The Azem Palace

This also stands at the heart of the Old City, on the southern side of the Omayyad Mosque, and very close to it. It is an astonishing example of a Damascene house, where the simple, almost primitive, exterior contrasts rather sharply with the beauty and sophistication of the interior. Here one finds a sense of space, a wealth of polychrome stone, splendid marble, cascading fountains, and fragrant flowers. The palace was built in the mid-eighteenth century for the Governor of Damascus. The palace now houses the Museum of Arts and Popular Traditions.

The Omayyad Mosque

This Great Mosque stands at the heart of the Old city at the end of Souq al-Hamidiyeh. It was built by the Omayyad Caliph al-Walid ibn Abdul Malek in 705 A.D. when Damascus was the capital of the Arab Islamic Empire.

It was constructed on the site of what has always been a place of worship: first, a temple for Hadad, the Aramean god of the ancient Syrians three thousand years ago; then, a pagan temple (the temple of Jupiter the Damascene) during the Roman era. It was later turned into a church called John the Baptist when Christianity spread in the fourth century. Following the Islamic conquest in 635, Muslims and Christians agreed to partition it between them, and they began to perform their rituals side by side.

When al-Walid decided to erect an impressive mosque suited to the grandeur of the Arab state "whose like was never built before, nor will ever be built after" as he is reported to have said he negotiated with the Christian community of Damascus, and undertook to construct a new church for them (St. John's) and allot several pieces of land for other churches, if they relinquished their right to their part of the Mosque. They agreed. It took ten years and eleven million gold dinars, as well as a huge number of masons, artists, builders, carpenters, marble-layers, and painters to complete. It became an architectural model for hundreds of mosques throughout the Islamic world.

A prominent feature of it are the three minarets built in different styles; the upper parts of which were renovated during the Ayoubite, Mamluk, and Ottoman eras. The mosque has a large prayer hall  and an enormous courtyard. The interior walls are covered with mosaic panels, made of coloured and gilded glass, portraying scenes from nature. The dome is greyich-blue, celebrated for its magnificence. The prayer hall contains domed shrine venerated by both Christians and Muslims, the tomb of St. John the Baptist.

The National Museum of Damascus

Founded in 1919, initially installed at the Madrasseh al Adiliyeh. The construction of a new building was between 1935 and 1979 and it becomes the central Museum of Syria. Since then the following monuments had been reconstructed within this Museum
 

Ma'lula

This famous village is some 56 kilometres from Damascus, and is situated at an altitude of more than 1500 metres. Its little houses cling to the face of an enormous rock; they look suspended in mid-air. There are two

monasteries here: Saint Sergius and Saint Taqla's. The inhabitants still speak Aramaic, the  language spoken by Christ. Two neighbouring villages, Jaba'din and Naj'a also speak the same language. The word Ma'lula means "entrance" in Aramaic.

Some 30 kilometres from Damascus, the village is spread out over a hilltop, and is surrounded by vineyards and olive groves.

It has a famous monastery founded in 547, dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. The name of the village itself, "Seyda Naya" in Syriac means "Our Lady".
The monastery contains a portrait of the Virgin believed to have been painted by St. Luke.

Landmarks of the New City Damascus

Ever since the eleventh century, when the old city was already too small for its inhabitants and their houses, the city started to expand beyond its walls.

 In the Nuri and Ayoubite periods new suburbs emerged; they were separate and independent of the city proper, but they, in turn, continued to grow at such a rate during the Mamluk period that they joined the wall, and the old city became indistinguishable from the new. Most notable among the suburbs was al-Salhieh at the foot of jabal Qassiun, al-Uqiba, al-Midan, and al-Mazzeh, Mamluk princes and sultans also erected numerous schools and mosques beyond the old city walls. During the Ottoman period four new edifices were constructed, namely: Sheikh Muhieddin, al-Takieh al-Suleimaniyeh, al-Darwishieh, and al-Sinanieh. In the nineteenth century, new roads were built across the city along with new residential areas. European architectural styles started to appear. Most important among the buildings of this period are: al-Hamidiyeh Barracks (where part of the University of Damascus stands today), al-Saraya (now housing the Ministry of the Interior), al-Muhajirin Palace (the former Presidential Palace), the National Hospital, and the Law School (now being renovated to accommodate the Ministry of Tourism). Construction of new roads, bridges, hospitals, public parks, hotels, government offices, and new residential suburbs began after Independence and is still going strong today.

Places of interest to the visitor are:
1- The National Museum.
2- Al-Takieh al-Suleimaniyeh.
3- The City of Damascus Historical Museum.
4- Al-Salhieh.

 This is the second capital of Syria (350 km north of Damascus), and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in history. Abraham is said to have camped on the acropolis which, long before his time, served as the foundation of a fortress (where the Aleppo citadel is standing now). He milked his grey cow there, hence Aleppo's name: "Halab al-Shahba".

Ever since the 3rd millennium B.C., Aleppo has been a flourishing city, with a unique strategic position. This position gave the city a distinctive role from the days of the Akhadian and Amorite kingdoms until modern times. It was the meeting-point of several important commercial roads in the north. This enabled Aleppo to be the link in trade between Mesopotamia, the Fertile Crescent and Egypt. The Amorites made it their capital in the 18th century B.C.

This position made it subject to invasions from various races; from Hittites, Egyptians, Assyrians, Persians, Greeks and Romans. Aleppo was prominent in the Christian era; it became a Bishopric and a huge cathedral was built in it, which is still standing.

The conflict between Byzantium and Persia, however, resulted in the latter's occupation of Aleppo in 440. The Persians robbed the city, burned considerable parts of it and damaged many of its features. Though expelled by Justinian, the Persians still threatened Aleppo and frightened its inhabitants until the Arab Islamic conquest came in 636. The city then regained its status, both cultural and commercial. Apart from the Omayyad and Abbassid periods in which Aleppo flourished the Hamadani state established by Sayf al-Dawla in 944 made Aleppo the northern capital of Syria. Sayf al-Dawla built Aleppo's famous citadel, and in his days the city enjoyed great prosperity and fame in science, literature and medicine, despite this leader's military ambitions. Mention should be made of the two most prominent poets, al-Mutanabbi and Abu al-Firas; of the philosopher and scientist, al-Farabi; and of the linguist, Ibn Khalaweh, all of whom lived in Sayf al-Dawla's court and were renowned for great knowledge and scholarship.

Aleppo was famous for its architecture; for its attractive churches, mosques, schools, tombs and baths. As an important center of trade between the eastern Mediterranean kingdoms and the merchants of Venice, Aleppo became prosperous and famous in the centuries preceding the Ottoman era. Many of its "khans" (caravanserai) are still in use even today; one of them is called "Banadiqa Khan", "Banadiqa" in Arabic being the term for "inhabitants of Venice".

In the Ottoman age, Aleppo remained an important center of trade with turkey, France, England and Holland. This caused various types of European architecture to be adopted in Aleppo which can be seen in many buildings today.

  50m above the city, a ring of crenellated walls and towers rises from a steep glacis, encircling a mass of ruins from every period. It has always been extremely important, both strategically and militarily. It was built in the days of Sayf al-Dawla al-Hamadani, on the remains of earlier civilizations.

The citadel's fortified entrance is a marvelous example of Arab military architecture. On the north and south sides, great towers rise above the moat. This moat, 20m deep and 30m wide, emphasizes the fortress's proud isolation.

The main parts of the citadel are: The throne room, the bathroom, the small mosque (Ibrahim's mosque), the great mosque built in 1213 whose square minaret is 21 m high and from which can be seen a splendid view. Inside the citadel there is a small museum that contains relics uncovered during restoration and reconstruction .

Worth visiting also are the high walls of ancient Aleppo, with their fortified doors (Hadid , Antakia, and Qinsrin) which are a fine example of Islamic military architecture.

Places to visit in Aleppo

The National Museum; this includes in particular documents and relics from Ebla and Mari.
- Museum of Popular Arts and Traditions.
- Al-Jami' al-Kabir (The Great Mosque), similar to the Omayyad mosque in Damascus.
- Old schools, churches, mosques, baths and ancient houses, some dating back to the 15th century, like the al-Bunduqiah (Venetian) Consulate, which contains superb ornaments and antiquities.

This citadel is 60 km north-west of Aleppo. It was named after the hermit Saint Simon (Sam'an), a shepherd from northern Syria, who became a monk after a revelation in a dream. Following Saint Simon's death in 459, the Emperor Zenon ordered that a cathedral be built where the saint used to pray.

The layout was original, centering on the famous column from which Saint Simon used to preach. Four basilicas, arranged in the shape of a cross, opened into an octagon covered by a dome, in the center of which stood the holy column.

It is a beautiful church built on the ridge of the hill where Saint Simon had taken up "residence". Simplicity and harmony combine to make the ruins of the Basilica of St. Simon (an earthquake destroyed parts of the church less than half a century after it had been built) a masterpiece of pre-Islamic art in Syria.

In the 10th century, some towers and walls were erected. It was then called "Qal'at Sam'an" (Simon's Citadel). It became the center of conflict between Byzantium and the Hamadani kingdom; in 986, the son of Sayf al-Dawla al-Hamadani finally captured it.

This "Tal" is 25 km south-east- of Idleb. It is the site of important and recent archaeological discoveries. Excavations in the "Tal" have revealed a very old Syrian civilization, that of Ebla, which flourished in the 3rd and 2nd millenniums B.C.

In the palace of this great kingdom, a library containing more than 17,000 clay tablets was uncovered. These tablets are the earliest written documents in Syria.

  Qal'at al-Hosn

  The most famous medieval citadel in the world, Qal'at al-Hosn is 65 km west of Homs and 75 south-east of Tartus. It is 650 m above sea-level. It was built in order to control the so-called "Homs Gap", the gateway to Sryia. It was through this passage that Syria communicated with the Mediterranean.

   In ancient times the importance of this strategic corridor was immense. It was of crucial importance to the Crusaders and other foreign invaders in their conquest of the coast. Conflict over the Crac des Chevaliers continued through the ages. It was a fierce and bloody dispute, but in the end, Sultan Beybars managed to recover it in 1271 through a military trick and one month of fighting.

  Carc des Chevaliers was built on the site of a former castle erected by the emirs of Homs to accommodate Kurdish garrisons; "Carc" is a modification of the Arab word "Qal'a". The citadel covers an area of 3000 square meters and has 13 huge towers, in addition to many stores, tanks, corridors, bridges and stables. It can accommodate 5000 soldiers with their horses, their equipment and provisions for five years

The city is 200 km to the north of Damascus and 60 km to the east of Banyas. It is a very ancient city, which has flourished continually since ancient times, and has known the successive civilizations of the Fertile Crescent.

 Hama has a long heroic history in defending Syria against foreign invasions. One of the outstanding battles was that of Qarqar, where the Assyrian army was defeated in 853 B.C. Unfortunately, few of its ancient relics have been preserved. However, Hama is well known for its enormous waterwheels ("noriahs") on the Orontes, which are as old as Hama itself.

Apamea is located on the right bank of the Orontes, about 55 km to the northwest of Hama. It overlooks the Ghaab plain. It was built by Saluqos Nikator, the first king of the Seleucids in Syria in 300 B.C. He named it after his wife, Afamia. The city flourished to an extent that its population numbered half a million. As an Eastern crossroads, it received many distinguished visitors: Cleopatra, Septimus Severus and the Emperor Caracalla. In the Christian era, Apamea became a center of philosophy and thought, especially of Monophostism.

Most of the uncovered ruins in it date back to the Roman and Byzantine ages. It is distinguished for its high walls and the main thoroughfare surrounded by columns with twisted fluting. The street is about 2km long and 87m wide. The ruins of the Roman theatre, which have been frequently disturbed, are now a great mass of stone. Its colonnade is 145 m long. Erected in the 2nd century, it was destroyed in the 12th century by two violent earthquakes; some columns are still standing nevertheless. To the west of the city, stands the Mudiq citadel which once formed a defense line along the Orontes. Fierce battles with the Crusaders attempting to conquer it took place in the 12th century, and Nur al-Din finally surrendered it in 1149. The citadel has huge towers, overlooking the Ghaab plain. It also has a khan built by the turks in the 16th century, and transformed into an archacological museum which houses Apamea's mosaics.

To the south of Mudiq castle lies the citadel of Shaizar overlooking the Orontes. In the Middle Ages it could only be reached by a draw-bridge. The main tower of the citadel is square in shape and overlooks the defensive fortresses. Arabic inscriptions from the Mamluk periods appear over its entrance. The citadel was rebuilt by the Mamluks after it was destroyed by an earthquake in 1157. The Crusaders tried to occupy it several times, but in vain.

Syria has always been a center where East an West meet with their varied civilization. It is no wonder that Syria is the cradle of civilization, which flourished throughout history. Monuments, the most important archaeological sites, impregnable castles, citadels and dead cities narrate the glorious history of ancient nations.
The basaltic and the limestone ruins tell about a marvelous architectural art. The Corinthian columns, the khans spread all over the Silk Road, the castles still towering from the Medieval ages, the mosques and palaces are the witnesses of a great rich history.
To know Syria is to have knowledge of a legendary world. Palmyra, for example, is like a pearl in the heart of the desert, Palmyra, rising from the sands, is one of the most graceful and splendid ancient sites in the East, for the glory and the greatness are still evident and fully years after its construction by the Arab Queen Zenobia. It remains one of most famous capitals of the ancient world.

Palmyra is separated by some one hundred kilometers of steppe from the lush valley of the Orontes, to the west. There are more than two hundred kilometers of desert to the cross before you reach the fertile banks of the Euphrates, to the east. To Both north and south there is nothing but sand and stone. But here at Palmyra a last fold of the Anti- Lebanon forms a kind of basin on the edge of which a spring rises out of a long underground channel whose depth has never been measured. This spring is called Afqa (or Ephka) in inscriptions, an Aramaic word meaning " way out'. Its clear blue, slightly sulphurous waters are said to have medicinal properties; they have fed an oasis here with olives and date- palms and cotton and cereals. For generation this oasis was known as Tadmor.

Latakia

Latakia is Syria's main sea-port on the Mediterranean (186 km southwest of Aleppo). It has retained its importance since ancient times. Latakia was one of the five cities built by Saluqos Nikator in the 2nd century B.C. He named it after his mother, Laudetia.

 Not many ancient remains have survived in Latakia, but there are four columns and a Roman arch from the time of Septimus Severus (circa 200 A.D.), in addition to a beautiful Ottoman construction called "Khan al-Dukhan", which is now a museum.

 Latakia is the sea-gate to Syria. It is well-provided with accommodation, and is well-placed as a base from which to explore the coastal regions of the country.

 There are beaches, mountains, archaeological sites and many relics of the Crusaders, all within a few hours from each other.

 Mention should also be made of the historically important Ras Shamra, only 16km to the north of Latakia. This is the site of Ugarit, the kingdom that had a golden past in administration, education, diplomacy, law, religion and economics between the 16th and 13th centuries B.C. It is the kingdom that gave humanity the first alphabet in the world. This alphabet is still preserved on a clay tablet at the National Museum in Damascus.

 Documents, statues and jewels from the Ugarit kingdom are also on display at the Latakia, Aleppo and Tartus museums.

 Jableh is another Syrian seaside town, 28 km to the south of Latakia.

 It has a theatre built to accommodate 7,000 to 8,000 spectators. Close to Jableh is Tel Sokas, where archaeological relies were recently found, now on exhibition at the Damascus and Tartus museums.

Ras Al-Bassit

Located on the northern part of the Syrian shore, about 40 km to the north of Latakia, it is one of the most beautiful spots on the Mediterranean: a wide bay, with clear water and clean sand, surrounded by mountains and green hills. Chalets, camping sites and restaurants along the shore make Ras al-Bassit all the more attractive to visitors.

Located on the left bank of the Euphrates between Aleppo (188 km) and Deir al-Zor (105 km). It is an ancient city built by Alexander the Great in the 4th century B.C. In 662 the Caliph Mansur built, on the ruins of Raqqa, a new city imitating the style of Baghdad which he called "Rafiqa". Invaded by the Mongols in the 12th century. Raqqa has few remains left from that period. These were built by the Caliph Harun al-Rashid in the Abbasside age. Some remains of ancient Raqqa survive today. Those built in pink tile reflect a particular style of architecture.

Of the Jam'I al-Kabir (the Great Mosque), there remains only the minaret, which was reconstructed by Nur al-Din in 1166. Pottery and glass were famous and there is a museum in the city which contains many relics of ancient Raqqa. A lot of these relics can also be seen in museums in new York, Washington and other Western cities.

Raqqa is beginning to flourish again, and to play an important economic role (after the building of the Euphrates Dam) in the life of Modern Syria.

Rasafeh palace was the residence of Hisham ibn Abdul malik, the third Omayyad Caliph, whose age was a golden one, due to his great interest in the arts and in architecture. He had several palaces built in various parts of Syria. He was in favour of simplicity and modesty; this is why he chose Rasafeh as his residence. There, he died and was buried.

The palace was originally a church, built to commemorate a Roman officer (St. Sergius), who died in defence of Christianity in the 4th century. In 616, the church was invaded by the Persians, robbed and destroyed. When Hisham ibn Abdul Malik became a caliph in the 8th century, he built two beautiful palaces on its site. Later, the Abbassids invaded and destroyed what the Caliph Hisham had built. Very little of the ruins of the Mar Sarkis church remain. Parts of the church have been used as a mosque; inscriptions in both Arabic and Greek, engraved on the walls, indicate that Christians and Muslims co-existed peacefully in Syria from the 13th century onwards.