May 29, 2002 — Mudeif Productions

*The sun peeking over the horizon at Palmyra.*

*Just a taste of the amazing ruins of Palmyra.*

Palmyra! Elizabeth woke up at a quarter to 5:00 and saw the first rosy hints of sunrise competing with the light of the full moon. Without hesitation, she pulled on shoes and a warm jacket and headed out to wander among the ruins. She intended only to go to the closest columns and then return to bed, but the views and the light were so beautiful that she couldnt go back until the sun came up. In her wanderings, not only did she see the grand site in beautiful light without an entourage of postard and kaffiye hawkers, she also followed her ears to an owl and its young atop some columns, and peered at a dung beetle busy at work with its precious ball. She returned to the hotel after watching the sun rise through the cream-colored ancient remains of the city.

As a group, we went out after breakfast to see more ruins, and more ruins - colonnaded streets, temples turned into churches turned into stones, monoliths, great treasures everywhere. Because of the (slightly sulfurous) springs nearby, the city developed as an oasis for the massive caravans passing through the area. The Hebrew Bible even records that King Solomon built at "Tadmor", the Arabic name for the place (II Chron. 8). Several hours was not enough to see or understand it all.

*Our tour guide next to one of the carved relief that would adorn a tomb.*

After a rest and a refreshing drink, it was off to visit the tombs. Outside the walls of the Old City lies Palmyra's cemetery. The Greco-Roman residents would build large family tombs, stacking members several high and placing a life-like relief carved in stone (all of which have been removed) in front of the tomb. More and more are being discovered all of the time, and many simply remained buried to preserve them. We entered one, which could have contained nearly 200 bodies.

After lunch, while Marthame enjoyed the modernity of a hotel swimming pool, Elizabeth headed off to modern Tadmor to visit the museum and to do some shopping. The museum was not especially impressive, but it did have many of the relief-carved burial stones, which gave a fascinating look across the millennia at the faces of ancient Palmyra.

*One of the camels purchased for the Journey of the Magi.*

*Sunset from the walls of the Crusader castle.*

As the sun began to set, we headed out into the desert to see the camels that were purchased for the Journey of the Magi 2000 project. At sunset, we headed to the Crusader castle to get a view of the expanse of old Palmyra's ceremonial center - quite impressive, reminding us of Jerusalem's Old City (a walled city with its center of worship in one corner and its cemetery just outside the walls).

*Dinner in the Bedouin Tent in traditional garb.*

Starving, we followed the fires to a nearby tourist attraction, the Bedouin restaurant. There, we were treated to yet another expansive meal of Arabic salads before digging into a large pot of mansaaf (meat and rice with yogurt sauce) as a musician played traditional music. As we enjoyed fresh fruit and hot beverages, the dancers and more musicians arrived. Three men, two women, two drummers, and man playing something like a flute. After one extended dance, they invited others to join in (which we did). All in all, a wonderful Syrian desert day.