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So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, goodbye!
So this is my last full day in England. I’ve had a nice long lie-in (until midday) and now I’m going to go and make myself some brunch, which I’m slightly worried about as I don’t think my mum’s bought any bacon… error.
Anyway, I’ve done all my washing and today’s the day I’m going to try and fit it all into my bag. I’ve decided to go with a rucksack bag instead of a suitcase as if I travel lots then I’ll want to be able to carry my stuff round with me as easily as possible; a suitcase would just be annoying to drag round places.
I’ve also got my new DSLR camera, the Nikon D3000, which I’ve been playing about with and testing how to use it before I go, as I’m planning to visit some really amazing places. These are the places I’ve singled out for visiting:
- Aleppo - Syria - A city in the north which has some beautiful mosques and a world famous Souq.
- Hama - Syria - Another beautiful city famous for its norias and gardens.
- Krak de Chevaliers - Syria - The world famous crusader castle.
- Palmyra - Syria - The ruins of an ancient Syrian city, which remind me of the ruins of Ozymandius.
- Dead cities - Syria - Pretty much just like Palmyra there are a lot of dead cities that would make an interesting visit.
- Dead Sea - Jordan - A must for travellers, just to see how strange it is and to visit the Jordan river.
- Wadi Rum - Jordan - An beautiful valley inhabited by Bedouin tribes.
- Dana Nature Reserves - Jordan - Does what it says on the tin.
- Petra - Jordan - This is the one I’m most looking forward to, as from the pictures I’ve seen it looks amazing.
- Beirut - Lebanon - Apparently this city is a brilliant place to go in the evening.
- Masada - Israel/Palestine - Massive palace on a big rock in Israel.
- Jerusalem -Israel/Palestine - A must visit for travellers.
- Acre - Israel/Palestine - One of the key cities in the Middle East.
- Bethlehem - Israel/Palestine - Probably quite an interesting place to go.
It’s quite a long list and there are more places I want to visit, like certain cities and places in Iran which would be amazing to visit, but these are the key ones that would be easy-ish to see. My aunt bought me this book which told me all of the best places to go in the Middle East so I’ve pretty much copied them down from there and asked people who went on their year abroad last year or the year before for places worth visiting.
Saying goodbye is always hard and I’ve had to say that a lot over the last few days, to relatives, friends and co-workers. My mum organised a meal for the whole family on Saturday as a sort of farewell meal, so I got to see the whole family and say goodbye before I went which was really nice. Monday I spent with my best friends, having lunch, playing golf and then finally going out in the evening for a bit of a party. Then yesterday I had my last day ever at Blenheim, so I said goodbye to everyone then after my shift finished.
The hardest part is going to be saying goodbye to my house and close family, as we are a pretty tight-knit group. My mum’s been emotional for pretty much a week now, as she’s dreading the day when she has to let me go off to Syria. She’ll be at work on that day so hopefully keeping busy will help her remain sane! As my dad says, parents give you roots, then they give you wings, so you’re able to fly the nest. It’s probably hard for my mum as I’m the last child, and although she doesn’t see me when I’m at university, it’s not for as long as I’m away this time and I’m not as far away as I will be for the next 8 months.
Anyway, hopefully all will go well and I’ll have people visiting me in Syria at some point in the future. Everyone who reads this is welcome to come and visit me and stay with me, and I’ll show you around the place. If you do want to come and visit then send me an email to dom.riddleofthemind@gmail.com and I’ll see what I can do.
Right, the next time I make an entry I shall be in Syria, so farewell, au revoir, aufwiedersehen, مع السلامة). Wish me luck…
x
