Adventurers Live a “Sleep Experience “in Caves in the Snow
Syria enjoys various distinct tourist areas which are considered to be one of the natural wonders that attract many adventurers and explorers.
In a unique experiment, ninety adventurers from the “Syrian Society for Exploration and Documentation” stayed overnight in caves in Halboun, Damascus countryside, in difficult climatic conditions, as the snow surrounded this area with a thicknesses exceeding 10 cm.
The association’s secretary and activities official Khalid Al-Nuwailati indicated that this stay has a direct goal, which is preparing for the Caves Valley Treasures project that aims to explore and document the archaeological caves in the Halboun area and prepare a comprehensive study on them.
He clarified that the overnight sleep was carried out depending on the skills of natural acclimatization and survival, which is the first documented activity of its kind in Syria in terms of difficulty and the level of expertise needed to deal with weather and natural conditions.
According to Nuwailati, the activity provided an opportunity and time to invest in the energies of the explorers in achieving an exceptional qualitative experience, capable of accommodating this large number of participants within the available caves. It also helps in assessing the risks and difficulties of this challenge and documenting the stages and details of this particular experience, whether in terms of the large number of participants or the equipment used leading to the climate exceptional circumstance.
Nuwailati explained that the height of the Cave Valley in Halboun averages 1600 m, and the thickness of snow was recorded about 10 cm as a result of snowfall over three consecutive days accompanied by high speed winds.
He pointed out that the exploratory mission managed to collect a large amount of data and documented observations that will be collected in a final evaluation to be submitted to the Syrian Ministry of Tourism within the comprehensive project study.
Amal Farhat