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Simoon Blog
…It is great to be back in this country; this wonderful, mad, bonkers, brilliant country!
 We are in Gondar at the moment and have had the first days’ celebration of Timkat otherwise known as Ethiopian Epiphany. It has been an extraordinary experience– and, well, altogether quite wondrous really. First stop in the morning was the Palace of King Fasilides. It is like something out of a fairytale; an enclosure of a number of 16th C palaces with huge banqueting halls, stables, lion cages, crenellated turrets and all set in lovely grounds with big African trees – jaracanda and juniper with birds cawing and buzzards circling above. Yet unlike the Crusader castles which are so heavy, solemn, and precise in their architecture, the castle here has a dreamy quality. Fasilides founded the city of Gondar in 1636 and it became the capital of Ethiopia. It sits at an elevation of about 2000m high surrounded by hills – no doubt one of the reasons why Fasilides chose to build his palace here. We then went onto a beautiful church called Debre Birhan Selassie which was built in the 17th C.  There is a legend that says a swarm of bees protected the church from being burnt down by invaders during the 1800’s and a flaming apparition of St Michael stood with sword drawn at the gate. For all this drama the church is actually quite simple on the outside, but it is the interior that is rather lovely with the walls painted with depictions of biblical scenes and the ceiling a sea of hundreds of angels’s faces.
Time for a coffee and we sat on a little bench and watched the woman preparing it from scratch. Coffee is a big thing in Ethiopia and there is a traditional ceremony that is performed when making it, and not only for travellers as it is an integral part of their social and cultural life and a demonstration of Ethiopian hospitality.  On into town where the atmosphere was brewing and we could sense the excitement building around us as people honked horns and drove around in anticipation of Timkat starting…although what exactly this was all going to entail we weren’t quite sure. We settled into a rather good lunch on a hotel balcony overlooking the main square. Everyone tucked into the injera and wat – the traditional Ethiopian bread and stew.
 The stews are all incredibly hot and spicy although they do have the ‘fasting’ meal and especially for Timkat which means no meat, so instead, a lot of lentil and spinach stews which are very good. Down below in the square people were driving around blasting their horns and strutting about blowing into small trumpets dressed in their finery. The women wore simple yet elegant white cotton dresses with matching shawls and weave their hair into elaborate braids.
 They are simply some of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. Smooth caramel skin, long gazelle like legs, high cheekbones, liquid brown eyes and white teeth – and the smiles! You can’t help but stare, they are so utterly mesmerising. And when they dance…but that’s another story. So the noise gets louder from the streets below and we adjourn to the balcony edge and settle in for the afternoon. The atmosphere builds; the people watching is great – small clusters of rag-tag children chanting and waving sticks in the air rushing around the square. Donkeys cantering backwards and forwards; groups of monks in black robes blessing people… Beggars, lepers, tourists, babies, families, a man in a wheelchair being raced across the square backwards and forwards narrowly missing motorbikes, tuk-tuks, horses and carts, people everywhere. It is hilarious and colourful and the crowds grow and then a band marches down a street and into the square led by a man in a smart navy uniform with white epaulettes and shiny silver buttons.  He expertly twirls his long silver cane and the three women behind him in fishnet tights, white boots and very short navy skirt uniforms twirl in unison. The band pelts out a tune – it is vaguely recognisable and unlike the pomp of other brass bands this has a sassiness and a rhythm that makes you want to dance. And suddenly a huge procession hoves into sight with a long corridor of beautiful horses decorated with garlands and being ridden by men in white with the colours of the Ethiopian flag in their hats and sashes. Some of the horses rise up on their hind legs and behind them an incredible sea of people appear all dressed in white about five lines deep. They clap and bow, sing and turn in unison, their voices rising and falling in waves. Then hundreds of people dressed in green and yellow merge in blocks with the white and the crowds press around them. The noise swells to a huge crescendo and we’re all transfixed. From above a droning sound and a small plane swoops down really low spilling grass and silvery paper from the open door that sparkle and flutter down onto us.  The crowd go into a complete frenzy clapping and cheering and then suddenly the ark of the covenant – or the replica, comes into sight raised up on a cart. It stops in the square below us and a man climbs onto the cart and lights fireworks. The plane swoops down again and the crowds sway and sing and all the priests behind the cart shuffle forwards walking on red carpet that is expertly rolled out in front of them by four enthusiastic carpet bearers and as they move forward, it is then rolled up and run around to the front of the group and unrolled in time for them to step onto it and move forward as the process is repeated again and again and again. The priests are elaborately dressed in beautiful brocades and carry four of the replica arks on their heads’ whilst others carry glittery umbrellas to protect them and the arks. The whole scene is kaleidoscopic in colour and sound and the atmosphere soars and lifts us all. We descend and join the back of the procession as it continues its journey south through the main street and down towards the Pool of King Fasilides where it will stop and overnight before the ceremony continues tomorrow with the baptism.  The crowd is such fun to be in as everyone is happy and laughing, talking to us, singing and dancing as we are swept up and along with everyone. It is so pure and unlike anything I have experienced before. The energy and genuine joy, love and belief in their faith puts me to shame! People tell me how proud they are of a tradition that is two thousand years old and continues to be such an important and momentous occasion in bringing everyone together. We process for about two hours until we reach a huge outdoor arena where crowds are gathering, milling around laughing and talking, selling beer and biscuits.  So, that was the first part of Timkat and we are rising at 5.30am to get down to Fasilides’ Pool early tomorrow to see the second day where the baptism takes place before the Arks are then processed back to the churches to stay for another year. It has blown away any expectations I had – I knew it would be good… but it really is good.
We are following all the extraordinary events going on in the Middle East with great interest and although unsettling for us, we are firmly behind the Egyptian people for change! Understandably we have had some concerned callers, and as far as our tours are concerned it is still very much business as usual. We are continuing to operate in all our countries as normal. Our agents on the ground in Syria, Jordan and Libya report that things are quiet and tourists are still enjoying their holidays in peace and quiet and have not been affected in any way. We are in close contact with the British Consul in Syria whom has said this:
‘You’ll also be reassured to know that William Hague had a very successful visit to Syria at the end of last week (where he met the President and the Foreign Minister). The best thing to do is just to keep up to speed with the travel advice (www.fco.gov.uk/travel or www.ukinsyria.fco.gov.uk). We judge that the risk to British nationals is minimal: people should be sensible and avoid large crowds, but they shouldn’t change their plans and should make sure they enjoy their holidays. To put it simply, Syria is not Egypt. Having said all that, things do change so we shouldn’t be complacent and will continue to monitor. Rest assured that if things do change, then we will certainly make sure that people know by flagging it in our advice.’
The FCO is encouraging travellers to register with their LOCATE service – even if they are only travelling for a day as an individual or in a group: http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/staying-safe/Locate/
We advise people to do this and rest assured we will let people know if there are any changes at all with relation to their tours.
 The firmer and fresher the vegetables used in this salad, the better it will taste. In Damascus the leftover bread pieces are toasted before use. The Damascene flat breads are wafer thin and after toasting resemble the crisp bread (rye or sesame) widely available in Europe.
500g cucumber
500g red and green sweet peppers
1kg tomatoes
1 bunch radishes
200g lamb’s lettuce
1 bunch shallots or 2 large onions
1 large bunch parsley
1 small bunch mint
A few basil leaves
200g pitted black olives
200g pitted green olives
1 garlic clove
2tbsp vinegar
150 ml olive oil
Salt and pepper
250g crisp bread
Thoroughly clean the vegetables and lettuce. Cut the cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, radishes and peeled shallots (or onions) into small dice and place in a large bowl. Remove roots and wilted leaves from the lettuce and add the rest to vegetable mixture.
Wash and finely chop the parsley, mint and basil leaves; add to the salad. Add the olives. Crush the garlic into a bowl and mix together with the vinegar, oil, salt and pepper. Add to the salad and mix thoroughly.
Break the crisp bread into small pieces and mix into the salad just before serving.
- If fresh mint is not available, then 1tsp of dried mint will work as well.
 Our preferred hotel this month is the 5* Beit Salahieh Hotel. This newly reopened charming boutique hotel is located in Aleppo, Syria’s second largest city. Over the past two years much care and attention has been put into renovating this early 19th century home, which was originally built as the family residence of Aleppo’s most prosperous merchant family, the Salahieh’s. The current owners of the hotel are descendants of the Salahieh family and have been careful to maintain its charm. It has a total of 42 rooms (decorated in an Ottoman style) so is a little bigger than many of the other boutique hotels in Aleppo and Damascus.  It also has 2 restaurants, 3 bars and a luxurious hammam spa area with a Jacuzzi and Turkish bath, where you can also treat yourself to a number of massage and beauty treatments. The hotel is located within the ancient walls of Aleppo, and its roof top restaurant has spectacular views overlooking the cities vast citadel. The Mansouriya Palace, the Beit Salahieh’s sister hotel is also one of our favourites in Aleppo.
Find out more about Syria
Find out more about our Syria tours
 We encourage all of our clients to make a voluntary donation to the World Land Trust to offset their carbon emmisions. The donation is calculated on the distance flown, please see our booking terms and conditions for more details on specific routes. All donations made are forwarded in full to the WLT.
World Land Trust (WLT) is first and foremost a conservation charity and by offsetting travel related emissions with Carbon Balanced we can contribute to mitigation of climate change and support biodiversity conservation at the same time. The donation therefore has a dual beneficial effect.
WLT is a UK-registered charity with over 18 years experience in protecting habitat and biodiversity throughout the world. Their Carbon Balanced Restoration Ecology projects are unique in that each one is specifically designed to benefit biodiversity.
Please go the WLT website (www.worldlandtrust.org) and Carbon Balanced website (www.carbonbalanced.org) for further information.
 I’ve getting really quite excited about our forthcoming ‘recce’ tour to Ethiopia departing in just under a month. There is a huge amount of reading to be had on Ethiopia and I’ve been recommended lots of great books. I’m completely absorbed in The Emperor by Kapuscinski at the moment – a slim book published by Penguin – focusing on the life and times of Haile Selassie who ruled Ethiopia from 1941- 74. It is a fascinating and compelling account of the life and times of this extraordinary figure told through the eyes of all those who worked for him or came into contact with him mainly at court. Written in a reportage style it focuses on the rituals (bizarre), and hierarchies in a corrupt and lavish Palace, yet there is humour, pathos and it’s a compelling insight into a dying regime. There is a real sense of the absurd as well which I love, and it’s so good I’m going to read his other one on Shah of Shas about the last Shah of Iran. But I digress… It was towards the end of Haile Selassie’s time shortly before he was deposed, that the Western world woke up to the famine that has ever since been associated with Ethiopia and to get to grips with this I’ve been given Peter Gill’s book: Famine and Foreigners: Ethiopia since Live Aid. He was the first journalist to bring the shocking tragedy into light and report it on TV (I actually thought Jonathon Dimbleby was, – he certainly helped to bring Selassie down and is the better known of the two). The journalist Lisa Johnson has raved about Empires of the Monsoon by Richard Hall. Looking it up on Amazon it’s had fantastic reviews and I’m sold with this review ‘…. a lively compendium; rich in bloodthirsty sultans, swashbuckling pirates, hypocritical imperialists and serendipitous Sinbads.’
I’ve also heard a lot about Graham Hancock’s The Sign and the Seal: Quest for the Lost Ark of the Covenant and since we will be in Ethiopia for the festival of Timkat –Ethiopian Epiphany – this is also a must read. This is apparently the most spectacular of Ethiopia’s religious festivals and celebrates Christ’s baptism in the River Jordan by John the Baptist. The Ark of the Covenant containing the tablets of the Ten Commandments is supposedly hidden deep within the church of St Mary of Zion in Aksum and during the festival priests lead processions from churches all over the country with copies of the tablets carried on their heads to converge on a river or most famously at King Fasilidas’s Pool in Gonder (which is where we will be). People are ceremonially blessed and driven into a frenzied state of excitement with the dancing, singing and energy of it all. It should be quite a spectacle!
 The 5* Taybet Zaman resort is one of our favourite hotels near the site of Petra in Jordan for our tailor made itineraries. The hotel is a little further away from Petra (9km), however it has a charm that much of the other accommodation in the local area of Wadi Musa sometimes lacks. The resort is a 100 year old converted Turkish village with excellent facilities including a large pool complex, a health and fitness centre, 2 restaurants, a Turkish Bath, a small souk and 105 rooms which include a number of suites, and a royal suite (if you really wanted to treat yourself!). The rooms are comfortable and in a rustic Bedouin style which is nicely in keeping with the rest of the hotel. The hotel has stunning views of the surrounding Wadi Musa Valley and the Sharah Mountains and is a haven away from the hustle and bustle of central Wadi Musa where the entrance to Petra is located.
Ingredients:�
- 1kg of aubergines
- 1 green pepper
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon mint
- 1 large tomato
- 1 medium sized onion
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Method:Roast the aubergines by placing on a baking dish in a medium oven for approx 1 hour until the skin is charred and begins to split.
When the aubergines are cool enough to handle, break open and scoop out the pulp. Mash the pulp with a fork to a smooth puree, then add olive oil, salt and lemon juice
Chop vegetables finely, then add them to the pureed aubergine and mix well.
My recent tour to Syria confirmed, once again, how much I love this country…whether it’s the bustling souks, the fascinating (often lengthily and sometimes confusing!) history, or the evocative call to prayer which can always be heard echoing around the city…something about Syria always captures my imagination.  On this occasion our journey started in Aleppo, the country’s second largest city, in the north of the Syria. After a visit to the Citadel which lies in the heart of the city we had time to explore the endless labyrinth of souks which sell anything and everything from the best Aleppian olive oil soap to mouth-wateringly good pistachios. It is then only a 45-minute drive to the ruins of the Church of St Simeon (the Stylite). The church is set in the most beautiful and tranquil surroundings overlooking the mountains – we arrived at the site just as sun was setting, and other than a small scattering of other tourists we had the place to ourselves. This site is undoubtedly one of my favourites in Syria.
From Aleppo we headed southwest to the coastal city of Lattakia via Saladin’s castle. Saladin’s castle is the lesser known of Syria’s crusader castles (Crac des Chevaliers being, the other, more famous of the two). Saladin’s is not as well preserved as Crac des Chevaliers however it is set it the most wonderful wild and woolly surroundings. Having changed our mode of transport from a larger bus to smaller minivans we wound our way up the mountain path to the castle which is perched at the summit with lush forests surrounding the whole site. After some time exploring the castle and making ourselves dizzy from peeking over the often vertiginous cliff sides we continued our journey to Lattakia. Although Syria is not known for its beach holidays or breaks, the new Rotana Apamea Beach Resort does give you the option to take it easy for a couple of days, with facilities which include a pool, private beach and large terrace which overlooks the sea.
A short drive from Lattakia you are taken right back into the culture and history that Syria is famed for with a visit to the Bronze Age site of Ugarit. Although not much remains at the site the sheer age of what is left standing is impressive in itself with the oldest finds at this site dating back to 6000BC.
 From Lattakia we continued our journey east to the UNESCO heritage site of Palmyra (also known as Tadmor by the locals), which is located in the heart of the Syrian desert. After quite a brief and somewhat comical camel ride, we entered the Temple of Bal, one of the most impressive sites of this vast Roman city. The sheer expanse of this temple gives you an indication of the wealth that flowed through this desert city, which was probably most famous at the time of Queen Zenobia in the 2nd century AD. There is then the option to drive up to the Citadel which overlooks the entire site to watch the sun go down. The views from the Citadel are certainly not to be missed however the sun does not set over the site so for the early birds amongst us it is possibly more impressive to watch sun rise.
And then we were on the road to Damascus – with a stop-off in the quirky Baghdad Cafe and then the Christian village of Maaloula en route. In Maaloula, we walked through a beautiful canyon (or siq) which, for me, was somewhat reminiscent of the siq leading up to the Treasury in Petra but on a much smaller scale, you then climb the steps up to the Convent of St Thekla and visit the cave that she was said to live. The people of Maaloula still speak Aramaic (the language of Christ) and in the Church of St Serkis, which we also had the opportunity to visit, one of the local women recited a hypnotic prayer in Aramaic for us. From Maaloula it is then only a short hour and a half drive to Damascus – our final destination.
 Damascus has that amazing sense of organised chaos that I seem to see again and again (and love more and more) in Middle Eastern cities, that wonderful bustling atmosphere around the souks and the frenetic traffic whizzing around the city. The city has such an abundance of things to see and do from a visit to the National Museum, and the Ummayad Mosque to a drive up to Jebel Qassouin to see stunning views of the city – sunset is always a nice time to do this as you will be able to see the lights starting to flicker on all over the city. Damascus is also a great city to discover on foot, on this visit I was in search of some new boutique hotels for Simoon, so I had the pleasure of exploring and getting hopelessly lost in the winding streets of the Christian and Jewish quarters of the old town – it is wanderings like this that I tend to enjoy most as you get a real feel for the city.
The next day it was off to the airport for the flight home…as always the trip felt too short…’til next time…
Find out more about Syria
Find out more about our Syria tours
 In Simoon we are happy to support and promote the Damask Rose Trust, and would like to encourage our clients to do so too. The Damask Rose Trust supports welfare and development projects in Syria and promotes appreciation of Syria’s cultural heritage among British audiences. The Trust is a registered UK charity and was established in 2006 by a group of British and Syrian academics, development specialists and philanthropists. They focus on training and capacity-building projects which meet the needs of disadvantaged groups, especially among youth, women, the elderly and people affected by disability. The Trust supports, small-scale, locally initiated, sustainable development projects for the benefit of the most disadvantaged communities in Syria. In particular, they will support projects which build local capacities, which promote welfare, education and training. They also support Syrian projects and initiatives which preserve, promote and further develop Syria’s cultural heritage and aims to bring this to the attention of a wider public, especially in the UK.
Syria ranks midway in the UN’s Human Development Index but there are significant pockets of poverty and disadvantage in low-income rural and urban areas and amongst vulnerable groups. The Trust believe that it is appropriate to complement the economic and social policies of the Syrian Government and big international donors by encouraging and supporting local, community-based development efforts with financial support and technical assistance. In the current climate affecting relations with the Middle East, the projects can potentially create greater understanding and cooperation between people in Britain and Syria.
An interesting project that the trust are currently involved in is helping rural children access secondary education. Over the past three years the Trust has supported a project to help isolated rural children in northern Syria go to school, in cooperation with Anat Design. The project has allowed 29 boys and girls from two small villages to attend a distant secondary school. If the bus had not been available, many of these children and particularly the girls would have been very likely to drop out of education altogether. The Trust’s Development Consultant has visited the project and evaluated it positively. It has not only enabled and extended the education of the 29 children, but has also increased community cohesion by people getting together to organise and partially contribute to the costs of running the service. The involvement of the Trust has also led to further donations to the project and an increase in the number of the buses from one to two.
If you would like to read more about the trusts projects or donate please click through to the Damask Rose Trust website.
Find out more about Syria
Find out more about our Syria tours
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