Things to see and do Deir Ez-Zor

Consecrated to the civilizations of Djézireh, the museum, inaugurated in 1996, showcases life in the region. It traces the rich past of this land from the Neolithic to Muslim Syria.

" See the museum in the city centre (even for anti-museums). Indeed, we finally have excellent daily scenes to imagine what life could be 3 000 to 4 000 years BC along the Euphrates in the Mari and Dura-Europos cities. The presentation of figurines, tablets, bronzes… is very well done. My recommendation: instead of épuiser to say "I was there" in Mari or Dura-Europos… I recommend spending a morning in this museum and then reaching Palmyra. " Jean-Claude Sylvestre, Paris, France.

Room 1. Rebuilding of a house of Tell Bouqras (site to the south-east of Deir ez-Zor). The main pieces are displayed in the left bedroom of the house.

Room 2. It comes from the reconstitution of a door of Tell Bderi (south of Hassaké). The objects of the Mari civilization (including cylindrical seals) and the Empire empire and beautiful jewels of Tell Brak (manufactured in 2300 BC), including some gold, are presented. It is amazing how much contemporary jewellers are still inspired by these forms today. At the centre of the passage to room 3, a showcase is devoted to the Hourrites, a non Semitic population originating in Anatolia.

Room 3. Reconstitution of Room 64 of the Royal Mari Palace. It opened on the throne hall and it was in this hall that the statue of the goddess in from vase was found. The frescoes illustrate the royal investiture (on the sides, two dates of dates harvest and, in the upper register, meeting between the king of Mari and the goddess Ishtar). On the Neo-Assyrian Djézireh, notice the door from Tell Ajaja. It is the god Lamassou, a winged bull with a human face.

The Assyrian reconstructed garden, like the rooms of the nearby windows, comes from Hard Katlimmu. Closing the room, the Dura-Europos's Nest presents copies of the paintings of the temple of Bêl. The most recent part of the museum is devoted to the inhabitants of the steppe. It is essential to reserve a little bit of its concentration to look at the valuable ethnographic data identified here.

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.

At the time of our passage, the city no longer had a tourist office, a new office was to open in the summer of 2010 in the garaj'Pullman, and another near the suspended bridge.