Syria - Where to go?

Bosra was the first city in the Syrian Arab Republic to become Muslim and has some of the oldest minarets in the whole of Islam. As a stopover on the pilgrimage route to Mecca, Bosra was a prosperous city until the 17th century.  > read more

This town is set in a desert oasis. The city was ruled by the legendary Queen Zenobia, who stood against the two great empires of the Romans and the Persians. Zenobia was taken captive to Rome when the Emperor Aurelian conquered and destroyed the city in AD 272. The ruins of the Valley of Tombs, the Hypogeum of the Three Brothers, the Great Temple of Bel and the Monumental Arch, now a world UNESCO Heritage Site, are some of the fine remains found over a wide area of the city, prized as containing some of the most famous monuments to the Classical period in the Middle East.

Older possibly even than Damascus, Aleppo’s massive Citadel stands on the site of a Hittite acropolis. This UNESCO Heritage Site is one of the most magnificent examples of Islamic Arab military architecture in the Syrian Arab Republic. There are an impressive number of mosques in the city. For the tourist, the souk (market), made up of 16km (10 miles) of meandering low corridors lined with shops and bustling with activity, is probably the greatest attraction. The well preserved hammams, or public baths, are of interest, as are the ancient khans (rest houses). Some fine artifacts and historic reminders of the Syrian Arab Republic’s rich cultural past are housed in the archaeological museum. Aleppo is also the commercial and industrial center of the Syrian Arab Republic.

This is the Syrian Arab Republic’s principal port and the metropolitan city of the country. Set on the Mediterranean coast, Latakia is a major holiday resort. The city stands at the foot of the forested chain of mountains overlooking the coastal strip on one side and the edge of the Fertile Plains (the ‘Cradle of Civilization’) on the other. There are a number of antiquities, including the ruined Temple of Bacchus and a triumphal arch.

Damascus

Aleppo

Palmyra