The Most Interesting Sites
THE CITY OF DAMASCUS:
| Damascus the capital of Syria is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. It’s as old as the history . In the beginning of the first millennium B.C Damascus was the capital of the Aramean who were followed by the Assyrians, Persians, Romans, Byzantine & Arabs. This city is rich with famous historical & tourist sites such as The national museum , The old covered markets & Bazaars , the Omayyad mosque & Azem Palace… | |
SYDNAYA (Our lady):
| The Byzantine Emperor Justinian in the 6th century built a monastery on an impressive rocky hill. It contains one of the four Icons painted by St. Luke the evangelist many other Icons can be seen there. |  |
MAALOULA (The Defile):
| The place where the inhabitants are still speaking Aramaic (the origin language of the Christ) This town if famous for it’s houses that graduate from the top of the mountain & for the miraculous split of St. Thechle which cuts the mountain from the top to the bottom. |  |
THE CITY OF ALEPPO (AL-SHAHBAA):
| Aleppo is the second largest city in
Syria , it is the center of the north, approximately 4000
years old. This city witnessed many successive
civilizations: The Amorites , Arameans , Greeks &
Romans , it was liberated by Arabs in the 7th
century B.C . Many attractive sites could be visited in Aleppo as: The citadel of Aleppo , The Grate Mosque , The famous covered bazaar , The ancient schools & many bathes & Khans… |
 |
ST. SIMEON’S CITADEL (CHURCH)
One of the most attractive sights among the dead cities is the Citadel of St. Simeon who was known as Simeon the stylite as he used to teach people the tenets of their religion from the top of a column where he lived for nearly 42 years. till he died in 459 A.D. The remains of this column can be seen in the middle of the big church.
EBLA:
Ebla which dates back to the third millennium B.C . is considered to be the oldest civilization in Syria . The most important discovery in Ebla was the Royal Palace with it’s treasury Archive where thousands of clay tablets where found.
PALMYRA (TADMOR):
Palmyra the city of Queen Zenobia & the greatest attraction of tourists in Syria is located in the heart of the Syrian desert. A hunting community used to live in this town, but the time that really marked Palmyra was when Roman mandated this city in the first century B.C then during the second & third centuries A.D Palmyra enjoyed a central location of trade & crossroads. Museums, Temples , tombs of different stiles , an amphitheater & many other impressive attractions can be seen in this city. Also a general view to the city can be observed from Ibn-Maen citadel on the top of the hill overlooking Palmyra.
CRAC DES CHEVALIERS (AL-HOSN CITADEL)
Crac Des Chevaliers (The Castle of Kurds) was built on the foundation of another one in 1110 A.D on an altitude of 650m above sea level , the location of this fortified citadel made it a perfect place to control the area. The citadel has various constructions & from one side the convent of St. GEORGE can be seen.
APAMIA:
| Apamia was a military place in the Greek period housed 500 elephants & 30,000 Stallions, it was destroyed several times. In the 12th century it was occupied by the crusaders then liberated by Nur-Eddin . Apamia is famous for it’s double rows of the distinguished twisted columns & for the museum of mosaic. |  |
UGARIT (RAS SHAMRA):
| Canaanites had chosen this location to build their most important capital & the greatest civilization among all other kingdoms in that time so-called Ugarit , the royal palace which was discovered there is considered to be one of the biggest & magnificent palaces of the east. tablets & statues where found there but the most important discovery was the clay tablet of the first alphabet in the world which is the greatest achievement of the Canaanites. |  |
MARI (TAL HARIRI):
Mari in the 3rd millennium B.C was occupied by Akkadians then Sumerians & Amorits finally it was destroyed by Hammourabi the neighboring king in about 1760 B.C. Mari is surrounded by a wall on three sides, the most important features that can be seen are: the royal palace of king Zimri Lim 1782-1759 B.C that rests on an older one dating back to the 3rd millennium B.C , the Ziggurat & Many temples…
DURA EUROPOS:
In the 3rd century B.C Selucos Necator Alexander’s Lieutenant founded this site , During Roman’s period in 65 A.D it was run by Palmyrians, finally it was destroyed be Sassanids in 256 A.D . The most important discoveries in this site are: the famous Jewish synagogue which had been transferred to the National Museum in Damascus, a Christian church , Adonis pagan temples , a Roman citadel & a bath , the acropolis , a Turkish Khan & the walls surrounding the site from 3 sides with it’s towery gate of Sassanid type…
BOSRA:
Bosra in the 1st century was inhabited by Nabatians. When Christianity became an official religion Bosra became a center of Bishopric & a cathedral was built there. One of the most attractive sites in Bosra is the Grate Roman amphitheater with a citadel built by crusaders & Atabegs surrounding the amphitheater & keeping it safe . The Wined Gate, The Under ground market , Churches , Mosques , remains of columns & many other features can be seen in the ancient part of this Black basalt stones city.