Travel Instincts

When travelling always trust your gut. A truth that should be applied in all the qualities of life, but this fact really took its meaning when me and my two travel friends discovered a hidden gem of Palmyra. This city of ruins that stands against time it self, unbearing in the face of the dessert, breath taking in its uniqueness.
Yet amidst the eerie ruins, blazing sands and dispersed vegetation, in this oasis city, it can be hard to find much to do other then the basic set tours of the relics and temples, camel rides and select few hotels to stay at.

Having found refuge from the 42°C morning temperature, in a shabby yet air-conditioned restaurant, we got chatting to a local. A providential encounter, as he offered to take us to his cousins restaurant, which offered a garden and pool. Intriguing concept at this point.

As we each took turns on his motorcycle (which felt more like a pieced together scooter) we zoomed passed the ruins within the small passages of the city where one can find a perfect blend of pastel skies, stones and roads that can make you feel so free you wonder if you will ever get to touch this exhilaration again.

The entrance of the restaurant turned out to be a gateway to what the perfect definition of an oasis ought to be; dense, full of olive trees and other unidentifiable exotic plants, sitting hidden at the bottom of the majestic ruins, with pathways that kept leading you further into a perfect standstill between past and now, the pool reflecting the green of the vegetation.
Although we were in Syria and had always been mindful of how we dressed, in this perfect alcove away from the rest of the city we spent the afternoon, swimming eating fruit picked from the garden while exchanging stories with the friendly Bedouins who owned this place called “Bedouin Palace”.

At the end of the day we sat down on floor pillows to a typical Syrian meal of dishes I never knew how to pronounce. Even if cooked and presented in a rustic fashion, it all tasted authentic and flavoursome enough to satisfy all tastebuds accompanied by a musical group to liven up the evening, getting the few tourists and locals dancing alike. the ended like a spell and during that quiet night walkto our hotel under a sky so full a stars only the dessert could do it justice, we knew how fortunate we had been to discover this place. How trusting your gut can chage the whole color of your tirp and get you to places yet to be written about in your guide book.