Allardice - Rorys Syrian Journal

I n summer 2005, I decided to visit Syria. My friend Peter was about to leave the U.A.E. after almost 20 years. I had known Peter since my first week in Dubai in August 1997. We had met at the Dubliners Irish Pub in the Airport Le Meridien Hotel. In those days, it had been possible to bring along your instruments and have sessions in bars, without needing musicians licences or other stifling bureaucratic requirements. It was a meeting of minds or at least musical passion and it was not long before we had a band and over the next 8 years, we had some great times together playing over 50 concerts with our band and other combinations in Dubai, Al Ain, Bahrain and Ardara in Donegal, Ireland. But after spending so long in the U.A.E., Peter, his wife and young family decided it was time to start a new life on the East Coast of Australia.

Fat forward to the summer of 2005, prior to Peters departure, we had made a video with the guitarist extraordinaire and talented video producer, Ricardo Vallejos from Chile. Ricardo had recorded an interview with Peter and I on the subject of the history of our band; Next Flight Out. It captures our friendship and many of the good times and memories of the band and can be found on Youtube at: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=1886E768361244C5 .

This was not our first trip together, previously, we had travelled to Iran in 1999 and I was confident, we would have an interesting, memorable and nostalgic trip this time round.

Peter had first left me to do the planning, which I had done with great enthusiasm and then had wisely advised me to cut off around 500 k of road travel once I showed my master plan to him. I had prepared two parallel trips, the long way and the shorter way. The shorter way, favoured by Peter, prevailed.

Just before we left, one of Peters friends decided to come. As our plans were far advanced and the visas had been obtained by then, we let him make his own arrangements. He actually made it and we met him briefly in Damascus, but that is probably another story and unsuitable for this journal.

Initially, Peter had only wanted to see Aleppo and a few horses of an acquaintance. My wish, naturally, had been to see as much of Syria as I could in the time available. Peter still had work commitments and the not inconsiderable task of packing twenty years of memories to arrange and he had limited time. In the end, we compromised and I was able to see many of the places I had planned to see while Peter managed to squeeze a few more days and places in.

As usual, I began my planning by sending off a standard e-mail to many travel agents based in Syria. Once a few replied, I began my negotiations and cranked up my demands each time. That way, I got rid of the greedy or lazy agents and was left with a select few to choose from. The one I felt best about, and it turns out I was right, was Al Bichr Travel Agency, which was run by the lovely Rafa. She was the right choice and she really looked after us really well. In fact, we were still in touch until recently (although her website, and I suppose, her business are inactive in those troubled and tragic times).

And so, in the early summer of 2005, Peter and I set out on a journey to Syria.

December 2014

In the intervening years, much has happened in Syria and is still happening there and the fate of the country and its people is at stake. I do not want to comment on the politics, but it is with great sadness that I note the suffering of the families of my students and colleagues who I met in Dubai. I also note that key battles have taken place in many of the sites that we visited and that some of the places and even cities have been damaged beyond repair. Many Syrians have left their homeland with little hope of return and many are still caught up in the struggles within the country. As usual, it is the innocent and defenceless who often suffer the most. So this book is a record of the country in less traumatic times: a country of ethnic and religious diversity, a country of colours, traditions, flavours and fascinating cultures.

Syrian Time Line