ADVERTISING FEATURE – CITIESCAPES
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A Street Called Straight
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ave you ever thought about taking a holiday or a break away that is a break from the norm? Does the thoughts of a Gastronomic River Cruise and sampling food prepared by Michelin Star Chef, Paul Bocuse, set your mouth watering? Or what about enjoying champagne and caviar while watching a private Ballet Performance featuring artistes from the Mariinsky- Kirov Ballet? From world cruises to specialist tours, all these and more are available at Citiescapes. I spoke with Alan Lynch, Managing Director of Citiescapes, who explained what their company is all about. “Citiescapes sells Escorted Holidays, River Cruises and Ocean Cruises. We offer hundreds of holidays and breaks from simple city breaks to worldwide tours with a great itinerary that sets us apart from the crowd”. After taking a closer look at the itineraries, it is obvious that they are well researched and cover all the big sights that you would expect to visit on holiday. According to Alan, a lot of these tours are inspired by customer feedback. “Customer feedback is really important and we take all comments on board. It’s also great to hear feedback about our guides, and how knowledgeable and
Thinking about taking a break this winter? Nuala Ryan meets Alan Lynch, Managing Director of Citiescapes, to find out about all the great holidays available right now! attentive they are. For us, this is extremely important”. Citiescapes go that extra mile for their customers, from great guides whose top priority is their visitors, to the tours themselves. On the Citiescapes South African Tour not only do you take in the main sights, but Citiescapes also takes you to Isandhlwana, where the opening major encounter of the Zulu War took place. Or take a trip on King Fuad’s Steamer –the oldest, slowest and most elegant boat on the Nile. With so much to choose from, I asked Alan about the most exciting tour that they have on sale at present, the Citiescapes’ tours to Syria. These tours are new, having only been introduced last year, but the interest is huge. Little wonder seeing as Citiescapes are the only company offering an escorted holiday to Syria. “Citiescapes currently offer three tours”, explains Alan, “From seven to nine nights with one tour taking in Lebanon as well”. And with Citiscapes arranging everything right down to the visa, this otherwise complex journey is made simple and hassle free. The “The Apostles to The
Crusades” tour offers a magnificent journey through the biblical, medieval and Roman worlds. Navigating the tortuous alleys of one of the oldest living city in the world, Damascus, on foot is a wonderful experience, where the Church of Ananaias at the end of a Street Called Straight magically bring the stories from the Bible to life, irrespective of your religious beliefs. The 5thcentury Church of St. Simeon the Stylite (who positioned himself atop a 16-metre pillar for 40 years) has fine views of the surrounding landscape, whilst Maaloula is a Christian community which still speaks Aramean, the original language of Christ. The ancient oasis of Palmyra is a very special place with colonnaded streets, monumental arches, Temple of Baal and Valley of the Tombs while the less well known Apamea is a fascinating contradiction to Palmyra, set in lush countryside rather than desert landscape. Bosra has a wellpreserved theatre, colonnaded streets and Nabataean and Roman Gates While early restoration in Syria included some arguably mis-
guided reconstruction, the focus today has shifted to using original materials to prevent further decay. The company of Citiescapes’ local representative in Aleppo has been involved with the restoration of the Citadel, the castle ‘Qala’at Salah ad-Din’, old Damascene and the Aleppo houses. Its manager, who received an award for his work in the saving of the Old City of Aleppo, recently delivered a lecture on ‘Old Aleppo’ at the Royal Geographical Society in England at the behest of the British Syrian Society and his guides are particularly well-versed in this subject. Although the restoration of Lebanon has been somewhat restricted, it has still recreated a thriving metropolis with an attractive downtown area that is in radical contrast to the wellpreserved Phoenician, Roman, Byzantine and Crusader remains at Byblos. The evocative temple of Baalbeck, the ‘Sun City’ of the ancient world, is considered the most impressive and important Roman site of the Middle East. In fact, the itinerary of this trip includes no fewer than five sites on the UNESCO World Heritage
list: Palmyra, Baalbeck, Byblos and the ancient cities of Aleppo and Damascus, making it a truly special and unique journey. So what are you waiting for? Head Straight to Citiescapes today and book your trip of a lifetime.
• Citiescapes offer various specialist guided tours to Syria and Lebanon. • Prices from €1,249 for 8 nights on a half board basis including return flights from Dublin and €180 taxes. • Citiescapes arranges visas – Syria €45 and Syria/ Lebanon €60 • For more information and bookings call 01-294 2299 or www.citiescapes.ie
Irish Independent Weekend
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