Step Away From the Receptacle

Ok, repeat the entry from yesterday. You know the snow is falling again, and there's a minimal chance of completing the green tour, but slightly clearer skies sustain some hope for us. Gerry and I hop on the bus as of yesterday and try once more.

Rather than another tour of the underground city, we take a wander to a nearby supermarket. I get chatting in fractured German with the store owner, who lived in Hamburg for many years. He serves me a cup of tea over the deli counter, as we converse. I buy my usual 3 kgs of fruit, before saying "auf wiedersehen" and rejoining the rest of the tour. Can you imagine this experience in Tescos? Outside the site, a lady insists on me buying one of her locally made dolls for a ridiculously cheap price. I tell her I'm good for Turkish dolls at the moment. Displaying her annoyance, she hurls a snowball in my direction. Turks are great, but I wish they'd stop throwing things at me.

A few more wonderful panoramas later, we enter a local winery, for a sit down and a sample. Wine here has a great reputation for tasting good, but it appear like I'll never know- Gerry proceeds to polish off my glass soon after his own. How rude! "I though you said I could have it", he protests, sounding like he's trying to convince himself as much as me.

A much more relaxed visit to a ceramics factory follows lunch, and I do indeed get to try the wine, this time out of a recently made pottery cup. I hold my drink with clenched knuckles as we watch the master potter making a vase on his wheel. It's incredible how easy he makes it all look. We then get taken to the showroom, where people can buy some clay. The merchandise on display here is really beautiful but insanely expensive. I play the "let's see who can find the most expensive item" game with Gerry. I win with a 3ooo euro tubular wine server, poured with it sitting around you shoulder/ arm a la Roman style. I slowly put it down and make my way for the exit. We finish the tour taking in a brilliant section of fairystacks that look just out of a Brother's Grimm or Peter Jackson movie. The weather has cleared up now and the even the sun makes an appearance.

Most people I know have left the hostel today, with Gerry being the last this evening. We celebrate his departure at one of the few bars open in town at this time of year. Sitting on the arabic style cushions on the floor, huddled around our own wee fire, we discuss the attractions that Syria offers. This is Gerry's ultimate destination tomorrow morning, and mine the day after.