My time in Aleppo ended all too soon. I was not looking forward to my taxi ride out to Rasafa and Palmyra, then on to Damascus. I suffered from food poisoning the night before I was due to leave. I got myself in the car hoping not to be sick and somehow made it through the whole day without a drama.
Rasafa is a fortified city from the 6th century AD out in the eastern desert of Syria. It is surrounded by nearly 2 km of wall (with most still standing today) and is an impressive sight as we approached it in the car. I had been given instructions from Ken to track down the giant cisterns that are built deep into the earth here. There is an old staircase that leads down to the bottom. After some searching, I found a hole in the ground that did not look like something I wanted to go in to without a torch but I did and after a few nervous moments in the dark I felt my way down to the base of these giant rooms designed to hold water for the armies, horses and residents during a siege that may have lasted for months. At 58 metres long and 13 deep it was hard to believe it was built by hand over a thousand years ago. I felt like Indiana Jones walking out in to this amazing place. Light came in from the arched roof above and once through the stairwell it was well lit. The best thing of all was being the only one there. Walking among the ruins was great; the Basillica of Saint Sergius and the main entrance were very impressive. Although a lot of the interior has gone, there is still much to see. Walking along the walls of the city you could imagine how busy it may have once been.
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| Inside Saint Sergius |
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| The main gates of Rasafa |
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