Archaeology handicrafts and science and technology sites to visit Syria

Tourists, conquered by the exceptional monuments of Palmyra, often forget to walk through the oasis. However, the gardens that populate the ancient city cover over 3 000 ha, where palm trees, olive trees and pomegranate trees grow away from high walls of land between which wind paths and canals.

The irrigation, once exclusively provided by the Efca source, is now complemented by diesel powered diesel pumps. In the middle of this maze of paths, you will probably be invited to share a glass of tea in the shade of a garden.

It will also be an opportunity to discover the fauna and flora that inhabit these places: date palms, olive trees and grenadiers. Today, the oasis belongs to the premises. Some have built part of their parcel of coffee; A break in one of them is the best way to discover how the oasis works.

Try a route from the street that runs through the palm grove to then reach the temple of Bêl. Around it, you will find several small coffees lost in the middle of the vegetation, some with swimming pool and space for camping:

Al-Baider coffee restaurant

Located behind the time of Bêl

59 17 410 86 54 84 44 09 031

[email protected]

Count 300 LS for a meal, 50 LS for tea or coffee (served alcohol) and 300 LS for sleeping under tent.

In the Bêl temple, this café-restaurant serves typical dishes from Palmyra served on tables scattered throughout the oasis. Here no concrete structure, we are in contact with nature, surrounded by palm trees, olive trees and grenadiers with a privileged view on the rear wall of the temple of Bêl. If you want to relax in the swimming pool, you can relax with a massage or even spend the night in the Bedouin tent at the entrance to the camp.

Women in tattooed face and coloured clothes, men bearing the galabiyé, large dress wide, and head covered with a scarf with red and white tiles go to the old souk in Deir ez-Zor from the early morning. Coming from the surrounding villages or nomadic camps, they invest the streets of the city to sell their harvest or buy tools, fabrics, ropes…

Renovated in 2010, the old market kept a traditional appearance with a beautiful vaulted roof and narrow aisles illuminated by the wells of light dug in the ceiling.

In short, the visit not to be missed will delight travellers looking for authenticity.

Bishop Théodoret de Cyr owes the biography of the saint. Born in 389 at Sis, between Cilicia and Syria, the young Simeon is shocked by the words of the Gospel. He then attends a ascetics retreat from his region and went to the monastery of Teleda where he spent ten years of his existence fighting Evil.
Continuing along this path, he joins the monastery of Telanissos (the present Deir Samaan) where he remains recluse three years. But anachorite wants more. He decides to isolate himself on the nearby hill in a restricted space that he defines by an enclosure. The reputation of this ascetic is beginning to exceed the framework of Telanissos. We come a long way to get his blessings. It is then that he designs the project permanently at the top of a column. Twelve metres high, it preaches ever more crowds and has a great reputation in the Bedouin, some of which are converted to Christianity. To protect it from the pilgrims'assaults, the column is even enhanced at a height of sixteen metres and surrounded by railings.
This form of new asceticism will spread in the East. The stylite (of the Greek stûlos which means "column") will do school especially in the dead cities. In contrast to the first monks who, in Egypt in the fourth century, withdrew from the world by settling in the desert (Saint Antoine was the first of them), Syrian stylites, on the model of Saint Benedict and Saint Basile, maintain contact with the population that they urged faith. Atarib is another hermit in the region, removed not far from Bab al-Hawa.
For forty years, Saint Simeon prêchera from the top of his column by all the time. At his death, in 459, his remains were transferred to the church of Constantine in Antioch and then to Constantinople. In 476, probably under the impetus of the Byzantine emperor Zénon, a martyrium is founded - a monumental construction whose remains are admired today.
Fourteen years of work is required, the architects come from the surrounding areas; we will look for arms to Antioch. The pilgrimage centre at Deir Samaan operated until the th century. It was even restored during the Byzantine recovery of the th century before permanently falling with the whole massif.

The last Aleppo soap factory delivers its secrets of manufacture, to be visited preferably between January and March, the period of manufacture of the soaps. The products developed here are exported to many large French surfaces!

The site marries the shape of a triangle delimited by well-preserved walls and it is interesting to take the tour to appreciate its quality. The wall around the Euphrates on 385 m is the most damaged by time. The north and south walls (350 and 550 m, respectively) are drilled with two well-marked doors near the river. The current route crosses the axis delimited by these two doors, which probably constituted the main route of the site.

The gypsum wall is flanked by towers which are set at intervals of not more than 50 m. By crossing the northern wall through a steep road, a larger building is achieved than the towers: . Its dimensions allowed the garrison to stay there. The end of its walls and its vaults is well preserved on three floors. From the top of the building, the view on the river is particularly beautiful. The ruins of Zalabiyé, the site on the opposite shore, are visible in the south. Less well preserved than those in Abu, they are accessible by a road from Deir ez-Zor.
By continuing to climb, the citadel is reached, but its access is dangerous. More easily accessible, the remains of the two basilicas located in the centre of the site. Unfortunately, they are in ruins, and the wall is. Several funeral towers, supplemented by tombs dug in the rock, are visible outside the walls, north of the enclosure.

The visit may be disappointing for those who expect to discover very visible remains, the site does not offer any documentation. The walls of dried raw clay bricks have been greatly deteriorated due to the rare but torrential rains raging in the region. Only a 700 m ² area was protected in 1974 by a white roof, rather unaesthetic. It is not enough, moreover, to prevent the destruction process. Following the 2007 archaeological campaign, some pieces of the Palace of the Second Millennium were ensablés while other areas were gradually being released. By leaving the car park, take the small trail to go to the ziggurat (also called High Terrace) which lies right on the right of the Palais-Lim palace. All around a number of religious buildings are the temple aux Lions of 2000 B.C., the temple of Shamash, temple of Nini-Zaza (middle of the third millennium). Then descend west to arrive at the sacred enclosure. A small corridor between thick and high walls of clay gives access to the sacred enclosure of a présargonique palace on the right. From the maze of rooms, the main square room, which contains water supply facilities, will be identified. This présargonique portion was covered by a much larger palace named Zimri-Lim, the name of the last king of Mari.

To find out, you leave the protected area to reach the main courtyard, the hub of the building. She reported on the left with the court of the Palm, which had superb murals protected by a canopy.

In a room that precedes the palm courtyard in the south, the statue of the goddess in from vase was discovered today in Aleppo. The next piece is the throne room. This heart of the palace was complemented by a multitude of small pieces intended for the royal apartments (west of the sacred enclosure), the palace staff, the service staff, the women's apartments. Many warehouses were built there. The ensemble was built on two floors and had 300 pieces and a library of over 20 000 tablets.

By leaving the palace, in the west, the temple of Ishtar is located in an area of présargoniques excavations.

Near the Simoen museum, it is interesting to walk in the city's souk, which extends around the clock square. Do preferably before 13 pm to have the chance to see a little animation.