Today, we began with a visit to the National Museum of Damascus, where we saw some amazing pieces from the Bronze Age.

We started from Ugarit Hall where we saw how the first alphabet in the world originated and where clay tablets contain information about the Phoenicians and their contribution to the world as noted traders in the 14th century.

Next to Ugarit is the Hall of Ebla, another important bronze age site discovered by the Italians who are still working and translating the huge royal archive of 17,000 clay tablets.

Finally we toured the Islamic section which has wooden decorations, glass vessels, pots and handmade copies of the Quran; all dating back to different periods from the 12th century to the 19th.

The garden is a museum by itself, full of Roman and Byzantine remains, and we spent another hour wandering around.

After that we went to the nearby Tukkiya Suleimaniya, a popular handicrafts market.

The Bahraini Ambassador to Syria, H.E. Abdulrahman Al Sulaiti, invited us for a lunch with some diplomats and the media in Qaser Al Noballa Restaurant (Nobel Restaurant). Some newspapers did interviews with the Friendship Arabia team, as did Syria TV.

On our way back from the reception, we met a group of cyclists who travel though Asia. They share similar goals with our team, a great sense of adventure and curiosity about other cultures. Their website is: Asiawheeling.com

Ali Mushaima