Rain and Norias

And yes... am back in Syria since yesterday. It is raining... Fortunately, it is also warm and sometimes the sun is shining.

The plain landed half an hour earlier than foreseen and the border police provided a stamp in my passport without much interrogation. In 2 weeks, we will go to the immigration police. Hopefully to get my residency card. Applied for it 2 months ago.

The first thing I ordered was hummus with (flat) bread. It was accompanied by cucumbers, tomatoes, green onions and paprika. And as a starter we had lentil soup. After the mezze, a speciality of the restaurant : chicken, rice, pistachios, bread mixed together with a lot of spices. Did I mention this food was consumed on the terrace of the restaurant with a splendid view on the Norias of Hama.

The Norias are big wooden wheels that scoop water from the Orontes into an ancient aquaduct. A gift from the Romans when they were in town.

Today, we are driving through the mountains to Krak de Chevaliers and will be staying in a friend's hotel with view on the Krak.

By the way, if you want to see some pictures, just click on the link on the right side of this page.

Tomorrow, back to reality. Meaning that at arrival in the village, I will check the progress of the building project and put some pressure on the locals by giving some instructions. Although, it is quite possible that tomorrow afternoon, when we will arrive, the rest of the day will be spent on saying hello to everyone and visiting some people.