THE CITY OF NORIAS, Hama, Syria

2020.05.13.
In the city of Hama along the Orontes River, 17 splendid medieval norias stand as reminders of the city’s medieval past, when large norias were built to transport 95 litres of water per minute uphill to irrigate farms. A looted mosaic from Apamea dated back to 469 AD depicted a large noria among with buildings and daily scenes of people suggested that norias have been around since at least the 5th century. The oldest surviving norias in Hama dated back to the Ayyubid period in the 12th century. These norias have no practical use today after modern pumps and piping have been installed. As the icon of Hama, their presence is mainly for aesthetic and touristic purpose, maintaining the unique identity of Hama and attracting people to visit the City of Norias. In fact, the norias of Hama are so famous in the country that they have appeared on Syrian stamps and banknotes.
Before the civil war, Cairo Hotel and Riad Hotel were two
Exploring the medieval alleyways in Hama was an absolute delight.
At 6:30 in the morning, we headed out to visit the famous norias of Hama. We followed instructions from the hotel staff to Um Al Hasan Park, one of the most popular spots for see the norias.
After a 10-minute walk, we reached Orontes River and the majestic Noria Mamouriya.
In 1900 there were more than 50 norias in Hama. Now only 17 still remain standing today.
A “noria” is actually a type of water wheel that raises water from a river to a higher level.
The Mamouriya Noria is a popular spot for local children to hang out.
Noria Al-Jabiriya and al-Sahiuniya, and the adjacent Nur al-Din Mosque together form the iconic picture of Hama.
Decreased water level due to population growth has increased the risk for preserving the norias. When water level is low, the norias would cease to operate. The longer the wood stay out of water, the more it becomes vulnerable to cracking and shrinking.
The norias of Hama have been submitted to UNESCO’s list of Tentative World Heritage sites.
Much of the old city of Hama was destroyed during the 1982 Hama Massacre, when the Syrian Arab Army and Defense Companies besieged the city for 27 days in order to crush an uprising by the anti-government Muslim Brotherhood.
Hama has always been a battle ground between the ruling Ba’ath Party and the Sunni Islamists since the 1960s. In the 1982 Hama Massacre, tens of thousands of people were killed. Since the, the government of Hafez al-Assad (Bashar al-Assad’s father) relied more on suppression for his ruling of Syria.
On 1st of July 2011, more than 400,000 protestors demonstrated on the street to stand up against Bashar al-Assad. By August, over 200 civilians had been killed by the government force.
It was hard to tell the violent past from the tranquil streetscape of Hama.
We passed by a building named “Institu de Palestine.” There was a statement and a map of the Palestine marked on the wall.
With a significant population of Sunni Muslims, it was not surprising to see a show of support for Palestine in Hama.
DAY 8 (1/2): SAKYA MONASTERY (ས་སྐྱ་དགོན་པ། 薩迦寺), Tibet (西藏), 2017.09.23

Founded by Konchok Gyelpo in 1073, Sakya Monastery is the seat of Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism. During its heyday in the 13th and 14th centuries, Sakya abbots were the actual governors of Tibet under the Mongol’s rule. There are actually two monasteries in Sakya at either side of Trum-Chu River. While the older north monastery (1073) with its 108 structures has been reduced to ruins over the years, the fortress like south monastery (1268) survives and remains as one of the largest in Tibet. The impressive fortress like monastery washed with ash grey and white and red vertical stripes symbolizes the trinity of Bodhisattva, and had became the symbol of Sakya. Everything at Sakya is large in size, from its 16m high main assembly hall to the extensive defensive walls.
Many refers Sakya Monastery as Dunhuang (敦煌) of Tibet because of its remarkable murals, artefacts, and medieval scriptures. Sealed behind a wall and rediscovered in 2003, the 60m long by 10m tall library wall (拉康欽莫大經堂) behind the altar in the main assembly hall is particularly impressive. It contains a huge variety of text, 84000 in total, made of different materials and about different subjects from the Yuan Dynasty when Tibet was under Mongol rule. The equally important murals made in the Mongolian style are also a rarity in China nowadays. In the main assembly hall, the most valuable object is probably the white conch shell (海螺). Legends has it that the conch shell originally belonged to the Buddha. Then it went into the hands of an Indian king, and later became an offering to Kublai Khan (忽必列). Kublai Khan gave the sacred object to Sakya and it remained in the monastery until present day. Still capable to make a soft low sound, the conch is still blown by the monk to give blessing to pilgrims. While we were visiting the main assembly hall, we did see a monk took out the conch to offer blessing to the pilgrims, who were so excited and eager to get as close as possible to the sacred object. Also from Kublai Khan was one of the huge wood columns in the assembly hall. With a diameter ranging from 1m to 1.5m, these wood columns are quite impressive disregard who its donor might be.
As soon as we arrived in Sakya, our driver Sangzhu took us to the large dining hall of Manasarovar Sakya Hotel Restaurant for lunch.
Unlike most other Tibetan monasteries, Sakya’s grey walls with red and white stripes offer a unique visual symbol for Sakya in the past 900+ years.
We headed into the entrance courtyard of Sakya and soon found out that almost all buildings were locked. Apparently the monks were having lunch somewhere else and we had no choice but to wait for their.
In front of the main assembly hall, we stood by the stone lion and wait for the monk’s return.
Soon more local visitors arrived and waited for the monk’s return. We decided to take a walk in the enormous compound.
We followed the long and narrow kora route around the central complex. There were prayer wheels on one side and the defensive high walls on the opposite.
The buildings in Sakya Monastery all seemed really large to us.
The Western style lamppost and the ash grey wall with red and white stripes somehow didn’t seem too coherent visually.
At last the monk with the keys showed up and led us into the inner monastery.
Beyond the gate, a dark hallway with beautiful murals and old prayer wheels led us into the inner courtyard.
Going through the dark hallway with religious murals on both sides felt like going back in time.
Without extensive renovations, many murals in Sakya were gradually fading.
From the inner courtyard, we walked into the main assembly hall. In the main hall, we saw the famous white conch shell, wood columns, historical murals and most impressive of all, the 10m high library wall behind the altar. Just like most other monasteries in Tibet, photography of the interior is prohibited.
After seeing the interior of the main assembly hall, we climbed the adjacent stair up to the flat roof of the complex.
The flat roof offers another unique angle to admire the robust architecture of Sakya.
Via the flat roof, we could walk to a variety of side chapels.
The small chapels are accessible via doorways in the otherwise fortress like walls.
Layers of eaves form a series of interesting lines on the flat roof.
As we departed from Sakya Monastery, more pilgrims arrived to pay respect to this once most powerful monastery in Tibet.
* * *
More blog posts on Tibet 2017:
JOURNEY ABOVE THE CLOUDS, Tibet 2017 (西藏之旅2017)
DAY 1: TOUCHDOWN ON THE ROOF OF THE WORLD, Lhasa
DAY 1: TRICHANG LABRANG HOTEL (赤江拉讓藏式賓館), Lhasa
DAY 1: KORA AT BARKHOR STREET (八廓街), Lhasa
DAY 2: FIRST GLIMPSE OF POTALA (布達拉宮), Lhasa
DAY 2: KORA OF DREPUNG MONASTERY (哲蚌寺), Lhasa
DAY 2: DREPUNG MONASTERY (哲蚌寺), Lhasa
DAY 2: JOKHANG MONASTERY (大昭寺), Lhasa
DAY 2 : SPINN CAFE (風轉咖啡館), Lhasa
DAY 2: NIGHT VIEW OF POTALA (布達拉宮), Lhasa
DAY 3: POTALA PALACE (布達拉宮), Lhasa
DAY 3: SERA MONASTERY (色拉寺), Lhasa
Day 4: KORA OF GANDEN MONASTERY (甘丹寺), Lhasa
Day 4: GANDEN MONASTERY (甘丹寺), Lhasa
DAY 4: TEA HOUSE AND FAMILY RESTAURANT, Lhasa
DAY 5: ON THE ROAD IN TIBET
DAY 5: MORNING IN SHANNAN (山南)
DAY 5: SAMYE MONASTERY (桑耶寺), Shannan
DAY 5: SAMYE TOWN (桑耶鎮), Shannan
DAY 6: YAMDROK LAKE (羊卓雍錯)
DAY 6: PALCHO MONASTERY (白居寺), Gyantse
DAY 6: WORDO COURTYARD (吾爾朵大宅院), Shigatse
DAY 7: ROAD TO EVEREST BASE CAMP (珠峰大本營)
DAY 7: EVEREST BASE CAMP (珠峰大本營)
DAY 7: STARRY NIGHT, Everest Base Camp
DAY 8: PANG LA PASS (加烏拉山口), Mount Everest Road
DAY 8: SAKYA MONASTERY (薩迦寺)
DAY 9: TASHI LHUNPO MONASTERY, (扎什倫布寺) Shigatse
DAY 9: ROAD TO NAMTSO LAKE (納木錯)
DAY 9: EVENING AT NAMTSO LAKE (納木錯)
DAY 10: SUNRISE AT NAMTSO LAKE (納木錯)
DAY 10: LAST DAY IN LHASA, Tibet
EPILOGUE: FACES OF LHASA, Tibet
DAY 5: PHYANG VILLAGE, Ladakh, India

Our driver Tashi dropped us off at a bridge at the highest point of Phyang Village. He suggested us to walk further downhill to first visit the tiny Guru Gompa atop a rocky mount and met us at the Phyang Gompa downhill. We walked leisurely along the main road into Phyang, the village famous for the Phyang Gompa under the majestic backdrop of Mount Stok Kangri. The glacial Phyang Nullah carved a narrow river valley into the rocky landscape, extended from the highlands where we just visited down to the village. Along the nullah were terrace fields of barley, corn, rapeseed flowers, wheat and local vegetables. Occasionally the lush green fields in the middle of the valley were used as pasture plains for livestock.
We passed by several local homes and reached an open area where several stupas stood. We climbed the pathway beside the stupas up to a rocky mount where a small Buddhist shrine stood. We figured it should be the Guru Gompa. In front of Guru Gompa, there were a few dried goat horns and a colourful prayer flag. The door was locked locked and no one was around. From Guru Gompa we had a clear view of Phyang Village, Phyang Gompa and the mountain range beyond. After a quiet moment on the rocky mount, we headed back down to the main road and continued walking downhill towards Phyang Gompa. Founded in the 16th century, Phyang Gompa is one of the two monasteries in Ladakh belonged to the School of Drikung Kagyu. The lamas opened the doors of one of the prayer halls for us. We spent a short while wandering around the monastery and checked out the colourful stupas in front of the monastery. By the time we were done visiting Phyang Gompa, Tashi was already at the main parking lot waiting for us.
Water channel led the glacial water of Phyang Nullah downhill to irrigate the farm fields of Phyang.
Terrace fields of rapeseed flowers offered a peaceful utopian setting for Phyang.
Walking down the main road of Phyang Village.
A village school at Phyang.
High up on a rocky mount stood the Guru Gompa.
Dried goat horn by the entrance of Guru Gompa.
From Guru Gompa we had a clear view of the village down below and the river valley upstream.
Further downhill from Guru Gompa stood the famous Phyang Gompa.
Local shepherd and livestock.
Several green fields were used as pasture lands.
Stupas in front of the Phyang Gompa.
Lamas resting after lunch break at Phyang Gompa.
Young lama at a prayer wheel in Phyang Gompa.
The Phyang Gompa viewed from the stupa cluster.
A cluster of colourful stupas outside of Phyang Gompa.
View of the village from Phyang Gompa.
The Stok Mountain Range viewed from Phyang Gompa.
* * *
Other posts on 2016 Ladkadh & Delhi:
Introduction – LADAKH – The Land of High Passes, India
Day 1.1 – ENROUTE TO LEH, Ladakh
Day 1.2 – WALK TO MAIN BAZAAR, Leh, Ladakh
Day 1.3 – LEH PALACE, Leh, Ladakh
Day 1.4 – HOTEL LADAKH GREENS, Leh, Ladakh
Day 2.1 – NAMGYAL TSEMO GOMPA, Leh, Ladakh
Day 2.2 – LALA’S CAFE AND TIBETAN CUISINE, Leh, Ladakh
Day 2.3 – SPITUK GOMPA, Leh, Ladakh
Day 3.1 – MONASTERIES OF THE INDUS VALLEY DAY ONE, Ladakh (with map)
Day 3.2 – THIKSEY GOMPA, Indus Valley, Ladakh
Day 3.3 – CHEMREY & TAKTHOK GOMPA, Indus Valley, Ladakh
Day 3.4 – HEMIS & STAKNA GOMPA, Indus Valley, Ladakh
Day 3.5 – MATHO GOMPA & SHEY PALACE, Indus Valley, Ladakh
Day 4.1 – ON THE ROAD WEST OF LEH, Indus Valley, Ladakh
Day 4.2 – LAMAYURU GOMPA, Indus Valley, Ladakh
Day 4.3 – ALCHI & LIKIR GOMPA, Indus Valley, Ladakh
Day 4.4 – FORT ROAD IN THE EVENING, Leh, Ladakh
Day 5.1 – SHORT HIKE NEAR PHYANG, Ladakh
Day 5.2 – PHYANG VILLAGE, Ladakh
Day 5.3 – NOMADIC WOOLLEN MILLS & BON APPETIT, Leh, Ladakh
Day 6.1 – ZINGCHEN GORGE, Ladakh
Day 6.2 – SHANTI STUPA, Leh, Ladakh
Day 7.1 – LEH AIRPORT TO RED FORT, Delhi
Day 7.2 – RED FORT, Delhi
Day 7.3 – JAMA MASJID, Delhi
Day 7.4 – FAREWELL OLD DELHI, Delhi
Day 7.5 – UNITED COFFEE HOUSE, New Delhi
DAY 1:WALK TO MAIN BAZAAR, Leh, Ladakh, India

At the hotel driveway, we were welcomed by the host of Hotel Ladakh Greens with white khata scarfs. After many hours of traveling, we were more than happy to check in our hotel room, our temporary home for the next six consecutive nights. After a cup of refreshment tea, we decided to take some rest at the hotel. At about 10:30, the sky cleared up and the sun had long been up. WiFi Internet wasn’t working at the hotel. We put on our shoes and couldn’t wait any longer but to go out and explore Leh. Heading out the hotel’s poplar-lined driveway, our aim was to walk to the town centre to visit its main bazaar. At the high altitude, the sun was bright and strong. The temperature was warmer than we thought. We walked slowly along Fort Road towards town centre. Under the brutal late morning sun, we felt dry and tired, partly because of the red-eye flight, partly because of a slight reaction from the high altitude, and partly because of the arid and dusty environment of Leh.
For about 15 minutes we passed by many souvenir shops and hotels along Fort Road, until reaching a crowded restaurant near town centre then we realized that we were a little hungry. We stepped in the popular Gesmo Restaurant and decided to grab a bite before continuing our walk to the bazaar. The restaurant was fully packed. Fortunately at the first table by the entrance sat Sophia, a Spanish tourist who invited us to share the table by the window with her. A young lawyer from Spain, Sophia came to India for volunteer work at Dharamsala. She had already volunteering and traveling alone in the country for two months. While she was almost done with Leh and almost ready to move on to somewhere else, we two newcomers were delighted to gain some travel tips from Sophia. We had a good time chatting about traveling in India and Spain. At the same time, we had our first thukpa (Tibetan noodle soup).
After lunch, we came across Dzomsa, an interesting shop near the main bazaar. Right by the entrance stood two water containers for tourists to refill their water bottles. Local treats like apricot and seabuck berry juices were particularly popular. Other than drinks, dried fruits, tea leaves, spices, nuts, apricot kernel oil, and other handcrafts were also on the shelves. From Dzomsa it was only a short walk to the main bazaar, the lively commercial centre of Leh. Popular with locals and tourists alike, the main bazaar offers everything from souvenirs to local produce. Unfortunately much of the market street was under extensive road paving work when we were there. At some spots, walking in the main bazaar was like wandering in a dusty construction site. It was just our first day in Leh. We were in no rush to check out every single shop in the bazaar. We took our time wandering in the town centre, absorbing the atmosphere of the busy market scene.
Outside of our hotel gate, Lower Tukcha Road was a sleepy lane with local homes and hotel complexes.
Intersection at Lower Tukcha Road and Fort Road which connects to the town centre of Leh. There is no proper street sign so the little grocery store with a distinguishable wooden storefront became the landmark for us for direction.
From our hotel to the town centre, it was about 15-minute walk. Under the bright afternoon sun, the unpaved road turned golden. It was soft and pleasant to walk on until a cloud of swirling dust rose from the dirt road when motorcycles and cars drove by. Under the harsh sun, every pedestrian preferred to walk under the shade.
As approaching the town centre, we had a better view of the earth-tone Leh Palace and the red and white Namgyal Tsemo Gompa prominently standing on the rocky hill.
Before arriving at the main bazaar, we stopped by Gesmo Restaurant for lunch. According to the guidebooks, Gesmo Restaurant had always been a local favorite. When we arrived there, the restaurant was fully packed with locals and travelers. We met a Spanish traveler, Sophia, who invited us to share a table by the window with her. Sophia had been traveling in this country for over a month. She shared stories of the travel and we shared our upcoming travel plan. We were happy to start off the day with a pleasant chat with like-mind people sharing the same passion and curiosity for traveling the world.
Near the main bazaar, small food and drink shop Dzomsa is a delightful stop for juices of local fruits, organic snacks and spices, and souvenirs. Right by the entrance of the store were two larger water urns filled with portable water. With less than 8 rupees, visitors could refill their water bottle. It was a great environmental alternative to bottled water. There were also two large buckets collecting plastic bottles and used batteries.
It was hot and dry outside. We took a little rest in the store and tried the most popular juice in town, apricot juice (left) and seabuck berry juice (right). For unknown reasons, we always presumed that the orange, thicker one would be the apricot juice and the one with the grape juice colour would be the seabuck berries juice. When we asked the storekeeper, we were told that it was actually the other way around.
The store was simple with wooden shelves along the wall displaying the store staples such as mint tea, home-made jam, dried fruits, crunchy roasted apricot kernels, the precious saffron spice etc. We were happy to have found this store.
The main bazaar were getting a facelift. Paving work and renovation of different scale were underway everywhere, especially the area near the main mosque Jama Masjid. Winter in Leh is extremely cold with heavy snow, so construction work can only be done in the short summer months.
Tourists and locals walking by one of the buildings along the main bazaar.
Colourful prayer flags could be seen all over the market area.
Looking at Jama Masjid’s end of the main bazaar with Leh Palace at the background.
Local shopkeeper under the shade.
Local farmers took various kinds of seasonal vegetables for sell in the bazaar.
A passerby in the main bazaar.
The main bazaar was a great place for people watching.
Many buildings around the bazaar were under construction or renovation.
The young street performer walked by and caught many people’s attention.
The Tibetan Buddhist prayer wheels around a stupa near the bazaar.
Tibetan Buddhist prayer wheels around a stupa near the bazaar.
Leh is like an oasis in a desert. Looking beyond cars and houses are bare mountains surrounding the city, reminding us of the harsh climate of this arid region.
* * *
Other posts on 2016 Ladkadh & Delhi:
Introduction – LADAKH – The Land of High Passes, India
Day 1.1 – ENROUTE TO LEH, Ladakh
Day 1.2 – WALK TO MAIN BAZAAR, Leh, Ladakh
Day 1.3 – LEH PALACE, Leh, Ladakh
Day 1.4 – HOTEL LADAKH GREENS, Leh, Ladakh
Day 2.1 – NAMGYAL TSEMO GOMPA, Leh, Ladakh
Day 2.2 – LALA’S CAFE AND TIBETAN CUISINE, Leh, Ladakh
Day 2.3 – SPITUK GOMPA, Leh, Ladakh
Day 3.1 – MONASTERIES OF THE INDUS VALLEY DAY ONE, Ladakh (with map)
Day 3.2 – THIKSEY GOMPA, Indus Valley, Ladakh
Day 3.3 – CHEMREY & TAKTHOK GOMPA, Indus Valley, Ladakh
Day 3.4 – HEMIS & STAKNA GOMPA, Indus Valley, Ladakh
Day 3.5 – MATHO GOMPA & SHEY PALACE, Indus Valley, Ladakh
Day 4.1 – ON THE ROAD WEST OF LEH, Indus Valley, Ladakh
Day 4.2 – LAMAYURU GOMPA, Indus Valley, Ladakh
Day 4.3 – ALCHI & LIKIR GOMPA, Indus Valley, Ladakh
Day 4.4 – FORT ROAD IN THE EVENING, Leh, Ladakh
Day 5.1 – SHORT HIKE NEAR PHYANG, Ladakh
Day 5.2 – PHYANG VILLAGE, Ladakh
Day 5.3 – NOMADIC WOOLLEN MILLS & BON APPETIT, Leh, Ladakh
Day 6.1 – ZINGCHEN GORGE, Ladakh
Day 6.2 – SHANTI STUPA, Leh, Ladakh
Day 7.1 – LEH AIRPORT TO RED FORT, Delhi
Day 7.2 – RED FORT, Delhi
Day 7.3 – JAMA MASJID, Delhi
Day 7.4 – FAREWELL OLD DELHI, Delhi
Day 7.5 – UNITED COFFEE HOUSE, New Delhi