Palmrya

We take public transport and arrive in Palmrya in time for dinner.  Dinner is at a local restaurant a couple of doors down the road.  We sit around a table in a restaurant decorated brightly with middle eastern carpets and tuck into the local delicacy, chicken mensaf.  It reminds me of chicken buriyani, a local favourite in Sri Lanka.  It is a tasty, spicy rice dish cooked in  chicken broth  which is served with pieces of chicken and garnished with herbs and nuts.  We are tired and hungry after a long bus ride getting here and tuck in happily to another great meal in the middle east.

After dinner we browse the little shops and one of the shop owners enquires if he can buy me as his wife for 20 camels!  I am not sure if I should be flattered or insulted (I mean..what’s a decent bride price around here??) but smile sweetly and escape quickly, declining his offer to stay and chat. 

We wake up early to go back to the restaurant for pancakes with date syrup, before we explore the ruins of Palmrya.  The local Syrian boys follow us around, hawking their wares and posing for pictures.

Palmyra was a city along the old camel caravan route linking Africa, Asia and Europe and served as an important staging post in days gone by.  It came into its own after  Petra’s downfall and became one of the most important cities in the region.

Palmrya was also an important link along the Silk Route and thrived from the taxes levied on the caravans that passed through here.

The ruins are extensive and hint at what life must have been like in Palmrya’s heyday.  From the forum where many discussions took place, to the  place of sacrifice where many animals were slaughtered in exchange for various requests, to the theatre where people were entertained, we see the ruins of a sophisticated society.  I am impressed by the olive press.  Food must also have played an important part in the life of this city. 

Bilingual inscriptions on the pillars indicate they were also a very educated society.  I am intrigued by the separate drainage systems for disposing waste water & rain water and for the distribution of clean water for drinking.

We wander around taking photos and enjoying the views of this magnificent ruin before heading back for lunch. 

We go back to our favourite restaurant for one last meal. The chef is a good cook and by now has made friends with us.  My fellow travellers joke around and tell him I am a Sri Lankan Princess.  She isn’t a Princess, he replies, she is a Queen!  I think I have a fan :)

My friend Emily jokes that he probably thinks I am too old to be a princess but I have the last laugh when he invites me for a motor bike ride to the castle for a panoramic view of his city.  I agree, but we have limited time and I ask if we can be back in 20 minutes so I am not late back for my next bus ride.

We ride up the hill.  The wind is in my hair and the city of Palmyra spreads out before me.  It is a great feeling to be on a bike again.  We stop before we reach the castle so I can admire the view.  It is quite a different perspective to look down on the old city and see the more recent dwellings spread out in the distance.  Amori lights up a cigarette and tells me a little about his life in Palmyra but my time is limited and I have to go.

I snap a few last minute photos and say goodbye to Palmyra. ‘the beautiful wonder’, before we head back down and I catch a bus out of town. 

 

Just when I think I have learned the way to live, life changes.  ~Hugh Prather