Palmyra to Hama

Road through the Syrian Desert leaving Palmyra	Iraq and Damascus to the left, and our route, to Homs and Tartus to the right	Truck with two decks for transporting sheep	Blacktop road through the empty Syrian Desert
Beehive house, Al-Fruqlos, Syria	Beehive house, Al-Fruqlos, Syria	Beehive house, Al-Fruqlos, Syria	Beehive house, Al-Fruqlos, Syria
Beehive house, Al-Fruqlos, Syria	A short distance esat of Al-Fruqlos, the road enteres an more fertile region	Olive orchards, Syria	Olive orchards, Syria
Olive orchards, Syria	New residential areas on the southern end of Homs	New residential blocks, Homs, Syria	Road signs directing me through Homs
Homs, Syria	Former President Hafez Al-Assad at the entrance to Hama	Syrian taxi, Hama	Heading for the center of Hama, Abdl' Nasser Street
Mosque, Said al-a'as Street	A large mosque on the north side of Hama on the main road to Aleppo	Mosque, Hama	An old Mosque along the Orontes River, Hama
Orontes River, Hama, Syria	Hama, town of the norias	Norias are giant medieval waterwheels used to convey water via aqueducts to irrigate fields	17 of these giant norias remain in Hama
Remains of an aqueduct, Hama, Syria	Man chasing a sheep while local boys return from swimming	Local welcoming me to Hama	Dam along the Orontes River, Hama
Dam along the Orontes River, Hama	Al Nouri Mosque, 1172, Hama	Al-Nouri Mosque, Hama, Syria	Map of central Hama
Nouris behind the Al-Nouri Mosque	Al-Nouri Mosque and the Orontes River	Domed building near the Al-Nouri Mosque, Hama	Apamea Cham Palace Hotel, Hama, Syria
Boy on a bike with a NY Yankees hat, Hama	Another young boy in Hama	Nouri, a giant medieval waterwheel used for irrigation	Many of the nouris still rotate making a creeking noise
The nouris once held buckets to raise the water	Looking up	The axle of a giant nouri waterwheel, Hama	Waterwheel and the Orontes River at the Al-Nouri Mosque
Backside of the Al-Nouri Mosque, Hama	Palestine Languages Institute, Hama, Syria	Narrow alley leading to Azem Palace, Hama	Old town, Hama, Syria
Azem Palace, Closed Tuesdays	Kasr Al-Azem, Hama	Old town, Hama, Syria	Haaj and Umrah tours to Saudi Arabia by Procare Travel & Tourism, Syria
Fountain in the center of Hama, Syria	Noria Al-Jisriyeh, Hama, Syria	The locals must get tired of the groaning and creeking noises as the wheels turn	Noria Al-Mamouriyeh, Hama, Syria
Noria waterwheel on the Orontes River, Hama	Parkland along the north shore of the Orontes River, Hama	Noria Al-Mamouriyeh	Hama, Syria
Flowering bush and the Mosque Al-Nouri with its waterwheel, Hama	Noria, Hama