in Latakia is horrid – though the thunder storms out at sea entertain me briefly. We spend our days rain dodging in a multitude of coffee shops and explore the delights of Latakian street food.