Tour of Syria before leaving Jordan

The Bazaar was a centre of Syrian metropolis, it is rather younger that the town itself. In fact, there were at least thirty bazaars (markets) there, divided according to various sorts of goods. Despite the fact that the buildings of originally merchant and handicrafts´ quarter are not just the right constructions of old Damascus, a life and movement are pulsing inside covered streets now as well as at any time before in past. A fascinating atmosphere of old bazaar was preserved till now.

Merchant streets of Damascus Old Town are magnificent and enchanting side-scene for well paid tourists, on the other hand, just here, there is a place of endless interchange of view in oriental style and create some form of social life, where the people meet and make acquaintance with novelties. A dominating atmosphere, which just made famous old Damascus (known as „Orient Eye“, in verses of Arab poets), revokes as „Beauty Necklace“ or „Paradise Bird Feathers“. So, bazaar quarter, not far distant from   Umayo Mosque, is strictly divided according to guilds, from time immorial.

Not far from the main Hamadiyeh Souk lies the Straight Street, the old Via Recta, a Roman street that runs from east to west through the old city of Damascus. The name is famous from the Bible as it was visited by St. Paul as recorded in the book of Acts and contains several interesting sights from the Roman, Christian and Islamic periods.
When the Greeks ruled the city they followed their usual grid pattern that dated from Hippodamus’ time, then under Roman rule the street was widened and colonnaded; many columns can still be seen.

The streets starts at it’s eastern end with the Bab Sharqi, what was the Roman gate of the Sun and close by is St Ananias’ House: "So the Lord said to him (Ananias), 'Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying" (Acts 9:11).

Also close by is the window from St Paul was lowered: “At once he began to preach in the [Damascus] synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. All those who heard him were astonished and asked, "Isn't he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn't he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?" Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ.

After many days had gone by, the Jews conspired to kill him, but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall“. (Acts 9:20-25).

So, old Jewish Quarter (Bazaar al-Arvan) offers a space (in shade of citadel) to merchant (business) stands (kiosks) with donkeys and sellers of dirts serving as a combustible in Ali Pasha Bazaar. Here, there are offered, except other products, excellent peaches from orchards of outskirts of Damascus. You can buy here, for instance, olives, dried fruit, nuts or pistaches. All goods is exhibited in old chipped bowls or linen sacks.

Noisy praising of this goods, since a momemt when some potential client could appear, is mastered by fruit sellers as well as by merchants in An-Nahhasin Quarter, where coppersmith handicraft is concentrated. Immediately, when somebody could be interested in buying of some subject, the sellers do their best, with unusual mastery, and inimitable rush of words, to allure buyers from persons, passing by. Haggling regarding price of goods, this is natural matter.

Greatest danger in this respect is menacing, first of all, in Al-Hamidia Bazaar. It is true that antiquaries sell everywhere „genuine“ sabres or daggers from Damascus, but there are no valuable weapons, worked with immense skill sometimes in Middle Age time period. Ion this case, the products are manufactured in modern factories, situated in Syrian capital.

So, after Al-Hamidia Bazaar follow small shops and kiosks (stands) of many handicraft branches. Suleiman Pasha Bazaar gives a witness of especially admired Oriental handicraft: In small shops, in front of them, and everywhere, there are hanging or placed rare carpets of Syrian carpets´ binders.

The Krak of the Knights, described by T.E. Lawrence as 'the best preserved and most wholly admirable castle in the world,' is the easternmost of a chain of five castles sited so as to secure the Homs Gap...

The castle stands upon a southern spur of the Gebel Alawi, on the site of an earlier Islamic 'Castle of the Kurds.' In 1142 it was given by Raymond, Count of Tripoli, into the care of the Knights Hospitallers, and it was they who, during the ensuing fifty years, remodelled and developed it as the most distinguished work of military architecture of its time.

 The Krak has two concentric lines of defence, the inner ramparts lying close to the outer and continuously dominating them. The single ward of the original eleventh-century castle covered about the same area as the later inner enclosure, and some of the remains of the early work on the crest of the spur are incorporated in the existing building. ."

The outer curtain is furnished on the north and west sides with eight round towers, of which one is later than the Crusader occupation, and of which two form the north barbican, also extended at a later date

Latakia is Syria’s main sea-port on the Mediterranean (186 km southwest of Aleppo). It has retained its importance since ancient times. Latakia was one of the five cities built by Saluqos Nikator in the second century B.C. He named it after his mother, Laudetia. Not many ancient remains have survived in Latakia, but there are four columns and a Roman arch from the time of Septimus Severus ( circa 200 A.D.), in addition to a beautiful Ottoman construction called “Khan al-Dukhan”, which is now a museum.		Ras Al Bassit
Latakia is the sea-gate to Syria. It is well-provided with accommodation, and is well-placed as a base from which to explore the coastal regions of the country. There are beaches, mountains, archaeological sites and many relics of the Crusaders, all within a few hours from each other.
Museum of Latakia Meridien Hotel - Latakia
Mention should also be made of the historically important Ras Shamra, only 16 km to the north of Latakia. 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 the 13th centuries B.C. It is the kingdom that gave humanity the first alphabet in the world. This alphabet is still preserved in a clay tablet at the National Museum in Damascus. Documents, statues and jewels from the Ugarit kingdom are also on display at the Latakia, Aleppo and Tartus museums.
Salah El Din Citadel Old Village
Jableh is another Syrian seaside town, 28 km to the south of Latakia. has a theatre built to accommodate 7,000 to 8,000 spectators. Close to Jableh is Tel Sokas, where archaeological relics were recently found, now on exhibition at the Damascus and the Tartus museums.

Samra Beach, Latakiya


Aleppo, Syria

This is the second capital of Syria 350 km north of Damascus, and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in history. Abraham (pbuh) 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 BC, Aleppo has been a flourishing city, with a unique strategic position. This position gave the city a distinctive role from the days of the Akkadian 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 BC. This position also made it subject to invasions from various races; from Hittites, Egyptians, Assyrians, Persians, Greeks and Romans.

Aleppo was prominent in the Christian era; it became a Bishopric and a huge cathedral was built in it, which is still standing.

The conflict between Byzantium and Persia, however, resulted in the latter's occupation of Aleppo in 440 AD. The Persians robbed the city, burned considerable parts of it and damaged many of its features. Though expelled by Justinian, the Persians still threatened Aleppo and frightened its inhabitants until the Arab Islamic conquest came in 636 AD.

The city then regained its status, both cultural and commercial. Apart from the Umayyad and Abbasid periods in which Aleppo flourished, the Hamadani state established by Sayf Addawla in 944 AD made Aleppo the northern capital of Syria. Sayf Addawla built Aleppo's famous citadel, and in his days the city enjoyed great prosperity and fame in science, literature and medicine, despite this leader's military ambitions. Mention should be made of the two most prominent poets, Al-Mutanabbi and Abu Al-Firas Al-Hamadani; of the philosopher and scientist, Al-Farabi; and of the linguist, Ibn Kahlaweh, all of whom lived in Sayf Addawla's court and were renowned for great knowledge and scholarship.

Aleppo was 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.

Nowadays, Aleppo is famous for its ancient citadel with medieval fortress, the great Umayyad mosque, and the extraordinary souqs (bazaars) with every conceivable kind of article for sale. It was and still the far distant trade center when Shakespeare mentioned it in Macbeth and Othello.

The old city was surrounded by a wall incorporating defense towers and fortified gates built during the Islamic period. A large part of the wall still standing.

The Archaeological Museum of Aleppo contains exhibits from the stone age to modern times.

It has particularly interesting collection of antiquities from some of the most ancient sites in Syria including Mari, Ugarit, and Ebla, as well as objects found in the Euphrates Basin, Hama, Tell Halaf and Ayn Dara, in addition to remains from Greek, Roman, Arab and Islamic periods.