Ariha آريحا

Ariha (آريحا) is an important town in the province of Idleb (ادلب), located just south of the main highway connecting Aleppo (حلب) with Lattakia (اللاذقية). The town is famous throughout Syria for its locally grown cherries, as is evident by the pictures of cherries painted on nearly every storefront. It is also relatively picturesque town, built on the northern slope of Jebel al-Zawiyeh (جبل الزاوية). There is a decent selection of restaurants as well as nice views looking north towards Idleb (ادلب). While Ariha (آريحا) doesn’t offer much of historical interest aside from a few Ottoman-era houses and mosques, it is a nice place to have a meal in the afternoon and enjoy the views of the countryside, perhaps at the end of a day trip combined with Tel Mardikh/Ebla (تل مرديخ/ايبلا) and Idleb (ادلب) or the Byzantine-era sites of Jebel al-Zawiyeh (جبل الزاوية).

 

Getting There: Frequent microbuses travel between Ariha (آريحا) to Idleb (ادلب), about a 20 minute trip. Less frequent buses travel between Ariha (آريحا) and Aleppo (حلب), which takes about an hour. There are also occasional microbus connections to other towns in the region, such as Jisr al-Shaghur (جسر الشغور).

Coordinates: 35°48’47.47″N / 36°36’37.90″E

Transliteration Variants: Areha, Areiha, Arihah, Iriha, Ireha, Ireiha, Irihah

Rating: 3.5 / 10