Early in the morning, we checked out of Dedeman and headed to the Ministry of Tourism and showed our appreciation for hosting us and all they had done to make our stay as comfortable as possible.

We drove for two hours to reach the Homs, where we had the chance to visit the government office and meet with its secretary general Ahmed Alnajar who wanted to know more about our expedition and arranged for a few journalists from local newspapers to meet us.

After leaving Homs, we had some time to visit an amazing archaeological site of the ancient city of Afamia.

Afamia was a treasure city and stud-depot of the Seleucid kings. It was capital of Apamene, on the right bank of the Orontes River, and the site can be found about 55 km to the northwest of Hama, Syria, overlooking the Ghab valley. 

Previously known as Pharmake, it was fortified and enlarged by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC, who so named it after his Bactrian wife, Apama.

In pursuance of his policy of Hellenizing Syria, it bore the Macedonian name of Pella. 

Located at a strategic crossroads for Eastern commerce, the city flourished to the extent that its population eventually numbered half a million. It was one of the four cities of the Syrian tetrapolis.

40 kilometers away from Afamia, we had to drive up and pass the Slunfa mountain to reach our destination to Latikia, we were taken by a surprise at how the temperature dropped at the top of this mountain, in just 30 minutes it went from 36 C to 16 C. Our tour guide told us that it's a popular summer destination.

We reached Latikia close to midnight and called it a night.

Ammar Hammad