Idleb (إدلب) is a small city and provincial capital in the northwest of Syria. The only notable attraction in the city is its museum, which contains a nice collection of tablets from the Tel Mardikh/Ebla (تل مرديخ/ايبلا) archive. These are perhaps of specialist interest, however, as similar tablets can be seen in the museums of Damascus (دمشق) and Aleppo (حلب). The museum also contains finds from …
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). …
Jisr al-Shaghur (جسر الشغور) is a fairly large town on the main route between Lattakia (اللاذقية) and Aleppo (حلب). While it has had a long history, as many other Syrian towns, there is little to see here today. Nonetheless, as a regional center and transit hub, you’ll most likely stop here if you intend to visit either Bakas/Qalaat al-Shaghur (قلعة الشغور) or the nearby Qalaat Mirza (قلعة …
Qalaat al-Shaghur (قلعة الشغور), also known as Bakas (بكاس), is one of the most impressive castle sites in Syria. While the remains of the Crusader fortress here are minimal, the stunning location makes it well worth a visit. The castle sits on a rocky promontory, hundreds of meters above a sharp bend in the river known locally as Nahr al-Abiad (نهر الأبيض), a tributary of the Orontes …
Harem (حارم) is small town overlooking the rich Plain of Amuq to the east of Antioch (modern Antakya), across the border with Turkey. It is more attractive than most Syrian towns thanks to the locals preference for blue paint over bare concrete. The main item of interest here is the rather dilapidated 12th century Ayyubid fortress that dominates the center of the town from an …
Maarat al-Naaman (معرة النعمان) is a large town located in a somewhat prosperous agricultural belt on the southeastern edge of the limestone massif area of northern Syria, between the Orontes River and the desert. It is fairly conservative, and the population almost entirely Sunni Muslim. Traces of ancient remains are found scattered throughout the town, illustrating its antiquity. Though known to the Greeks and Romans …
Tel Mardikh (تل مرديخ), the ancient city of Ebla (ايبلا), is one of Syria’s most fascinating Bronze Age sites. Ebla (ايبلا) was first occupied over 5,000 years ago, with two separate periods of prosperity. It is most well known for the archaeological find of an archive of over 20,000 cuneiform tablets written in the Eblaite language (an early Semitic language closely related to Akkadian) using the Sumerian …
al-Bara (البارة) is the site of an extensive Byzantine-era settlement, perhaps the largest in the limestone massif, and should be included on any itinerary to the region. In addition to numerous villas and churches in varying states of preservation, the site has two pyramid tombs (one of which is richly decorated with stone carvings), an interesting monastery complex, and a small fortress constructed centuries later. While …
Perhaps the most well preserved of Byzantine-era sites in the limestone massif, Serjilla (سرجلا) should be included on any itinerary to the region. Nowhere else can you get a better sense of what life would have been like in rural Syria during the Byzantine period. Spread over a small valley and surrounding hills, the settlement includes a remarkably well preserved church, inn, baths, olive presses, tombs and …
Shinshirah (شنشراح), also known as Khirbet Has (خربة حاس), is one the largest Byzantine settlements in the limestone massif. With the remains of dozens of large villas and several churches on a hilltop plateau, Shinshirah (شنشراح) is one of the most impressive sites in the region. While the remains are not as well-preserved as nearby Serjilla (سرجلا), nor is the architecture as ornate as in al-Bara …
