Allgemeine Informationen

Aleppo:
Aleppo is situated 350 km north of Damascus. It is the second capital of Syria 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. Aleppo is 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.


Hama:
The city of Hama is situated 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. The water wheels have been lifting water for thousands of years, from Orentes valley up to the village. There used to be more than 22 wheels in Hama. The unceasing sound of the water wheels plays the symphony of Syrian history. One of Hama's ancient building is al-Jami' al-Kabir (the Great Mosque), which dates back to the 14th century and includes two tombs of two emirs who ruled Hama in the 13th century. Another mosque is that of Abu al-Fida, named after Hama's Sultan, who was a famous Arab geographer and historian. The city is often linked with his name. A third ancient mosque is the al-Nuri mosque, which was built in the days of Noureddin al-Zanki in 1129; on its wall appear inscriptions in both Arabic and Greek. Hama is particularly famous for its traditional industries, especially textiles and cotton cloth.


Palmyra:
To know Syria is to have knowledge of a legendary world. Palmyra , the 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.


Damascus:
To take the road to Damascus means to return to the source of the world. Damascus is one of the oldest cities of the world. Ghouta, huge oasis with orchards and rosaries is the marvel of Damascus. The visit to Damascus starts in the Old city, which is enclosed in fortifications originally built by the Romans. To this huge wall are curved 7 gates ('bab', in Arabic) through which you can accede to all principal monuments. The Old City occupies approximately the area of the Antique Hellenistic city (III century B.C. and more precisely the ancient Roman City (I century B.C.). From the Roman rectangular framework of streets only some trace have remained such as Via Recta (The Straight Street) and the Temple of Jupiter situated between the exit of the souk Al-Hamidiyeh and the north-western façade of the Great Umayyad Mosque. In the Old City you will find the atmosphere of noises, shouts and colors of the Orient. You will move on with the crowd through the souks, enveloped in the fragrance of spices and leather in the direction of the Great Umayyad Mosque, a beautiful monument of Islam, which the Oriental world ranges among the 7 Wonders of the World. In the Quarter surrounding the Mosque you will find a splendid atmosphere of the narrow alleys, old Ottoman houses, lavishly decorated arcades….
It is from atop of the Mount Kassioun, the Damascus' balcony, that the city is most beautiful, enveloped in the mystery preceding the sunset, when the voices of the muezzins proclaim the glory of the God.



Maaloula:
The famous village of Maaloula is located some 56 kilometres from Damascus, and in 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 Takla. The inhabitants still speak Aramaic, the language spoken by Christ. Two neighboring villages, Jaba'din and Naj'a also speak the same language. The word Maaloula means "entrance" in Aramaic.


Amrit (maratous):
The strange vestiges of the site of Amrit, located some 7 km south of Tartus, are a reminder of the Phoenicians and date back to the 6th and 7th centuries B.C. The site has strong Persian and Egyptian characteristics. We can discern a temple dedicated to the God Melqart, which is built around a deep sacred basin forming an artificial lake in the heart of which sits a sanctuary (Naos) decorated with triangular shapes. The water used to be delivered from a sacred source springing out of a nearby cave. Southwards of the temple can be seen two giant funerary towers. They have underground caves around their bases, cut into the walls.


Crack des Chevaliers:
The most famous medieval citadel in the world, Krack des Chevaliers, 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 Krack 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.Krack 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.

Marqaab castle:

The citadel of Qalat Marqab is only 6 km south-east of Banyas, and is 500 m above sea-level. It is enormous: there are not 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 defenses, has a keep rising above it like the prow of a ship. What makes it particularly glowering is the black basalt stone with which it was built. There are beautiful gardens and orchards surrounding it and the sea is not far away. This citadel could accommodate 1000 people, in addition to the garrison, along with provisions to last them for five years. It was not until 1285 that the troops of Sultan Qalaun defeated the last of the European Knights at Margat (Marqab). The Hospitalier Knights were granted "the honors of war" and allowed to withdraw under safe conduct to Tartus and Tripoli. There is an Arabic inscription commemorating this great victory, carved on a band of white limestone at the top of the "tour de L'Eperon" under the keep.



Saladin castle:
Formerly "Saone" (and still known as Castle Sahyoun), it was recently named after the great hero of Islam, Saladin (Salah al-Din), to commemorate the capture of the fortress in 1199. Though the importance of the position had been exploited before the Crusades, this castle was described as the most impregnable Crusader fortress. It stands on a rocky spur whose vertical walls rise above the junction of two fast-flowing streams. As late as 1965 it was impossible to reach it except on foot or on horseback by a difficult climb, first downhill and then up again after fording a stream. The fortress was completely isolated from the plateau by a deep ditch dug right through the connecting neck of land. The ditch was 156m long, 18 m deep. Its vertical walls show a smooth, fine yellowish rock surface. Today there is a drawbridge and a road which provide easy access to the foot of this "eagle's nest". Visitors can park their cars at the bottom of this ditch, opposite the horses's managers and hitching holes carved out of the rock.


Ugarit (Ras Shamraa ) 1800-1200 BC:
Ras Shamra is a site of historical importance. It is situated only 16km to the north of Lattakia. 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 Lattakia, Aleppo and Tartus museums.

Ebla 2500 BC:
Ebla, situated 25 km south-east- of Idleb, is the site of important and recent archaeological discoveries. Excavations 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 were uncovered. These tablets are the earliest written documents in Syria.


Aphamie:

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 Salucos 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 Mameluk periods appear over its entrance. The citadel was rebuilt by the Mameluks after it was destroyed by an earthquake in 1157. The Crusaders tried to occupy it several times, but in vain.


Rassafa:

Rasafeh is located south of the Euphrates and north of the Syrian semi-desert, 160 km south-east of Aleppo and 30 km south of the Aleppo-Raqqa road. 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 defense 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 Abbasids invaded and destroyed what the Caliph Hisham had built. Very little of the ruins of the Mar Sarkis church remains. 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 since 13th century onwards.



Mari (3500-2500BC):
120 km south of the town of Deir-ez Zor, along the Euphrates River, is located the site of the Kingdom of Mari (Tel hariri), near Abu Kamal. This kingdom dates back to the 3rd millennium b.C. It was ruled by kings of the 10th dynasty after the flood. The discovery of Mari (1932), like the recent discovery of Ebla (1975), attracted the attention of archaeologists and researchers in various fields. Twenty thousand tablets with their cuneiform inscription recount the political and diplomatic life in these kingdoms. Many of the remains and relics, statues, jewels, tablets and stamps