The Al-Assad Lake-Qala'at Ja'abar

I traveled with a friend to visit the Al-Assad Lake, which is located in the east of Syria and a part of the Euphrates. This azure-coloured lake is huge and gorgeous. We took a taxi from Thaura, a small town near the east end of the lake, to the castle, Qala'at Ja'abar (قلعة چعبر), to see the lake. Inside the castle, nothing left to see, but the views of the lake from the top of it are spectacular and impressive.

Aleppo

After a year, I visited this second large city in Syria and again couldn't resist the temptation from its colorful markets in the old city. It's a city busy with wholesale and retail trading and great for shopping soaps, spices and handcrafts. Besides, we explored the beauty of the old city even though most of the time we got lost in its narrow labyrinth alleys.

Deir ez-Zur--People

People gather from the surrounding countryside at the busy market near the main square in the morning. Most of them are dressed with the traditional Arab clothes coming or going, or sipping tea in a tiny tea shop on the street's corner. During my second visit in the early June, the chaos has scared tourists away, and the local young men gather and march on weekends. We were lucky to visit it before the situation got worse. Without this problem, this is a strange but lovely town to explore.

Deir ez-Zur-The Euphrates

Deir ez-Zur (دير الزور) is a small town by the Euphrates in the east of Syria. The view of the river is more memorable during the evening , and the outlook of the bridge is also more beautiful when it is luminous with lights. I visited this area twice this year to see this great river, which is coming from Turkey to Syria and then Iraq, and the civilization and the long, long history from it.