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August 02, 2005
A walk around the Old City.
Finally, internet access has been restored in the hotel.
I haven't been able to access the net from my room for nearly a week, there was something wrong with the government-owned server through which traffic from the hotel passes.
I managed to get a few good pictures during a walk around the old city last Friday. The city was very quiet, as most things shut for the day.
This lane is normally jammed with people, the Friday effect in action.
A view to the mountain which forms the northern edge of the city. The citadel is the building to the left. The Mosque in the centre of the picture is across the street from my hotel
Another typical street. There must be thousands of cars parked up at the side of the lanes throughout the Old City.
This is Straight Street, as referred to in the Bible. Paul had his eyesight restored here. Speaking of which, I might get myself a new pair of glasses here, they're about a fifth of the price I'd pay at home.
This street is near the Citadel. The streets in this area are arranged a grid pattern and are quite a bit wider than the lanes that cover most of the Old City.
A covered Souk, or market. Again this lane is normally packed full of people and the occasional minibus, complete with driver sitting on the horn and yelling at people to get out of the way.
The famous Souk al-Hamidiyya. It's a bit like a glitzy department store when the shops are open. It's not possible to buy anything which hasn't had gold inlay or trim added. Apparently those are bulletholes in the roof, shot by French planes during a rebellion in 1925.
Posted by Richard at August 2, 2005 08:20 PM
Comments
The Souk al-Hamidiyya looks a bit like what Moore street would have looked if it had been covered over as proposed a few years ago. Was Part of the development of the Charlton site
Posted by: Lemon at August 3, 2005 03:43 PM
Wow, the Souk al-Hamidiyya look great. Looking forward to seeing lots of photographs Richard ;)
Posted by: Paul Clerkin at August 9, 2005 02:11 AM