Nicole still missing in Syria

Family and friends world wide are still wondering what happened to Nicole Vienneau two years after mysteriously disappearing in Syria on March 31^st 2007. This weekend Nicole's mother travels again to Damascus to search for her missing daughter. The two million Syrian pound reward still stands. As yet there is no body, no scent, no witness and no leads. Nicole was last seen by staff at the Cairo Hotel in Hama. She never returned and hasn’t been seen since. No emails have been sent from her accounts, no contacts to friends or family and no sightings. She left behind her travel journal and photos.

When she didn’t return to her hotel room political police were called to search her belongings as she was deemed a possible threat as it was thought she had possibly disappeared underground. This was found not to be the case. She is not a political suspect. Sadly criminal police were not called at the time by the hotel as there was no sign of a crime. Nicole is the first person in Syria to be a foreigner, unaccounted for and missing. Guide books such as the Lonely Planet, now mention her disappearance as a warning to others travelling there alone. On March 31^st 2007, a hotel clerk said she planned to visit Qasr Ibn Wardan in the desert.

Strangely she left behind her handwritten instructions in her guidebook for directions to that Bedouin area. Nicole was a seasoned & organised traveller. It seems most unlikely she would have left this behind to go to a remote location.

To date most of the questioning and searching has been carried out by her Mother, Brother and fiancée See interview footage Video news )

Her brother, has kept a detailed web diary of his work in trying to trace her Live Journal . Canadian police were not allowed to participate. Today her mother is back in Damascus trying to find some closure on what happened.

On the days leading to her disappearance many people saw Nicole but on the date of March 31^st onwards no one saw her at all. In a country where women dress conservatively and in traditional Muslim dress, Nicole, as a Western tourist, would have been quite noticeable. No one, save the hotel clerk, saw her from 8.30 that morning.

On the 31^st March only one man registered to visit Qasr Ibn Wardan. In Arabic, he wrote, his name as Amin Ben Yahia امين بن يحيى. He had an Algerian passport, born 1984, parents Abba and Monica. Believed to be connected to Switzerland (or even Germany). Gatekeeper recalls him as being Swiss. He has not come forward. Coincidentally on March 17, 2007 Nicole logged that she had a dinner date with a Swiss man in Damascus, her only dinner date logged.

We are most grateful for all the help around the world online who have tried to help find Nicole, particularly Syrian News for blogging about the story in 2007 and again this weekend, two years later.

Please use any form of online international communication you can to highlight this story and communicate with her family via the webpage dedicated to her story Find Nicole Vienneau

An ancient Bedouin saying states, “The way to keep a trail alive is to walk on it.”

البحث عن أمين بن يحيى الذي كان في سوريا 07 مارس

Nicole Vienneau نيكول

An ancient Bedouin saying states, “The way to keep a trail alive is to walk on it.”

I just heard of Nicole Vienneau last week. She is someone I don’t know personally, but whom I have come to know through the love & care of my good friend in Canada, who once dated her. Just this week he found out that Nicole (Canadian) is missing…almost two years to the day and is deeply upset about this. You can imagine the shock.

I know that feeling as I too, being a traveller across continents, have “lost” people, unique people, soul people, people who only come into your life once in a lifetime & never completely go away. Nicole seems to be one of those people. Nicole is a traveller. A seasoned and responsible traveller. She has survived many terrains and countries over the course of her 34 years. Now after two years and intensive searches by her family and friends including a detailed weekly web log by her brother, there is still not a trace of what happened to her…

See the dedicated webpage ~ Find Nicole

Nicole was last seen in the Cairo Hotel in Syria on March 31^st 2007. Her belongings left behind intact. She was gone with just her light day travel ruck sack. Since this date her bank account has remained untouched, her email inactive and with no communication to anyone she knows.

Afew days before her disappearance she made a “long bike ride into true Bedouin territory” into the ancient ruins of Palmyra, known as the Bride of the Desert, located in an oasis 215 km along the road from Damascus. My Canadian friend, who knew her well and once travelled with her, has observed all the searches & has an instinctive feeling that if she is alive she could well be with the Bedouin.

The word ‘Bedouin’ - derives from the Arab “bedu”, which means “inhabitant of the desert”. The Bedouins are ancient travellers that have existed for thousands of years, long before Islam or biblical times. There are only "100,000" still living in Syria. They still live much as they would all those years of years ago, in animal skin tents with few possessions. Due to the harsh desert environment they hold passionately to values of justice & bravery. The Bedouin sing ancient poetry accompanied to handmade instruments such as the simimiyya (which is a five stringed lyre), a flutelike shabba and the rababa (a one-string violin). The lyre was introduced to Ethiopia by King Solomon himself, following his marriage to the Ethiopian Queen of Sheba.

The Bedouins are renowned for their hospitality. They easily shelter strangers and they would take care of someone like Nicole without asking questions.

Interior of a Bedouin Tent

You don't need any possessions or money. If she is alive it certainly seems that this is a likely possibility. The only other is that she has been the target of foul play or a fatal accident.

Nicole was the sort of person who lived frugally. She cherished her freedom & was a lover of the world. My friend says she would have found the Bedouin lifestyle attractive ~ a life style of the most basic possessions but one that maps journeys to starlight.

To follow this line of search we are asking for any photographers of Bedouin, who may have seen anything unusual, to provide us with contact details. Any other information on the whereabouts of Nicole is also welcome.

Bedouin flutist

The lightly burdened shall be saved Bedouin proverb