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ALEPPO :
Of all the towns of Syria it is Aleppo that leaves the profoundest
impression upon the visitor. Aleppo was a key town on the trade routes
for thousands of years (the silk route among others) and still uses, for
local and regional trade, a considerable proportion of the facilities
that were developed in the time of the caravans : khans, courtyards as
warehouses with workshops around them : kilometers of narrow covered
streets where traders and craftsmen congregate according to their
various callings and specialties. A visit to the covered Souks "12
kms" enables the tourist to see something of the town's everyday
life and at the same time see monuments which are often no longer used
(the madrases and bimarstans for example) but whose design and
decoration is extremely interesting. Aleppo is mentioned in Hittite
documents dating from the second millennium BC, when it was the center
of a prosperous kingdom called "Yamhad". Aleppo thus has a
very long history and has been the scene of many events and
activities.The Citadel dominating Aleppo is a masterpiece of Arab
military architecture. It stands on an archaeological tell containing
vestiges of a very early period, but from the Arab period onwards the
hill of Aleppo was more than just a fortress; it was the residence of
princes and the seat of government. The entrance to the Citadel is still
intact, and is of impressive strength and majesty. A visitor to Syria
who misses touring Aleppo can hardly be called a real visitor.
AMRIT -
MARATHOS :
A dependency of Arwad. It served as a "mainland suburb" for
the Aradians on their island stronghold. The most prosperous, perhaps
because closest to the tiny, but powerful metropolis, was
AMRIT-MARATHOS. In the 3rd century BC, under the Seleucids, the colony
made an attempt to free itself from the domination of the Aradians, but
the people of Aradus had no hesitation in destroying the town which had
served them for more than a thousand years. In it there are two strange
monuments and are sorts of towers or landmarks. One of them
pyramid-shaped, the other phallic. At the foot of these monuments and
round about, tombs and burial vaults have been carved out of the rock.
The biggest of them probably belonged to the kings of Aradus (Arwad) and
to the rich families of Amrit.
APAMEA
(Afamia) :
A Hellenistic and Roman city, Apamea is laid out in the chessboard
fashion, like so many other imperial cities. The sitting of the various
buildings and quarters of the city was all determined in relation to the
decumanus, the central axis. Along this splendid thoroughfare flowed
most of the public life of the city, it almost as such as its temples,
symbolized a city's pride and prestige. It was lined with shops and
linked the principal gates of the city. A cheating spectacle, indeed!
But dominating the tumbled ruins of the city, transcending the disorder,
a series of columns with twisted fluting has been re-erected; their
capitals and entablatures have been put back in place. The steps
separating the mosaic-covered floors of the colonnades from the traffic
of the street have been freed from the soil which had buried them.
All
has become orderly once more, perspective has returned and reason and
instinct are satisfied.
ARWAD:
The Isle of Arwad, round and tightly packed like a bee-hive, consists of
a conglomeration of houses and strongholds. These a beats up against the
foot of the walls. There is no tree and not a single piece of vegetation
in sight. There is only one space, and a rather confined one at that,
which serves both a quayside, wharf and forum, and which looks on to the
busy harbor full of sailing- and fishing-boats and fishing-smacks of all
colors.A maze of narrow streets lead up to the highest point on the
island where a 13th century stronghold raises its crenellated walls.
Arwad is a lively and colorful place whose picturesqueness is quite
without artifice.
AYN DARA :
This resort, some 60 kilometers away from Aleppo is situated not away
from a valley whose slopes have been planted with fruit trees. Some
distance away there is a cone-shaped hill dotted with the white houses
of the village of Ayn Dara. This valley has remained a source of life.
As early as the 7th century BC civilization flourished in this area, as
is shown by the magnificent stone lions (now in the Museum of Aleppo)
that were discovered in a Tell, 8 kilometers to the north of the
village. One of them remains on the site and is easy to find.
BARA (AL) :
A modest village living from the cultivation of cherries and olives,
lies forgotten at the bottom of a valley in the province of Idlib. It is
the "largest ghost town in Northern Syria". Al Bara was once
an important town, known from the 2nd century BC and still active after
the Frankish invasions. The Crusaders took the place in 1098 and were
driven out of it twenty-five years later. The monumental tombs are the
most surprising buildings at Al Bara, both by their size and by their
unusual designs. Square bases made of large blocks of stones were
surmounted by pyramidal stone roofs. Here every stone projects like a
little console : whether this was intended to be useful, symbolic or
merely decorative, remains a mystery.
BOSRA :
Mentioned in the lists of Tutmose III and in the letters of Al-Amarna
(in the archives of the Pharaoh Ahkenhaton, 1334 B.C.), also referred to
in the Bible, became one of the leading Nabatean cities (1st Cent.)
before being made the capital of the Province of Arabia by its Roman
conquerors (106 AD). As the seat of an archbishop, Bosra played an
important role in the history of early Christianity as well as having
links with the beginnings of Islam. The significance of the city as an
important halt on the way to Mecca, and the prosperity that this city
brought, lasted until the 17th century. In Bosra one can find the most
extraordinary monuments in all the Middle East - the fortress-theater,
recently and beautifully restored, where the best ballet, theater and
folklore companies give performances every summer. This remarkable
building is gradually bringing new life to Bosra. From the
theater-fortress a narrow road with ancient paving stones leads into the
decumanus, near a triple arch known as the Gate of Lantern. It was built
in the 3rd Century, in honor of the Third Legion, garrisoned here at
Bosra.
CRAC DES
CHEVALIERS :
This Crac played an important role in controlling inland Syria with the
Mediterranean world. It is situated in the heart of the Homs Gap : the
gateway to Syria. Built on the site of a former Kurdish castle (hence
its name), Crac stands on a hilltop some distance from the main road
from Homs to Tartus and Tripoli - 27 kilometers away, down a narrow
winding road. Halfway up the hill lies the village of Al-Hosn which used
to serve and furnish the Crac with provisions. Before entering the
labyrinth of courtyards and passageways it is a good idea to get an
overall view by climbing to the top of the hill, taking the metalled
road which winds round it on the south side. There it stands on its
leveled hilltop, sloping down steeply on three sides, with its high
walls, its round towers, bigger at the corners, its machiolated
galleries, its groups of partisans and the fine lines of its
arrow-slits.
DAMASCUS :
Damascus is an exceptional example of the timelessness and universality
of a great city. A modern capital whose voice - discreet but assured,
moderate but yet not lacking in feeling - is having a decisive effect in
the Arab World and in the Mediterranean area today, Damascus is said to
be "the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world".
Damascus is mentioned in the earliest historic texts - Egyptian records
of the 19th century BC, and the archives of Mari, dating from the 25th
century BC Further back, history gives way to legend and speaks of
"Dimachq ach-Sham", the "town of Shem", son of Noah.
Legend too, gives way to poetry, in which it is said that when Christ
returns to Earth to do battle with the Anti-Christ, he will make his way
down by the highest minaret of the Umayyad Mosque. Damascus, capital of
Syria, is a distinguished city which charms the visitor with its old
quarters and its modern aspect. Here the old and the new are side by
side ; archaeological remains hundred of years old and ultra-modern
Europeans style buildings. Damascus was formerly a fortified city,
mention of which is found in Egyptian texts of the eighteenth dynasty
and even in Assyrian tablets, as well as in Genesis. Besides being the
administrative and political capital of Syria, Damascus is the economic
capital of Syria, where banks and other leading commercial and
industrial companies have their head offices. In addition, the city is
an important university, artistic and tourist center. Damascus owes
everything to the river Barada. Descending like a torrent from the
Anti-Lebanon range, this narrow river, joined by a hundred smaller
streams, cascades down the gorges of Ain Al-Fijeh. Then it meanders for
a while beside the Beirut road, giving pleasure to the patrons of
restaurants and cafes along its lush green banks, before losing itself
in myriad branches, canals and ditches. These gardens, fields and
orchards, the oasis from which Damascus gets much of its food.
Damascus offers you the following attractive places to visit and see :
The Old City within the
famous ancient walls.
The Holy Shrine of Sayida Zeinab.
The magnificent Umayaad Mosque.
Saladin's Memorial and the Museum of Epigraph.
The Azem Palace and the Popular Arts.
The Chapel of Annanias.
Al-Takieh Al-Suleimaniya, an Ottoman transplant.
The Artisans Bazaars.
The Covered Bazaars (Al-Hamidieh).
The street called Straight.
The national Museum of Damascus.
The Historical and Army Museum.
DEIR
EZZOR :
This city can be summarized in three words : a town, a river and a
bridge. The town is the only important urban center in the East of
Syria. Its position, far from the capital and from the nerve-centers of
the country, at the entrance to a vast and developing region, gives it a
very considerable local importance and is enhancing its sense of its
identity. The river is the Euphrates, lifeline of the region and a
corridor of civilization throughout the ages. With the filling of Lake
Al-Assad it has become possible to regulate its hitherto capricious flow
and to make plans for new harvest. The bridge, or rather bridges - there
are five of them - are the historic reason for the very existence of
Deir Ezzor. Countless armies, conquerors and merchants have come this
way.
DOURA EUROPOS :
This fortified town was established by Alexander's lieutenant Seleucos
(the founder of the Dynasty) and its name is taken from the village in
distant Macedonian in which Alexander (conqueror of Syria in 305 BC) was
born. Occupied by the Parathions, then by the Romans, the town was
closely linked with Palmyra which it served as an important forward line
of defense against the Persians. It was captured and destroyed by the
Sassanids in 256 AD, shortly before the fall of the great Syrian
metropolis itself. The site is very impressive. It is very clear here
how important a frontier the Euphrates was, in the ancient world.
EBLA (TELL
MARDIKH) :
This site lies at a hill 25 kilometers south of Idleb. Ebla was
destroyed in about 1600 BC There are some astonishing findings from
there in the National Museum in Damascus. Ebla was the capital of a very
powerful Empire in the 3rd millennium BC, and was mentioned in the
Summerian and Akkadian inscriptions as having had a population of 30,000
inhabitants. It is also famous for its strong ramparts with the four
monumental gates, its Acropolis and its temples. The identification of
the most ancient urban culture at Ebla as a Canaanite one indicates that
the role of Syria in the very foundation of Middle Eastern civilizations
was far more important than had hitherto been imagined.
HALABIYE :
It is 60 kilometers upstream from the river "Euphrates", on
the right bank, from Deir Ezzor. In it stands a most impressive castle
called "Zenobia" in Palmyrene times, which for hundred of
years was bitterly contended for. Outer walls, on a triangular plan
extending on to the river bank itself, rise in a series of closely-set
square towers to the top of a basalt spur, which is crowned by a massive
keep.
HAMA :
Hama is one of the most attractive towns in Syria, notable on account of
its wooden wheels called "Norias" which draw water from the
Orontes. An old town dating back to Neolithic times, Hama charms the
visitor with its water and orchards and its picturesque old quarters. A
noria is an undershot Vitruvian waterwheel which raises water from a
pool or a well to a channel or a cistern above. It is a very ancient
technique. Its noise - a "cry" almost like the Muezzin's call
to prayer, hatch, plangent and timeless. Hama is filled with historical
sites. The most important one is the Azem Palace, built in 1742 AD, now
housing a museum with rare pieces. The Old Citadel of Hama consists of
at least ten distinct archaeological layers, from the Neolithic period
to the Middle Ages. Other sites in Hama are worth visiting such as
Al-Nouri Mosque and the two "Khans", the Assad Pacha El-Azem
and the Rustom Pacha, with gateways and courtyards built of stone in
alternating colors.
HOMS :
Homs is famous for its mausoleum containing the tomb of Khaled Ibn
Al-Walid; the great commander of the Muslim armies who brought Islam to
Syria in 636. There are many churches there, small modest buildings for
the most part. One of them claims to possess "the girdle of the
Blessed Virgin". The Church of St. Elian commemorates the only son
of a high Roman Official, governor of Homs (Emesa) at the end of the 3rd
century, who died a martyr for his faith at the hands of his own father.
Homs provided Rome with three emperors, including the famous Caracalla.
It is also famous as the birth-place of Elagablal, the High Priest of
the Temple of Sun. Its Citadel contains Roman and Islamic
fortifications.
IBN WARDAN,
THE PALACE :
It is a very unique place, both in its architecture and esthetics
values. Its building is a mixture of unique and different kinds of
colored basaltic marble and tiles. The three buildings of this unique
site consists of :
1- A cross shaped palace,
2- A doomed square church, 15 meters wide and 18.5 meters long, and
3 - A huge military barrack dates back as far as 561 AD
The date of construction of this place is to be found at the main door
stone inscripted in Greek saying 564 AD
JA'BAR :
A pink fortress located at Assad Lake which can be seen with its
reflection in the blue water of the lake, surrounded by two walls broken
by thirty-five towers of different shapes : four-, five-, six-, eight-,
sided or half-moon shaped. Today it stands on an islet joined to
architecture, dating from the time of Nur Ad-Din (12 century) is unique
of its kind. The facades of the towers are richly decorated with
ornamentation and inscription.
LATAKIA :
Latakia, formerly "Laodicea", is a peaceful residential and
resort town. But its beaches of golden sand and its holiday chalets with
its lively port, which along with the neighboring port of Tartus
constitutes Syria's Mediterranean gateway. Latakia is one of the lungs
of Syria. It is the ancient settlement of Ramitha, Leuk Akat and
Mazabdan of the 4th and 3rd millennia BC It was an important Phoenician
city in the 2nd and 1st millennia BC Latakia was later occupied by the
Assyrians and the Babylonians. Alexander, the Great, conquered Latakia
in 333 BC and the great leader Seleucus Nictar rebuilt it and renamed it
Laoicea, in honor of his mother. There are beaches, mountains, lush
countryside, archaeological sites and many relics of the Crusaders, all
within, at most, a few hour's drive.
MAALOULA :
Maaloula, 56 kilometers from Damascus, is a village hewn out of the
rock. Besides possessing two old convents (Saint Thecleand Saint Serge),
Malloula is remarkable for the fact that a Syrian dialect called
"Aramean" is spoken there; this was the language spoken by
Christ. The honeycomb village of Maaloula, some of its "cells"
have been daubed with blue plasters for hundred of years. The Monastery
of St. Thelca, who was disciple of St. Paul, contains the remains of the
Saint's body.
MARI :
One of the most important cities in the ancient world of the western
bank of the Euphrates. In the temple of Mari, dating from the third
millennium before Christ, dedicated to Ishtar (the principal goddess of
the Assyro-Babylonian pantheon), some thirty statuettes were recovered,
amongst the one of a king : Longi Mari. The most important discovery in
Mari is that of the palace of Zimri-Lim, king of Mari from 1782 to 1759
BC, a dwelling consisting of some three hundred rooms, courtyards,
stores and containing above all a library stacked with twenty thousand
cuneiform tablets. Underneath the Royal Palace of Zimri-Liman other
palace was discovered dating back to the first half of the 3rd
millennium 2350 BC Even deeper two royal residences have been founded
dating back to the 3rd millennium.
MARQAB :
In Marqab there is a huge glowering fortress situated on a top of a hill
with terraced gardens on its slopes. It is enormous : there are no less
than fourteen square and round towers jutting from the curtain wall that
encircles the hilltop to form a triangular bastion. Its southern corner,
sharper than the others and bristling with defense, has a keep rising
above it like the prow of some great ship. Glowering : from the massing
of these great blank walls which looks as if they are good for a few
centuries yet, but glowering above all because of the funeral black
basalt stone of which it is built. The outline of the fortress follows
the convex line of the hillside just here and one has an excellent view
of the best preserved and strongest section of the castle's defenses.
After the capture of the Crac des Chevaliers in 1270 AD, the Crusaders
surrendered Marqab to Sultan Qualon in 1285 AD .
PALMYRA :
The ruins of Palmyra are impressive both by their extent and by their
remarkable state of preservation. The ancient Arabcity is gradually
being restored in all its grandeur. The majestic site of this city, was
cited in the 2nd millennium BC, Capppodocian and Akkadian inscriptions.
Some of the discoveries are - the agora, the theater, the baths, the
Temple of Nabo and the great Temple of Bel, one of the finest monuments
in all the East. The inhabitants of Palmyra had used the Temple as the
center of their village and a whole new settlement had to be built for
them outside the village walls. Palmyra is one of those exceptional
places where art and history have fused to produce a synthesis that will
dazzle succeeding generations. This remarkable site in the center of the
Syrian desert became a necessary stopping-place for caravans taking the
shortest route from the Arabia Gulf to the Mediterranean, as well as for
those taking the Silk Route and crossing the Tigris near Seleucisin
Babylon. "Tadmor" is mentioned on tablets dating from the 19th
century BC From the end of the second millennium Aramean was the
language spoken there, this language persisted until the Byzantine
period. At the end of 267, Zenobia became a monarch of the city. She
expanded the city to be a great kingdom in an open defiance of Rome. In
the autumn of 274 Zenobia was taken prisoner to Rome where she was
forced to ride in Aurelian's "Triumph" and Palmyra never
recovered her position.
QALB LOZA :
The architectural quality and beautiful decoration of Qalb Loza are
present even in the smaller details. Thus the small windows of the upper
storey of the nave have square openings but, on the outside, a
finely-cut double fluting prolongs these square frames in graceful
half-circles. Such simple and delicate touches relieve any coarseness
that a building built of such a big block of stone (the roof blocks are
five meters long) might otherwise have. The basilica at Qalb Loza isn't
a cathedral. Its powerful, somewhat square shape gives it more the
appearance of a large country church. But in this wild solitary setting
it seems like a challenge. With its three big rounded arches at the
front, its apse behind, it has survived twelve or thirteen centuries of
oblivision.
QANAWAT :
The monuments at Qanawat are the most impressive and richly decorated in
the region of Jebel Al-Arab where so many ancient stones are strewn on
the ground or built into the fabric of present day dwellings, or else
soar up sometimes as haughty columns, all cracked and broken, and yet
superb! The site where Qanawat stands enhances the interest of the
ruins. It is mentioned in the Old Testaments as to be known as
"Noba" or "kanat". In 60 BC Qanawat was one of the
Roman barracks. The most fancy ruins of Qanawat is the Temple of
"Zeus", dates back to 2nd century AD The second amazing site
is the temple of the God of Sun "Helios". The theater
"Audion", the temple of the "Nymphet" and the Agora
are not less exciting than the other things to be seen in Qanawat.
RAQQA :
Originally built by Alexander the Great, who called the site
"Nicephorion", but nothing remained of it or of the
"callinicos" of the Roman. As the Persians several times
fought the Byzantines here, nothing has become down to us of Christian
Raqqa. In 722, the Abbassid Caliph Al-Mansour founded a new city,
"Al-Rafika", which quickly eclipsed ancient Raqqa, but in the
18th century, the Mongols laid waste the rich city. Raqqa is most famous
as the summer resort of the Caliph Harun Ar-Rashid, of the Thousand and
One Nights, who built his magnificent palace here, still standing today.
One must visit the marvelous Baghdad Gate, the impressive city walls,
the Mosque of Nur Eddin built in 1166, AD, and the new Raqqa Museum.
RASAFA :
Considered by many archaeologists to be the most beautiful place in the
Syrian desert, Rasafa was cited in the Assyrian texts and in the Bible.
After 305 AD, Rasafa was called "Sergiopolis" after Saint
Sergius, a Roman officer stationed on the Euphrates, who died for
refusing to deny Christ, under Diocletian. When Islam had overcome
Christianity, one of the first Caliphs, the Umayaad Hisham, came to live
in Rasafa, after he had had palatial summer residences built there,
which in their riches were compared with the palaces of Baghdad. But
less than six years after his death in 743, the Abbasides desecrated the
sepulcher of their brother enemy and destroyed every one of the
buildings and the monuments he had erected. The actual site is huge. The
remains of the thick walls, the Baptistery, basilicas, the enormous
water cistern and an Umayaad Palace provide a fascinating sight.
SAFITA :
Safita of today stands on a fortress, which was surrounded by a double
wall, the first of them almost perfectly oval in shape. It is therefore
no surprise as you walk about the streets to come upon some vestiges of
medieval architecture. The keep, 28 meters high, is a two-storey
structure : on the ground floor, a fortified church; above it, a large
room 26 meters by 132 divided into two parts by a line of three pillars.
One exceptional point worthy of note : the castle chapel has never been
deconsecrated or converted into a mosque : the majority of the
population have been remained Christians of Greek Orthodox faith and
nowadays services are still held there.
SAINT SIMEON
(QALAT SAMAAN) :
This is the site where St. Simeon lived on top of a pillar for
fourty-two years. Fourty-two years under the blazing sun, in the bitter
cold, and exposed to all the mountain winds! He is s shepherd from
Northern Syria who became a monk as the result of a revelation in a
dream. There is only a stump of the column left, some two or three
meters high. Shortly after the death of the holy man the most beautiful
church in the East was built on the ridge of the hill where he had taken
up "residence". The lay-out, centering on the famous column,
was original. Four basilicas, arranged in the shape of a cross, opened
onto a sort of octagon covered by a dome; in the center stood the sacred
pillar. This Citadel offers a view of some of the 300 dead towns of the
Byzantine era of Northern Syria.
SALADIN
CASTLE (SAHYOUN) :
This castle was recognized as a masterpiece of military architecture,
and defended by the Knights Hospitaller, was considered impregnable.
During the 14th century it was still in good order, a powerful citadel
controlling one of the passages between the sea and the Orontes valley
and an advance defense port for Antioch. Near the entrance there is a
stairway on the outside of the tower which leads up to a rampart walk
and to the upper level of the castle. The layout of the whole citadel
can be grasped from there. This citadel - the Byzantine Sahyoun, the
Frankish Castle of Saone and the Arab qaalat now dedicated to Saladin -
played its part in Syria's history under three different and competing
authorities, over three successive centuries.
SAYDNAYA :
The town ship of Saydnaya is spread out over a hillside. It has grown up
around an important convent which has been famous throughout the
Christian East, ever since its foundation in 547. Dedicated to the
Blessed Virgin attributed to Saint Luke the Evangelist. The chapel is
open for tourists. A forgotten verse from the "Book of
Exodus", over the entrance, recalls a commandment lost in the
Catholic Church but still current in Islam : "Put thy shoes from
thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground".
SHAHBA
(PHILIPPOPOLIS) :
From 232 to 237, an Arab from Syria reigned in Rome. He was a native of
Shahba, an insignificant little township. During his short reign, he
found time to do favor to his home town, which took the name of
Philippopolis. The town was rebuilt in the Roman manner : square walls,
two main thorough fares with a tetrapylon (monument composed of our
pilasters) standing at the point where they crossed in the middle,
building in a uniform style : palace, theater, thermae and a temple
erected by the Emperor to the memory of his father.
SUWAYDA :
Suwayda is situated in the tip of Syria where it is black basalt
country. The eruptive rocks that litter the ground give the landscape a
very special appearance : black are the stones, black the monuments,
black also are the sculptures and the ornaments. Cruder as pieces of
art, but how much more strange, are the statues carved in the hard
basalt : a representation of a Pantheon showing a mingling of Arab
(Nabatean), Hellenistic (after the conquest of Alexander), and Byzantine
(the town was the seat of a bishopric in the 5th century) influences.
Dusares rubs shoulder with Athens and Venus; Nabatean inscriptions are
found close to slabs bearing the cross of Christ. An eagle, wings spread
(Nabatean deity), and small but aggressive female busts take on an
extraordinary force when carved in the reddish rock.
TARTUS
(TORTOSA) :
The great period in the history of this city, as Phoenician port on the
mainland, occurred in Byzantine times. The name became
"Tortosa". Crowds of Christians used to come here on
pilgrimage to pray in a chapel which was said to have been dedicated to
the Virgin Mary by Saint Peter, when the Father of the Apostles was in
his way from Jerusalem to Antioch. Muslim, then Byzantine again around
the year 1000, Tortosa was to become one of the main supply ports fore
the Crusades and a military base of considerable importance, held by the
Templars. In 1188, Salah Eddin reconquered the town, but could not
capture the keep, surrounded as it was by a broad ditch, equipped with
advanced engines of war and defended by the best Knights of Order.
Tortosa was to remain in the hands of the Franks until 1291.
THAURA (AL) :
Al-Thaura is the capital of the Dam. The Dam is the Lake Al-Assad : 80
kilometers long, 12 billion cubic meters of water, and the hydroelectric
power-station : 800,000 tomorrow; and 60,000 hectares of agricultural
land brought under cultivation. The Dam means the whole social life of
the people of the Euphrates Basin, which is destined to undergo the most
sweeping changes in less than a generation.
UGARIT :
In Ugarit the invention of the first written Alphabet took place. This
alphabet is recognized as dating from the 14th century BC carried by the
Phoenicians, the alphabet was to be adopted by the Greeks, the Etruscans
and the Romans, and it is this alphabet which is used today by a large
number of the people of the world. The golden age of Ugarit came between
the 16th and the 17th century BC The town was in constant relation with
Egypt, Cyprus, the islands in the Aegean Sea, Mycenae ... etc. The royal
palace consisted of ninety rooms laid out around eight inner courtyards.
Thousands of engraved tablets were collected in the archives, in two
private libraries and in two religious libraries.
ZABADANI:
The most famous resort outside Damascus, some 40 kilometers away from
the capital. Zabadani, its houses widely scattered over the
country-side, stands in the center of a broad valley dominated by high
ridges. Poplar everywhere sing in thewind. Everywhere fruit trees,
vegetable plots and gardens flourish. Small detached houses, looking gay
in their brightly colored coats of pebble-dash, lie scattered on the
slopes up to an altitude of about 1,500 meters, where the greenery gives
place to orange-colored rock.
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