GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY TRAVELLERS CLUB ADDRESS 24 TH JULY 2011 HOT SPOTS OF THE MIDDLE EAST by Stephen Codrington On Sunday 24 th July Stephen Codrington returned to Sydney from his recent travels in North Africa, Turkey and Iran to address almost 50 people attending the Traveller s Club meeting on the topic of Hot Spots of the Middle East. By Stephen s own admission, this was an ambitious topic, especially in view of recent events in the region. Nonetheless, Stephen gave an encyclopedic overview of Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Israel and Palestine from a traveller s perspective. Stephen s address took us in turn to each of the counties, beginning with Iraq. Because of the dangers and travel warnings applying to most of Iraq, Stephen focussed on the north eastern part of the country, known as Iraqi Kurdistan. Although nominally part of Iraq, Kurdistan now has its own flag, immigration service and army (but not its own currency), and it has become an enclave of prosperity and security within Iraq, suffering very little of the violence that still plagues most of Iraq. Indeed, Iraqi Kurdistan sees itself as the next Dubai, and is successfully attracting considerable foreign investment. Iraqi Kurdistan s capital city, Erbil, is centred on a 8,000 year old citadel, which claims to be the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in the world. In spite of this claim, most of the Citadel today is a largely abandoned collection of crumbling buildings as a result of Saddam Hussein s actions against the local inhabitants just one token family resides there to keep alive the claim of continuous habitation. Erbil, the capital city of Iraqi Kurdistan, is an ancient city with a strong Islamic character.
Even more spectacular than Erbil was the surrounding region, especially the mountainous scenery to the north east towards the Iranian border. The main access road from Erbil to Iran is known as the Upper Hamilton Road, and it offers spectacular views of Iraq s Grand Canyon, the Gali Ali Beg Gorge, together with its two famous waterfalls, the Bekhal Waterfall and the Gali Ali Beg Waterfall, both of which have tea houses built within the flowing water of the falls themselves. Gali Ali Beg Gorge is sometimes referred to as Iraq's Grand Canyon. Although Lebanon has a reputation for political instability and turbulence, Stephen highlighted the significant regional differences that exist within the country. The southern and eastern border regions near Israel and Syria are probably not safe for travel, but in contrast, the capital city (Beirut) is a major focus of investment and reconstruction that reflects a new found stability and optimism. Having said that, Stephen s opening image of the bombed out shell of the Holiday Inn that still stands like a sketeton behind the fashionable Corniche did draw several gasps from the audience. Unlike other countries in the Middle East, Lebanon has almost equal proportions of Christians and Muslims. For the most part, the different religious communities co exist well in Lebanon these days. However, it was interesting to observe the stark differences between the Christian areas, such as around Ehden and Bcharré, and the strongly Muslim area of Baalbek. Baalbek is situated in eastern Lebanon, and it houses the headquarters of the Hezbollah. Although Baalbek is famous for its extensive Roman ruins, and especially the Temples of Jupiter and Bacchus, the Hezbollah Information Centre that is located at the entrance of the Temple of Jupiter gave an unforgettable insight into today s tensions in the Middle East. The gruesome and graphic photographs, together with the model trenches and strident slogans, made depressing viewing for anyone dreaming of a more peaceful future for this
troubled region. The souvenir stall selling Hezbollah balloons, keyrings and T shirts seemed almost comical in comparison with the gravity and seriousness of the display. A street scene in Baalbek (Lebanon), centre for the Hezbollah. In marked contrast with Lebanon, Syria is a poorer and more traditional country whose politics are dominated by the personality cult of the leader, Bashar al Assad. On the day of Stephen s talk, Syria was reeling under the upheaval of street demonstrations in Damascus (the capital city) and Hama to the north. Stephen s visit to Syria had taken place just a few months before the demonstrations began, and it was eerie to see images of the same streets and squares that had erupted into violence and bloodshed shortly afterwards. Stephen s photographs revealed that violence is not a new feature in Syria, as the roof of the Souq al Hamidyya, Damascus colourful covered markets, still show holes from French machine gun fire used to quell riots in 1925. At the eastern end of the markets, the largest and oldest mosque in Damascus, the Umayyad Mosque, is found. Unlike mosques in many parts of the world, the Umayyad Mosque welcomes visitors who are not Muslims, provided they are dressed appropriately, and thus we were able to get a glimpse of this wonderful building and gain an insight into the rich community and religious life there, including seeing the interior of the large prayer hall that houses the shrine of Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammed. Similarly, Hama has been in the news recently because of violent demonstrations. Stephen showed us images of Hama s old town, which is still largely deserted following demonstrations there in 1982, which Bashar al Assad s father put down using bombing aircraft. Pictureque by comparison are Hama s large wooden norias, or water wheels. Mostly dating from the 13 th century, the norias were used to raise water from the stream into aqueducts for distribution to Hama s households.
Although the focus of recent political unrest, Hama (Syria) is also known for its ancient "norias", or wooden water wheels. Evidence of Syria s long history of conflict is also found near the city of Homs at Crac des Chevaliers, a strategically located fortification built by the crusaders in the 12 th century. Just a short distance from Crac des Chevaliers is Apamea, a large 2 nd century Roman city with distinctive spiral fluting on the columns of many of the buildings. The ruins of Apamea served as a reminder that this land has been fought over by a succession of invading armies over many centuries. The centrepiece of Syria s northern city of Aleppo provided more evidence of past conflicts. Marking the city centre is a large citadel, built by the Muslim forces to resist the invading crusader armies. Visible from many parts of Aleppo, the citadel was a city within a city, or more precisely, a city above a city. Today, the citadel offers sensational views over the sprawling city of Aleppo, including many areas that are being reconstructed with substantial German assistance. Like Damascus, Aleppo features a colourful covered market area with a large mosque (in this case, the Great Mosque, built in 1090) on one side. Like the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, the Great Mosque welcomes visitors, even into the inner shrine area where the grave of Zechariah, father of John the Baptist, is found.
A view of Syria's second largest city, Aleppo, from the Citadel. Stephen s talk concluded by examining the country that many see as being at the pivot of the Middle East s current turmoil Israel. Much more wealthy than any other Middle Eastern country despite its lack of oil, Israel is actually a divided nation today, with Palestine (the West Bank and the Gaza Strip that Israel captured during the Six Day War of 1967) having almost no regular interaction with the main territory of Israel. The identity of Israel is defined by its Jewishness, and this was very evident in Stephen s photographs of the Diapora Museum in Tel Aviv. Many of the tensions within modern Israel focus on Jerusalem, however, and especially at the Temple Mount (as it is called by Jewish people), or the Dome of the Rock (as its called by Muslims). In that context, the Jewish character of the Wailing Wall stood in stark contrast to the Muslim Golden Mosque that sits atop the Temple Mount. Perhaps the most sacred site for Christians in Jerusalem is just a short walk from the Temple Mount/ Dome of the Rock, and this is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is built on Calvary, the rocky outcrop where Jesus was crucified. Stephen s photographs took us inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to the actual spot of the crucifixion as well as the place below where Jesus body was laid after being removed from the cross. Jerusalem is a major centre for Judaism, Christianity and Islam, and Stephen s address showed places of importance for all three religions. Especially interesting was the Mount of Olives, much of which is covered with the graves of Jewish people who died believing that the messiah would first appear at that place. At the foot of the Mount of Olives was the Garden of Gethsamane, with olive trees dating back almost to the time of Christ. Just up the hill from the Garden of Gethsemane, and through the Lion s Gate, is the Via Delorosa, the route
that Jesus took after he was sentenced to death to Calvary. The 14 stations of the cross are marked along the Via Delorosa with chapels and shrines, and thus represents an important place of pilgrimage for many Christians. A view of the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem. Quite a few places in northern Israel were also significant in Christian history, including the city of Nazareth, and various spots around the Sea of Galilee such as Capernaum and the hill where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount. It was interesting to see that the large Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth, where Mary is said to have been told by the angel that she was pregnant, is partly surrounded by large banners in several languages proclaiming the supremacy of Islam. The West Bank, which is the territory controlled by the Palestinian Authority, is divided from Israel by a high wall with just a few tightly controlled crossing points. Many parts of the wall are covered in political graffiti, at least on the Palestinian side. The West Bank is noticably poorer than Israel, and the dichotomy within Israel is likened by many people to the situation in South Africa under apartheid. Stephen provided a wealth of photos of many parts of the West Bank north of Jerusalem, and also focussed to two cities to the south of Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Hebron. Bethlehem is probably Palestine s most visited city, with many Christians coming to see the Church of the Nativity that was built on the site of Jesus birth. The centre of Bethlehem still retains many of its old buildings and narrow, winding alleyways, although visitors there are also given the opportunity to learn the Palestinian perspective on their loss of land under Israeli occupation at an information centre and several large, public notice boards.
Modern Bethlehem is a Palestinian city divided from Israel by a high wall. Hebron is a centre of Istraeli Palestinian unrest at the moment, and the city has a feeling of lawlessness about it. Many of the tensions arise from Israeli destruction of Palestinian villages and their replacement with Jewish settlements. The high quality of the modern, comfortable Jewish settlements is in stark contrast with the poverty and poor housing found in Hebron and other Palestinian towns, and this was very evident in the images Stephen showed us. The Palestinian West Bank is surrounded by a separation wall that makes interaction with Israel almost impossible for the majority of the population.
Stephen s address gave us a rare insight into a part of the world that is often in the headlines but which is poorly understood by outsiders. For security reasons, many people are reluctant to visit Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Israel/Palestine, and yet we saw that these places have a stark beauty and a rich history. We were therefore delighted that we could gain an insight into the Hot Spots of the Middle East through Stephen s 320 or so photographs and vivid description.