Croxden Abbey

Croxden Abbey

2017 has just started and today, 2nd January, was a glorious day in this part of the world, so it seemed a great opportunity to get outside. We took a trip to Croxden Abbey, or more formally, Abbey of the Vale of St. Mary at Croxden, in Staffordshire. The abbey started life in 1176 when…

Palmyra, Syria

The incredible Palmyra

In my writing on my travels through Syria, I have mentioned a series of great cities and civilisations that I have been lucky enough to visit in my time there, including current cities like Damascus and Aleppo, the mighty Crac de Chevaliers, and formerly great cities that are now in ruins like Rosafa, Mari and…

Syria; Dura Europos and evidence of chemical warfare

I have written so far about travelling through Syria, from Damascus to Aleppo via Crac de Chevaliers, then off to the Iraqi border via the Bastion of St Simeon Stylites on the Turkish border. The next stage of our trip was to continue from the Iraqi border., and we planned to get to the ancient…

Mari, on the Syria Iraq border

Syria: Aleppo to Iraq

I have been writing recently about travelling through Syria, from Damascus to Aleppo via Crac de Chevaliers, and off from Aleppo to the Bastion of St Simeon on the Turkish border. Once we left Aleppo, we headed East, towards the border with Iraq, although made a few stops on the way. Our first stop was…