Things to see and do Syria

There is an opportunity to see one of the few constructions of this type regulating the river, a miniature version of the immense Assad dam to the south of the eponymous lake.

The remains go back mainly to the reconstruction, in the th century, of the fortress originally built by Noureddin. The castle gives an overview of the techniques of Arab military fortification at the time. The perfect itinerary of the visit replaces the remains and points of view (superb) on the Euphrates. After climbing the entrance steps, the «royal apartments» with fountain and iwan are reached on the left. From here you won the steam bath, supplied in hot water and steam by the neighbouring bread oven. On the upper floor, the mosque is found in the well-designed mihrab and two arches overlooking the Euphrates. Then, by a corridor of 17 m to the very high vaults used as a stables, the tanks which collected rainwater were reached. The continuation of the visit leads to the foot of the fortifications by a dizzying staircase.

The building dates back to the end of the Fifth Century and was probably conceived as a step on the pilgrimage route of Saint-Siméon; he benefited from the best architectural knowledge of the time. The three wings of the nave are delimited by two rows of columns that have their capitals and always support the windows on the floor. As a whole, it shows a change in style, less cumbersome than that of the previous era. The building gains light and height. Like the pilgrims, make a break on the road to Saint-Siméon. At the end of the day, the rougissante light gives it even more stamp.

Returning to Aleppo by Azaz, a few kilometres away from Cyrrhus, the two magnificent Roman bridges of the th century and their progress in triangular shape. The modern road still borrows them. We have to imagine relatively busy roads. The Roman roads continue by means of trails further afield in the steppe. A horse travelled at the time 30 km a day and a donkey 15 km; thus, des were successive on these axes at a maximum distance of 15 km. Also not far from Azaz remains tracks of the mythical East-Express.

The imposing theatre, in the centre of the site, was partly cleared. It's reached by entering the city by the south door, which gave the maximus maximus that you guess before the theater. With its 115 m diameter, it is the second by size after that of Apamea. Like the latter, it stands on a hill. At its summit, we guess the citadel. It served as a defence station against the Parathians. We have a beautiful view of the cardo, the ramparts in the north and the watchtowers that mark the Turkish border.

Located at the entrance to the city when you arrive in Aleppo, the museum presents mainly the objects uncovered during the excavations of Ebla. They include the reconstitution of the archives hall, numerous tablets, an Egyptian cut in the name of the pharaoh Chephren, elements of an interlining panel of the Royal Palace.

Built on the location of the 1124 st century Cathedral of St. Helena, seized by the Muslim ruler of Aleppo in, in retaliation for atrocities committed by the «Franj» during the crusades. Just opposite the entrance, in the prayer room, note the capitals of Byzantine origin and the splendid wooden mihrab. Women must provide for a shawl, there are no available at the entrance.

In a tiny street devoted to the trade in wool (in a pelota), you will discover on your right the Syrian, Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Armenian churches, before arriving at the church of the forty-Martyrs, the oldest (th century) church. Enter the cloister and walk on the tombs of the Armenian martyrs massacred by the Turks in 1915, just below the impressive bell tower. The charm of the Syrian Catholic Church stems from its strange blend of pious images and oriental architecture, including the alternance of coloured stones in the choir.

This Arab residence dating back to 1757 was transformed into a museum of popular traditions. The interest of the place lies more in the building which welcomes it than the few old objects put into the scene by wax characters. A left-hand staircase from the entrance leads to the terrace from where the view takes the large courtyard with the very busy decoration and the grandiose iwan. A lemon stands in the middle of the courtyard. Beautiful gargoyles from the facade in the rococo style.

It was built in 1233 on order of the widow of the son of Saladin, Sultan Az-Zahir al-Ghazi, and daughter of the brother of Saladin al-Adil. Its mosque is organized around a small square courtyard bordered by porticos whose arches are based on wooden pieces on the columns of columns. An original device designed to defy earthquakes. The mihrab of the prayer room, located opposite the vast iwan of the courtyard, decorated with a splendid marble marquetry, is described by the Aleppins as the most «chauvinists of Syria's finest mihrab. If possible, it is better to get there at 12 p. m. The faithful carry out prayer inside, while a handful of merchants are active outside, with their carriages filled with vegetables or fruit. Placed at the exit of the mosque, they harvest the faithful barely the prayer completed. A quarter of an hour later, they disappear as fast as they ran. At the end of prayer, non-Muslims can enter and admire the interior of the building as well as the small dozen tombs of holy saints there.

This is a Syrian-phoenician temple, the typical plan of which is used by both the Syrian, Roman and Mesopotamian world. The current remains that are Roman (around the th century) occupy the location of a cult sémito-cananéen in honour of Baal who was assimilated to Zeus Baétocécien. The sacred perimeter was surrounded by an imposing enclosure. Today, the north side of the temple is particularly well preserved (note the gigantic proportions of the stone blocks reminiscent of Baalbek in Lebanon). Situated at the centre of the sacred perimeter, the sanctuary of the divinity is evident, especially through the steps intended to drive it. It was in this particular place that sacrifices were made, in the open air. Take a look at the door, learn little by little from the wild herbs. On his lintel, an eagle surrounded by two male allegories is still visible. One is the evening star and the other is the morning star. A Greek inscription of 171, on the door is, records the dedication of the whole by the premises. Right across the road, right across the road, lies the ruins of what seems to have been an auxiliary temple, which has become a monastery.

The best preserved of the two/of the main street transformed into a museum. It presents an interesting collection of mosaics from the region. The Khan Assad Assad (1748) facing him does not visit.

The church west of the palace, built under Justinian, is a beautiful complex complex of domes, despite an austere exterior appearance due to its rectangular shape. The staircase, located in the north-west part of a square tower, gives access to the first level supported by two of the columns marking the nave. The decoration of the two buildings is made up of rows of basalt separated by brick foundations. All the vaults are carefully furnished bricks, while window jambs are a limestone block. There is nothing left of the barracks, once located south of the palace, or of the double enclosure that complemented the whole. Take advantage of this visit to discover the many types of Byzantine cross as well as the very fine sculptures of the entrances of the two monuments.

A natural reserve famous for its century-old trees in Butom, where you can take a nice hike.

Ancient irrigation system used in the region. It consists of a series of wells overlooking an underground area where the water is collected on a gentle slope. It is possible to see these constructions in a village about ten kilometres from Sheikh Hilal, ask the Friends of Salamieh association.

Head of the region 50 km from Sheikh Hilal. It hosts Syria's largest ismaili community. The practitioners of this minority current of Shia Islam are regarded as Liberals; they consume alcohol, do Ramadan and women are not veiled. Moreover, they are content with two calls for prayer per day and mosques do not contain minarets. The city is particularly important for ismaili as it welcomes the grave of the father of Aga Khan, the current spiritual leader of ismaili and Syria's ismaili centre. Regularly Pakistani or Indian tourists, mostly ismaili, stop Salamieh to visit these places.

Place of worship dedicated to the life of the local saint, whose celebration is celebrated on 6 February. A unique son of a family of notables from Emesa to the Roman Emperor's balance, Eliân converted to Christianity. A decision that his father does not like. In the middle of the third century, followers of the new religion were persecuted. After attempting to fléchir his son's faith, the father must resolve to sacrifice him. Saint Eliân will be martyred in Homs in 285. The edict of Milan, 28 years later, was going to establish religious freedom through the empire. The worship of the saint could then burst into the great day. In 1970, during the restoration of the church (whose existence was not mentioned before the th century), a set of frescoes was discovered in what is considered a former martyrium. Some would be dated th or th century and would replace mosaics of the century. In the centre, Christ Pantocrator is surrounded by the right of the Virgin Mary and Marie-Madeleine, while on his left is Saint Jean Baptiste and an unidentified character. Four apostles are embedded in two niches: on the left, Luc and Jean and, on the right, Marc and Matthew. Finally, various medallions represent prophets and apostles. As a result of this discovery, the interior of the church was painted entirely by religious scenes with vivid colours. They were completed in 1973.

Today, the church is the former seat of the Syrian Catholic Patriarchate. The place would not be of any particular interest if, in July 1953, there was not a piece of cloth, below the altar, which passes to be a belt of the Virgin Mary. The keeper of the place will show you the belt, a piece of white cloth stuffed in a stone tank. It is 74 cm in length, 5 cm wide, 3 cm thick and is probably silk and linen. Its authenticity would be attested by the existence of a th century chapel under the present church. The whole lay under the altar, returning to this place by those who discovered it first, the men entrusted with the restoration of the church in 1852. The objects surrounding the belt at the time of its discovery are displayed in a church chapel: the stone tank in which the belt has been found, the copper disk which covers the tank and a metal cylinder containing a fragment of human bone with no great relation to the rest. On the details, very good brochure in English.

A Muslim sanctuary recognizable by its grey metal domes that reflect on the sun. Today, a very respected place of worship, it offers visitors an unusual spectacle: the crowd of the faithful carrying out his duty, pressed by the accelerated pace of urban life, mingled with young cireurs of shoes proposing a quick cleaning the time of prayer.

The glimpse of the mosque is confined to a part of the tomb, the prayer room hidden with the eyes of women. In 1908, the primitive mausoleum was demolished and rebuilt in Ottoman fashion. It passes to contain the tomb of Khaled ibn Al-Walid, the Arab conqueror of Syria. It was he who finally ended the Roman stranglehold on the country at the Battle of the Yarmouk in 636. He died in Medina. His wood cenotaph is exhibited at the Damascus National Museum (Room 2). The prayer room is square and surmounted by a dome. In front of the mosque, the old cemetery in the garden shows some antique pieces. The tomb of the protector of the city was an obligatory passage of processions which, until 1950, led the city. During seven consecutive Thursday and until the Orthodox Thursday of the Orthodox people, the city, devoted to the sacred spring, saw a parade of Sufi sheikhs followed by their followers preceded by the banner of Khaled ibn Al-Walid.

The Greater Homs Mosque. The building would be, if one sticks to the permanence of the location of places of worship, at the place of the former temple of the Sun, which was then converted to Saint John Cathedral. The site map would thus be the same as that of the Great Mosque in Damascus. An entrance allows you to access the prayer room by the souk. The central mihrab is decorated with a golden mosaic representing a vine. The courtyard is equipped with a stage with black and white tiles. The few blocks in which there are dates of previous places of worship. The mosque, like the whole old town, incorporates reuse materials. The square minaret, characteristic of homsiotes minarets, dates back to 980. C.C.