Moving to Aleppo

Damascus to Aleppo

Today, I move from Damascus to Aleppo.  I had received conflicting information on which of the several bus stations to catch the bus from.  The last time I did it, it was from Baramke but that was nearly 20 years ago.  And on the remaining visits, I did the journey in reverse and didn’t even know which station I arrived at.

So far, people online and here gave different reasons for whether it should be Baramke, Abasiyeen or Harasta.

After breakfast at 0730, I walked out of the old town area to Bab Touma to catch a taxi to the best station.  I had decided on Abasiyeen but the taxi driver said Harasta Pullman station would be better.

We went past Abasiyeen and some very totally levelled neighbourhoods before getting dropped outside Harasta Pullman station.  The station was a compound partially surrounded by ticket offices with ticket windows on the outside perimeter and walk-in offices on the inside.

I ignored the calls from the ticket windows and went inside, only to be persuaded into the first shop.  They claimed to have a bus going immediately and I paid SYP100K (NZD16) for my ticket.

They had someone walk me to the police office to have my passport checked and ticket stamped before guiding me to the bus.  I was comfortably seated in a 3-across configuration at 0900 and we pushed off at 0915.  Very good, for a change!

About 90 mins later, we stopped for a 30 min break and diner beside the highway.  Then, annoyingly, a detour to a station in Homs for a drop-off and back on track via some back roads.

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We arrived at Aleppo at a station around 1405, just under 5h after departure, including the stop and detour.  I recall the journey used to take about 4h including the stop.

I took a taxi to Bab Antakya, from where I navigated the souq to find Dar Halabia Hotel.  With a bit of trial and error I got to my accommodation around 1445.

The boss was out and the helper hospitably plied me with tea but I really wanted to get to my room, go out to explore.  I don’t know what prevented him from giving me my room but after making some polite conversation for longer than I had cared for, I got what I wanted.

Exploring Aleppo

I headed out around 1600 through the souq towards the Citadel.  The souq disappeared suddenly into open-air mounds of rubble, which continued all the way to the Citadel area.

The Citadel looked intact and refreshed but the guards were just letting the last of the visitors out.  That’s something for me, tomorrow.

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After grabbing a small shawarma for an early dinner or late lunch, I continued my exploration to the northwest of the Citadel area to the Christian area of Al Jdeideh.

Here, there were pockets of destruction.  I had fallen in love with the old mansions in 2002, many of which were running as restaurants and hotels.  We booked to stay in one of them in 2004.  But now, I only noticed one that was operational.

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I headed back to the hotel around 1800 before coming around 1900 to see the Citadel by night and grabbing Dinner Part II.

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Not the same anymore

Like Damascus, Aleppo had lost a considerable part of its charm.  Damascus was due to traffic and people everywhere but Aleppo due to the loss of the souqs and the shops and cafes at the base of the Citadel.  There are some new cafes there and park-like open spaces, but it isn’t the same for me.

And, as mentioned a few paragraphs earlier, the Christian area had also lost the appeal.

Nevertheless, I’m happy to be back but may move on tomorrow instead of staying a second night.

Prices

Syria is still relatively cheap but not crazily cheap anymore.  A simple meal like a shawarma is around SYP25K (NZD4), a can of fizzy drinks SYP6-8K (NZD1.00-1.20) depending on brand.  Yep, Coke and Pepsi are here despite sanctions.

And a 4h+ intercity bus ride is SYP100K (NZD16).