PALMYRA

PALMYRA:

is like a 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. . For generations this oasis was known as Tadmor.

THE GREAT TEMPLE OF BEL:

The temple is surrounded by a great blank wall, 200 meters on each side The wall surrounding it lined with porticos whose columns are still standing for the most part.

Temple of Baal Shamin:

The remains of the temple dedicated to Baal Shamin, the Semitic deity which resembles Bel is located to the northeast of the main Tetrapylon. It was first built in 17 AD but was further built and reconstructed in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. It has been very well renovated.

PALMYRA	THE GREAT TEMPLE OF BEL	Temple of Baal Shamin

Fakhredin Al Maany Castle:

This intimidating castle which stands on top of a mountain to the west of Palmyra's vestiges was built in the 16th century. It was surrounded by a moat, leaving no access to it except by a narrow bridge.

THE VALLEY OF THE TOMBS:

There are four types of burial place to be found here: the tomb-tower (a square structure with narrow windows), the house - tomb (the one that stands in the perspective from the Great Colonnade for example), the hypogeum-tower (a stairway linking a network of underground chambers inside a tomb-tower, and finally the hypogeum tomb, built to receive the bodies of one family over a period of two centuries, a real underground house decorated with frescoes, each cell of which is sealed with a sculpture representing with deceased.

THE MUSEUM: HISTORY AND FOLKLORE:

A visit to the Archaeological Museum which has been installed in a building specially built for it, will answer most of the questions the visitor has been asking him-self as he walked around the ancient city.

Fakhredin Al Maany  Castle	THE VALLEY OF THE  TOMBS	THE MUSEUM: HISTORY AND FOLKLORE

Qasr El-Hir Al-Sharqi:

110 km north-east of Palmyra, this palace was built by the Caliph Hisham in 628, it contains a palace-residence for the caliph and for the garrisons. There is a small mosque built in the style of the Omayyad Mosque in Damascus, there is a bath with hot, warm and cold running water. This is the oldest Omayyad bath. The palace is surrounded by a wide garden.

Doura Europos(Salhiye):

In a marriage of the Mediterranean and the Mesopotamian worlds - fusion of the Semitic and the Aryan-- Doura Europos, an indirect legacy of Alexander the Great, was founded around 300 B.C. by order of Seleucos Nicator I, one of Alexander's surviving generals, on the fertile plain between Deir Ezzor and Abu Kemal, in a place now called (Salhiye) on the right bank of the great blue-green Euphrates.

Mari (Tell Hariri):

At a distance of 120 Km southeast of Deir Ezzor, is Tell Hariri, one of the many hills that can be found in this area. Since 1933 the tell has been an excavation site for the ancient dead city of Mari, one of the oldest cities in the world.

Qasr El-Hir Al-Sharqi	Mari (Tell Hariri)	Doura Europos(Salhiye)

Rasafe:

It was mentioned in the Old Testament due to its importance which dates back to 305 when St Sergios and his Friend Backus refused pagan cult and embraced Christianity. They were killed for the sake of the new faith. The Cathedral of Rasafe bears the name of St. Sergios. It was built in the 6th Century.

Al Raqqa:

This city, located on the Euphrates, is about 190 Km west of Al Raqqa. It has a very rich history as it was first founded and established by Alexander the Great in the 4th Century BC. It later had quite an important role under the Abbassid dynasty. This is where Haroun Al Rashid, the famous caliph who sent exclusive gifts to Charlemagne, used to spend his summers.

Rasafe	Al Raqqa

Ja’abar Citadel:

It is located near the left bank of Al-Assad lake, near Euphrates Dam at a distance of 50 km from Ar’raqqa city. This citadel stands high on top of a lime hill ascending to 347 meters above sea level. Its length from north to south is 320 meters, and its width from the east to the west is 170 meters. It is surrounded by two walls containing more than 35 towers. The mosque was built in the middle of it. The citadel is attributed to Ja’abar Ibn Sabiq Al-kushairi who lived during the fifth century of the Hegira.

Deir Al Zor:

320 KM south - east of Aleppo. Deir al-Zor is the most important urban centre in the east of Syria.. Its position  far from the capital and from the nerve-centers of the country, at the entrance to vast and developing region, gives it very considerable local importance and is enhancing its sense of its identity.
Famous for its bridge across the Euphrates which has a fine view of the river.

Ja’abar Citadel	Deir Al Zor