ASIANOVERLAND.NET SYDNEY TO LONDON  DAY 300/139/51: DAMASCUS TO HAMA,  SYRIA

Damascus is a pretty easy city to get lost in, as every sign and signpost is in Arabic script, and nothing is in English. On the eastbound overland, we headed south from Damascus to Jordan. But we must have missed the Arabic signpost in Damascus, took the wrong turn off the roundabout, and ended up being stopped by the Syrian Arab Army:

“You are in the Golan Heights Military Zone. Turn Around And go Back!!!”

You can’t help bad luck … but we were more careful the next two drives, and successfully managed to navigate both into and out of Damascus in July and November, 1980.

The Umayyad Mosque in the old city of Damascus, is one of the largest and oldest mosques in the world. After the Muslim conquest of Damascus in 634, the mosque was built on the site of a Christian basilica dedicated to John the Baptist, recognised as a prophet by Christians and Muslims.  The mosque is also believed by Muslims to be the place where Jesus will return at the End of Days. The mausoleum containing the tomb of Saladin is beside the mosque.

In 1516, the Ottoman Empire invaded the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt, conquering Syria, and incorporated Syria and Palestine into the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman system was not burdensome to Syrians, because the Turks respected Arabic as the language of the Quran. Damascus was the major trade centre for Mecca, and countless pilgrims passed through Damascus on the hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca.

Ottoman administration followed a system that led to peaceful coexistence of all ethno-religious minorities—Arab Shia Muslim, Arab Sunni Muslim, Aramean-Syriac Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Maronite Christians, Assyrian Christians, Armenians, Kurds and Jews. The religious heads of each religious community administered all personal status laws and performed certain civil functions as well.

The Ottoman Empire ruled Syria for four centuries until 1917, when they were routed by the Australian Army and Light Horse, who were fighting on the side of the British. General Mustafa Kemal was in charge of the Ottoman 7th Army in Syria and Palestine, and knew all about the Charge of the Light Brigade at  Beersheeba, which turned the tide against the Ottoman defence of Palestine and Syria. Mustafa Kemal quickly retreated across the Jordan River, to Damascus, and then to Aleppo, without attempting to defend Damascus, Homs or Hama along the way north out of Damascus. The reputation of the Australian Light Horse preceded it’s capture of Damascus.

One of the Ottoman armies attempted to retreat west to the Ottoman Mediterranean port of Tripoli, but were massacred by the Australian Army at Barada Gorge. Th Australian Light Horse quickly took possession of Damascus and headed north in search of Mustafa Kemal, but were unable to catch him. The Australian Light Horse couldn’t catch the last Ottoman train out of Damascus.

General Mustafa Kemal himself managed to escape the Australian Light Horse and Lawrence’s Arabs, and retreated back to Turkey, where he formed the new state of Turkey out of the ashes of the Ottoman Empire. 

Interesting drive today, from Damascus to Hama, following the same route followed by the retreating Mustafa Kemal, closely followed by the Australian Light Horse.

Reference: The Australian Light Horse; Rolan Perry, 2017, from pages 452 to 481.

Hama is 213 km north of Damascus and 46 kilometres north of Homs. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate, and the fourth-largest city in Syria after Damascus, Aleppo and Homs.

Hama is renowned for its seventeen water wheels with pots used for irrigation and watering the gardens. The famous Hama waterwheels date back to 1100 BC. At the top of the waterwheels are ancient aquaducts, which transport the water throughout the district.

Our overland trip books record July 1980 and 

“7 November, 1980

What a wonderful day this was! We all have some of the finest shops in the world of green roller shutter doors at the Damascus bazaar. The shops were so bad Sarah almost didn’t buy anything – almost- ….

Angel whirl again – with bananas + baclava.

The dishes were done by the ginger on the other Top Deck bus – only to find that our thanks weren’t up to their high expectations.”

↑ Day 299 ↓ Day 301