Syrian Places to Visit
Friday, April 30th, 2010Syria is a wondrous country, with a huge amount of historical and religious places to visit. In fact, owing to it’s unique and colorful history, the sheer number and variety of places is quite astonishing. Here is a list, alphabetically, of the most prominent ones:
Ain Dara: It has a large and unique temple in the Middle East dating back to the first millennium BC.
Aleppo: Located at the crossroads of several trade routes from the 2nd millennium B.C., Aleppo was ruled successively by the Hittites, Assyrians, Arabs, Mongols, Mamelukes and Ottomans. The 13th-century citadel, 12th-century Great Mosque and various 17th-century madrasas, palaces, caravanserais and hammams all form part of the city’s cohesive, unique urban fabric.
Amrit: An ancient Phoenician port .It has a sanctuary erected in the center of a basin and a number of tombs surrounded by strange monuments.
Apamea: Established in the 3rd century B.C. One can also see a superb cargo with columns, royal baths, agora churches and Roman-Byzantine villas.
Arwad Island: An ancient Canaanite Kingdom. It has a citadel, ramparts and cafes where fishermen mend their nets and make their boats.
Bara: This site is known for is pyramidal-tombs, storied-houses and its three churches.
Bosra: Once the capital of the Roman province of Arabia, was an important stopover on the ancient caravan route to Mecca. A magnificent 2nd-century Roman theater, early Christian ruins and several mosques are found within its great walls.
Damascus: Founded in the 3rd millennium B.C., Damascus is one of the oldest cities in the Middle East. In the Middle Ages, it was the center of a flourishing craft industry, specializing in swords and lace. The city has some 125 monuments from different periods of its history – one of the most spectacular is the 8th-century Great Mosque of the Umayyads, built on the site of an Assyrian sanctuary.
Doura Europos: This city served as a main fortress for the people of Palmyra against the Persian .It has temples, churches, a citadel, a theater and local synagogue.
Ebla: (Tel Mardikh) it dates from the 3rd millennia BC. It is one of the most important discoveries in Syria. Paul Mattie unearthed palaces, a royal necropolis, temples and all, 16.500 tablets and fragments in Ablate.
Hama: One of the oldest cities in Syria where one can enjoy the chanting in Syria where one can enjoy the chanting of the giant water-wheels
Homs: It gave the Roman Empire three Caesars. Visit the Great Mosque, the church of the Belt of Virgin and St. Elian Church.
Husn Suleiman: An ancient holy place of Semitic cult built on the top of the coastal mountains. It has a rampart and roofless scella dating from the 2nd century AD. At the center lies a small chapel with a divine sanctuary.
Izraa: It has two churches of which the most important is St. George. It dates from the 5th century.
Krak des Chevaliers: One of the most remarkable fortifications of the Crusaders. It is considered a vivid example of the military architecture of the Middle Ages, where Roman and Gothic arts overlap.
Maaloula: An attractive little village. Its houses were built into the rocks and it has two ancient churches (St. Serge and St. Thecla). One can still hear the language of Jesus Christ, Aramaic, spoken here.
Maarat: Its museum abounds with collections of beautiful mosaic pavement dating from the 3rh and 5th century.
Margat Markab) A palace built by the Arabs in 1062 on the hillside of an old volcano .It was occupied by the Byzantines in 1104 and fortified by the Crusaders in 1117 . Margat was considered invincible.
Mari: Situated on the right bank of the Euphrates, it was one of the greatest capitals 5000 years ago. A. Parrot unearthed the royal palace and temples. Its treasures are kept in the museums of Aleppo, Damascus and the louver.
Mar Moussa Al Habashi: Ancient monastery (with remarkable wall frescoes) situated at Kalmoun Mountains at Ante-Lebanon. It is a place of meditation especially for the young, and it can only be visited by foot.
Nabi Houri: (Cyrrhus) has a theater, citadel, church, pyramidal-tombs, and two roman bridges dating back to 3rd century AD.
Palmyra: (Tadmor) An oasis in the Syrian desert, north-east of Damascus, Palmyra contains the monumental ruins of a great city that was one of the most important cultural centers of the ancient world. From the 1st to the 2nd century, the art and architecture of Palmyra, standing at the crossroads of several civilizations, married Graeco-Roman techniques with local traditions and Persian influences. Temples, forum, necropolis, citadel, theater, and the museum are some of the attractions there.
Qalb Lozeh: Here is one of the prettiest churches from early Christianity in Northern Syria.
Qasr Heir Gharbi: Built in the 8th century. The entrance of the palace was reconstituted at the Damascus museum.
Qasr Ibn Wardan: Situated in the heart of the desert. The fabulous palace contains a church from the 6th century.
Qirk Bizeh: Its small church dates from the end of the 3rd century it is one of the oldest house-churches
Resafe: (Sergio polis). Mentioned in the Assyrian annals and the bible. It was build by emperor Anastase at the end of the 5th century. It becomes the summer resort of the Ummayyad Khalif Hicham and pilgrimage place to the shrines of St. Sergeus and Bacchus.
Safita: A fortified tower of the 12th century. It was called the white Castle the Crusaders. It has a chapel.
Seidnaya: This village has an ancient monastery with very beautiful icons.
Serjilla: It has houses, olives and grapes presses, bath houses and churches.
Shahba: The birth-place of the Emperor Philip Al Arabi. It has a basilica, museum, amphitheater, temples, public baths and Roman mosaics.
Sheroubime: Situated near Sednaya. It has number of pagan temples which were transformed into monasteries built on top of a mountain.
St. George: (monastery) the ancient chapel is a basement that has an iconostase decorated with pretty icons.
St. Simeon: (Basilica) it is the architectural jewel of Northern Syria that dates back to the fifth century and one of the prettiest Christian works of art. It was a monastery where a saint lived for forty years on top a column. It is composed of a complex of basilicas, monastic building, and a baptistery.
Sweda: It has vestiges of a basilica of the 4th century and a museum.
Tall Baydar: A recent discovery by Belgian archeologists at Djesira. It contains a temple, a palace, and above all, cuneiform dating back to 3rd millennium.
Tartus: It was a city-citadel since the time of the Phoenicians, Byzantines, Crusaders, and the Arabs. Its museum (ex-cathedral) contains a beautiful collection of antiquities.
Ugarit: Dates from the 3rd millennia BC. Ugarit offered humanity the first alphabet in the world. It has a palace, a necropolis, and a library where all its tablets were discovered.
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