<p align="left"><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #0364ab; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #808080;"><strong>Damascus &amp; South Region</strong></span> <span style="color: #000000;">|</span> </span><a href="Template1.aspx?MenuID=138"><span style="color: #0364ab; font-size: xx-small;">Central Region</span></a><span style="color: #0364ab; font-size: xx-small;"> <span style="color: #000000;">|</span> </span><a href="Template1.aspx?MenuID=140"><span style="color: #0364ab; font-size: xx-small;">Aleppo &amp; North Region</span></a><span style="color: #0364ab; font-size: xx-small;"> <span style="color: #000000;">|</span> </span><a href="Template1.aspx?MenuID=141"><span style="color: #0364ab; font-size: xx-small;">Mediterranean Region</span></a><span style="color: #0364ab; font-size: xx-small;"> <span style="color: #000000;">|</span> </span><a href="Template1.aspx?MenuID=142"><span style="color: #0364ab; font-size: xx-small;">East Region</span></a><span style="color: #0364ab; font-size: xx-small;"> <br /></span><br /><br /><br /><span style="color: #0364ab;">- </span><a href="#Damascus"><span style="color: #0364ab;">Damascus<br /></span></a><span style="color: #0364ab;">- </span><a href="#Maaloula"><span style="color: #0364ab;">Maalula<br /></span></a><span style="color: #0364ab;">- </span><a href="#Seidnaya"><span style="color: #0364ab;">Seidnaya<br /></span></a><span style="color: #0364ab;">- </span><a href="#Bosra"><span style="color: #0364ab;">Bosra</span></a><br /><span style="color: #0364ab;">- </span><a href="#Shahba"><span style="color: #0364ab;">Shahba</span></a><br /><span style="color: #0364ab;">- </span><a href="#Deir Mar Mousa"><span style="color: #0364ab;">Deir Mar Mousa</span></a><br /><span style="color: #0364ab;">- </span><a href="#Qanawat"><span style="color: #0364ab;">Qanawat</span></a><br /><br /><br /></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;"><strong><a name="Damascus"></a>DAMASCUS</strong> <br /><br /> "She measures time not by days, months or years, but by the empires she has seen rise and crumble to ruin. She is a type of immortality. Damascus has seen all that ever occurred on earth and still she lives. She has looked upon the dry bones of a thousand empires, and will see the tombs of a thousand more before she dies."<br />The city could be viewed from Mount Kassioun which dominates the city. The mountain itself has attracted several legends including the belief that here Abraham had the unity of God revealed to him<br /><br /><strong>Damascus - Umayyad Mosque:<br /></strong><br />Lying at the east end of Souk al Hamidiyeh, it is a place of magnificent beauty. This site has been marked by sacred enclosures as far back as the second millennium BC.<br />This cult center was first used as a temple (9th century BC) dedicated to the worship of Hadad, who is the Aramean deity representing sun and thunder. Later on, in the 1st century AD, it was taken by the Romans to make it larger Temple of God of the Gods, Jupiter. <br />When the Roman capital moved from Rome to Constantinople in 330, Christianity began to spread in the empire and was soon considered the official religion. It was then that the Emperor Theodosius (ruled 193 - 211) abolished pagan worship and made it the cathedral of the city, thus it was dedicated to John the Baptist.<br />With the taking of Damascus by the Arabs in 636, Christians were generally allowed to continue to use their churches and Muslims were settled in new areas of the city. During the first 70 years, the Muslims had built a mud brick structure against the southern wall so that they could pray. Afterwards, Christians became few and Muslims were increasing, so it was changed into a mosque under the rule of the Caliph al-Walid (ruled 705 - 715). The renovation work was done by Architects from Constantinople, Egypt, and Damascus itself.<br />It now holds the Shrine of John the Baptist's head, and there are many rumors to explain how it came to be here. One is that Herod sent it to Damascus so that the Romans could be sure of his execution; while another is that when the Arabs took over the church, John the Baptist's blood bubbled and when the church was being demolished his head was found underneath it with skin and hair.<br />The plan of the mosque is quite simple; there is a magnificent courtyard which is heavily decorated by mosaics. In the middle of the courtyard are the Dome of the hours, the ablutions fountain and the beautifully decorated Dome of the treasure.<br />This mosque is one of the few mosques that has three minarets, Minaret of the Bride (9th and 12th centuries), Minaret of Qayetbey (15th century), and the Minaret of Issa (Jesus) (13th century).<br /><br /><strong>Damascus - Citadel:</strong><br /><br />Given its setting on flat ground, hemmed in by cluttered urban surrounds, the fortifications never presented the same forbidding front. This citadel stands at the northwest corner of the Old City. It is much smaller than that of Aleppo, and is the only citadel in Syria that is on the same level as the rest of the city.<br />The Roman cast rum or camp was here. Still, there's no firm evidence it was used as military base in Roman times. Most of the construction is from the Ayyūbid and Mameluke periods but heavy use since then has not been kind to the fabric. The Sultan al Adel used this fortification to preserve Damascus (1207) against the Crusaders and Mongols in the 13th century. Then Damascus had become the key center of Arab resistance to the Crusader presence, a role built up particularly under the leadership of Saladin (1176 - 93).<br />In 1260, however, it was destroyed by the first Mongol invasion. It was rebuilt by the Mameluke Sultan Baybars, who made sure that the original 16 towers and walls were rebuilt. However, it was to be heavily knocked down by the second Mongol invasion in 1400 by Timurlenk (Tamerlane). The Ottomans did not really pay much attention to it and it was only slightly repaired, though they used it as military base.<br />The citadel was only abandoned as a prison in 1985.<br />At the present it's under heavy reconstructions and excavation work, which will hopefully uncover its mysterious history.<br /><br /><strong>Damascus - Souks:<br /></strong><br /><strong>Souk Al Hamidieh:<br /></strong><br />Most of the souk is arched over with high iron ribs with corrugated metal. This bazaar has been rebuilt several times, most recently in the 13th century. It is built on the site of an ancient Roman fortress. Some of these remains can still be seen as you walk through the souk. It has an entrance to one of the most remarkable Islamic institutions in Damascus, the Maristan Nūr al-Din (Hospital of Nūr al-Din).<br />The Hamidiyeh is a souk for general goods where a lot of souvenirs can be bought. Women's clothing (gallabiyas), gold lame toreador pants, nargilehs (hubble-bubble pipes), jewelry, chessboards and inlaid mosaic boxes are the most popular among tourists.<br />It's still alive maintaining its purpose and continuing to be a great place for souvenir shopping.<br /><br /><strong>Souk Midhat Pasha:<br /></strong><br />This souk (known as Suq al Taweel - in Roman, Via Recta) was the main link between east and west Damascus. It is parallel to Souk al-Hamidiyeh and runs from Bab Sharki (Eastern Gate) to Bab al-Jabieh (Gate of the Water Trough). This is where the Roman gate of Jupiter once stood. When it was taken over by the Greeks and Alexander the Great, the "old city" was re-designed into the Hippodamian grid pattern, following the ideas of Hippodamus. Under Roman rule, Via Recta was widened and became a colonnaded thoroughfare. These columns are still recognizable at the moment.<br />The Mosque of Hisham (built in 1427), with fine stalactite design, is a bit further on. On the eastern side (Bab Sharki) you will find a Roman arch, which was found by workmen under the French Mandate.<br />The Greek Orthodox Patriarchal church of Virgin Mary is to the north of the arch, this piece of land has been the site of a church going as far back as the Byzantine Empire. This area is the Christian quarter of Damascus, where Christians were allowed to have their churches during the Arab invasions.<br />It was rebuilt in 1878 by the governor of Damascus, Midhat Pasha. The most interesting vestige in this souk is the Arabic style house known as Maktab Anbar.<br /><br /><strong>Souk Al Harir (Silk Bazaar)<br /></strong><br />This souk which is situated near the Umayyad mosque was built by Darwish Pasha in 1574. It joins Al Hamidiyeh suq on one side and souk al Khayateen (tailors bazaar) on the other. In this souk is also Madrasa Jaqmaqiye (the Museum of Arabic Epigraphy) built in 1418 - 20 by the Mameluke governor of Damascus, Jaqmaq al Argunsaei, who later became Sultan of Cairo in 1438 - 52. The mausoleum of Nūr al Din Zengi is located between these two Souks. It was originally housed in Madrasa Aziziye which has disappeared in most, leaving an isolated arch and the burial chamber.<br /><br /><strong>Souk Al Bzouriyeh (Spices Bazaar)<br /></strong><br />This is the souk that extends from souk Midhat Pasha to the Azem palace. It is famous for its small spice and soap shops and for the al- Nūri bath - one of the few baths remaining from the 12th century. There is also Khan Assaad Pasha in the souk.<br /><br /><strong>Damascus - Azem Palace and Khans:<br /></strong><br />This old palace goes back to show us the Ottoman residences of Damascus. The Azem Palace was built in the 18th century as a palatial residence for Assaad Pasha al-Azem, Ottoman governor of Damascus for 14 years. It is considered a great example of Damascene houses. The governor had diverted the waters of Barada to his gardens and summoned most carpenters and masons in Damascus. He also ordered for Roman columns from Bosra to be brought in along with the ancient paving of Banyas.<br />It is divided into separate quarters, one for the kitchens, one for the haremlek (women section), where the governor's family used to live in private, and the third was the selamlek where the governor and other male members of the family would receive guests and conduct their business. Along the south side of the selamlek is a liwan that is very deep into the wall to free it from sunlight during the day. Next to this liwan is a room where the governor would receive his guests, there is a beautiful fountain at the center of its marble floor. The selamlek is, for the most part, used as the Museum of Popular Arts and Tradition. Each room is designed and decorated to show you some of the typical Damascene traditions, including preparation for Hajj and preparation for marriage.<br />It covers the main concentration of traditional khans - the warehouses for the receiving, storing and sending of trade goods and the provision of accommodation to traders.<br />The palace is surrounded with many Khans such as Khan al-Gumruk, Kan al-Haramain, Hammam al-Qishani, Hammam Nūr al-Din, Khan al-Harir and Khan Assaad Pasha.<br /><br /><strong>Damascus - National Museum:<br /></strong><br />The National Museum of Damascus is one of the world's great collections of archaeological and historical material.<br />The museum was founded in 1919 and was originally set up, along with the Arab Academy, in the Madrasa al-Adeliye. In 1936, the east wing of the present complex was built. From 1936 to 1952, the building's entrance was embellished by the reconstructions of the gateway from Qasr al-Heir West, an Umayyad desert palace of the eighth century. <br />It would be impossible to do it justice in a few words. This museum contains a world-class archaeological and historical collection. The archaeological and historical collections of the Museum are arranged in four Departments: Pre-historic, Ancient Syria, Classical and Arab Islamic Antiquities. Later a Contemporary Art Department was opened.<br />The façade of this museum comprises two semi-cylindrical towers enclosing a rectangular portal, the latter surmounted by a large blank Syrian arch, familiar in the local repertoire for several centuries.<br />It contains rooms devoted to Ras Shamra (Ugarit) with small clay tablets of what is known to be the oldest Alphabet in the world, the Ugaritic Alphabet. It also contains the ivory head of an unknown prince, a collection of cylinder seals, and Mycenaean pottery imported from Greece. Another room is devoted to Mari, the Bronze Age sight on the Euphrates. Here one will find the 3rd Millennium treasure of King Cansud. Further on, you will find a room concentrating on finds from Raqqa, the Abbassid city on the Euphrates. Another hall contains Islamic jewelry, coins and armor, and the final hall in the Byzantine and Islamic Departments is the Damascus Salon, a wood-and-marble paneled room from an 18th-century palace.<br />As for the other two Departments, there are a few rooms exhibiting pottery, sculptures and glassware ranging from the Phoenicians to the classical periods. There are rooms concentrating on the Hauran and Jebel al Arab, where most objects are made of Basalt. Another hall contains classical statues carved in ivory, bronze, and marble, which were found at Palmyra. Further on lies the Palmyra room and adjacent to that is the Dora Europos room.<br />The most popular part of the museum is the 2nd century AD Synagogue that has been reconstructed. Its walls are covered with Talmudic injunctions and paintings of human figures that are in scenes from the Scriptures.<br /><br /><strong>Damascus - The Tekkiye Mosque Complex:<br /></strong><br />East of the National Museum, and just over a kilometer west of the Old City lies the Tekkiye mosque complex. The complex was intended to service the great annual pilgrimage to Mecca whose custody was one of the most important duties of the Governor of the vilayat (provinces) of Damascus and the income from which was one of the city's major sources of prosperity.<br />The complex was built on the site of Qasr al Ablaq, a Mameluke palace built by Baybars. It was built at the order of Suleiman the Magnificent (the Great Sultan Suleiman I), was planned by the Architect Sinan and was built mostly by Christian masons and architects who had converted to Islam.<br /><br />The complex consists of three main parts:<br /><br />- The mosque itself is the finest Ottoman monument in the city.<br />- The buildings that surround the mosque's courtyard were also built and planned by Sinan. They were built also as accommodation for the Dervishes, who are known for their religious chants and whirling. It was used later as a khan to house pilgrims who were on their way to Mecca.<br />- On the east side is a Koraanic School called the Selimiye Madrasa, which was added under Suleimans successor, Sultan Selim II between 1566 and 1574 (a decade after the Tekkiye and it's not Sinan's work). The prayer room of the Madrasa is still used as a school to teach Koran. The buildings round the school are currently being used by craftsmen, who sell products such as glass, copper, jewelry, inlaid boxes and carpets.<br />East of the Tekkiye complex lies the Military Museum, this houses old weaponry and combat tools. This weaponry ranges from 13th century weapons used against the Crusaders and Mongols to modern Russian weaponry.<br /><br /><strong> The Straight Street / Via Recta (modern Souk Bab Touma):<br /></strong><br />Straight street or in Roman, Via Recta, was the main link between east and west Damascus. When it was taken over by the Greeks and Alexander the Great, the "old city" was redesigned into the Hippodamian grid pattern, following the ideas of Hippodamus. This reflected the Greek sense of order. Under Roman rule, Via Recta was widened and became a colonnaded thoroughfare. These columns are still recognizable at the moment.<br />Starting from the western section of this Street you will be passing through the Arab Gate of the Water Trough, Bab al-Jabiye. This is where the Roman gate of Jupiter once stood. The Mosque of Hisham (built in 1427), with fine stalactite design, is a bit further on. It is believed that the theatre built by Herod the Great in the 1st century BC was in this area. Going further into the covered section of the street you will find two khans (Khan Djaqmaq, and Khan al-Zait), the former is a Mameluke structure built in 1420, the latter was originally a caravanserai for olive oil.<br />On the eastern side you will find a Roman arch, which was found by workmen under the French Mandate. It is thought to have been part of a 3rd century AD Tetrapylon at the intersection of the Via Recta. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchal church of Virgin Mary is to the north of the arch, this piece of land has been the site of a church going as far back as the Byzantine Empire.<br />This area is the Christian quarter of Damascus, where Christians were allowed to have their churches during the Arab invasions. To the south is the Jewish quarter (although Christians now mostly inhabit it). Further on lies St. Paul's chapel, which is where St. Paul fled by being dropped in a basket through a window in the wall. The end of Straight Street is where Bab Sharki lies, the Roman gate of the Sun.<br /><br />The House of Hananiya is nearby. Hananiya is the one who restored Paul's sight in Acts 9:17.<br /><br /><strong>Old Churches:<br /></strong><br /><strong>St. Paul's Church:<br /></strong><br />It commemorates the memory of St. Paul, whose name was Saul of Tarsus, charged by the Romans to persecute the Christians. As he approached the village of Daraya, a burst of blinding light took his sight away, and he heard Jesus Christ ask him "Saul, why do you persecute me? This was a vision of faith.<br />He was taken unconscious to Damascus, attended by Hananiya, Christ's disciple, and became one of the staunchest advocates of Christianity. His Jewish peers decided to kill him, but he hid in a house by the city wall. The church is located at the site of his escape. He traveled to Antioch, Athens, and Rome, after a brief stay in Jerusalem, and continued to teach the gospel until he died.<br /> <br /><strong>St. Ananias' Church:<br /></strong><br />Ananias was a disciple of Jesus, and is traditionally listed as one of the Seventy Disciples whose mission is recorded in Luke 10. He also was the man reported in the Bible to have been sent by God to heal Paul's blindness and join him with the Church. He restored his eye-sight and baptized him. He became the first bishop of Damascus, and was stoned to death in 40.<br /> <br /><strong>Al Maryamieh; </strong>the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and the entire East:<br /><br />The seat of the patriarchate was formerly in Antioch, in what is now Turkey. Now it is in Damascus, Syria, located on the "street called Straight." The current patriarch is His Beatitude Patriarch Ignatius IV (Hazim) of Antioch and the entire East<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;"><strong>M<a name="Maaloula"></a>AALOULA<br /><br /></strong>50 km north of Damascus; Maaloula is situated at an altitude of more than 1500 meters. By far, the most important Christian site in Syria is the magnificent village of Maaloula. The word Maaloula means entrance in Aramaic, probably referring to the gorge in between the mountains. Maaloula is the one of the few remaining villages in the world that still speak Aramaic, the language of Jesus Christ. <br />Though rich in historical and religious associations, Maaloula preserves only a few remains of its past. It is, however, a village of some charm, its tempered houses piled up on the lower slopes of an escarpment rising sheer above the village. There is an uncompromising beauty to the setting and the gorge that cuts into the escarpment at the back.<br />Maaloula has three claims to fame; its setting; its early Christian associations; and the resistance of the villagers to the final replacement of Aramaic by Arabic as the language of communication. There may be some doubt about the extent to which Aramaic, the language spoken by Christ and the popular lingua franca of the area until the Arab conquest in the seventh century, has remained in active use to the present day. However, even the vestigial survival of West Aramaic (Syriac) as a spoken tongue indicates the tenacity with which the inhabitants of Maaloula have clung to their identity.<br /><br /><strong>St. Sergious Chapel<br /><br /></strong>There are two chapels above the village whose loyalty is divided between the Greek Catholic and the Orthodox churches. The first chapel, which is of the Greek Catholics, is on the escarpment left of the gorge; the St. Sergious convent (Mar Sarkis). This tiny chapel, probably built on the site of a pagan temple, has architectural elements which go back to Byzantine period and may have been constructed even before the Council of Nicaea in 325; that is evidenced by the fact that it has a round altar, which was prohibited at the Council. Mar Sarkis is designed after the pattern of the martyrion (a shrine dedicated to a martyr) and is dedicated to Mar Sarkis (St. Sergious), a Roman soldier who was executed for his Christian beliefs (Sergious has a grander basilica in Rasafeh, Syria). It has a beautiful display of icons on the entrance to the altar; they date back to the 13th to 18th centuries, including one of the Virgin Mary and another of the martyrs Sergious and Bacchus. This chapel is considered one of the oldest, if not the oldest, in Christendom. On the plateau behind the church, there are also remains of ancient rock-cut tombs.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;"><strong>St. Thecla Monastery<br /><br /></strong>Downward into the village, on the right of the gorge, is the other chapel, a Greek Orthodox institution dedicated to St Thecla (Mar Takla), it's located in the lower monastery. Thecla was the daughter of a Seleucid prince and a young disciple of St. Paul whose dramatic life story is told in the apocryphal, and possibly legendary, Acts of Paul and Thecla. She is believed to be buried in the mountain just above the monastery. On the road that leaves the village; look for a steep path on the right that leads to a terrace where a small waterfall welcomes the pilgrims. The building was constructed on several levels. On the top floor is a modern church with a dome and a cave into which filters water with miraculous properties. This religious monument receives an unending stream of Christian and Muslim pilgrims. Other religious relics can be found in the convent but what strikes one most is the peaceful atmosphere of the place.<br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;"><strong>SE<a name="Seidnaya"></a>IDNAYA</strong> <br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;">27 km north of Damascus; Seidnaya is more notable as a place of religious pilgrimage than for any outstanding remains. In fact, few reminders of its origins can be distilled from centuries of legends.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;"><strong>The Lady Virgin Monastery<br /><br /></strong>The chapel and convent is perched on an outcrop of rock. The monastery was founded in 547 AD. According to legend, the Virgin Mary appeared to Emperor Justinian first as a beautiful gazelle and then as an icon; she then asked him to found the monastery in her honor, even providing the plan of the building. The miracles associated with the image of the Virgin brought the chapel wide fame particularly during and after the middle age. It became the most famous center for pilgrimage in the east, after Jerusalem. Even in times of open hostility between the Franks in Jerusalem and the Muslims of Damascus, Christian pilgrims reached Seidnaya.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;"><strong>B<a name="Bosra"></a>OSRA<br /><br /></strong>140 km south of Damascus, to be more specific, south of Suweida we see Bosra, which is, after Palmyra, the most important site of the Roman period in Syria, primarily because of the magnificent and exceptionally intact Roman theatre (early 2nd century AD).<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;">In Roman times, the ecology was different and the Hauran was one of the granaries of the Empire. Its sudden rise to prosperity as the Pax Romana took hold in the first century AD is reflected in the ambitious scale of the civic re-planning later in the century. The town of Bosra, however, had played role in earlier periods. An Early Bronze Age settlement, it is mentioned in Egyptian 18th dynasty records as Bosrana. It became part of the Seleucid domains after Alexander's conquests and was seized by Judas Maccabeus in 163 BC. When the Nabataean Kingdom rose to local prominence in the first century BC, Bosra came within the northern reaches of their control though it was later the object of Herodian ambitions from Palestine. From AD 70 to 106, in the final stages of the Nabataean Kingdom, Bosra was made the capital.<br /><br /><strong>SHA<a name="Shahba"></a>HBA<br /></strong><br />This site shares Bosra the importance of all Roman sites all over Syria. 87 km south of Damascus, between the volcanic region of Ledja to the west and Jebel al-Arab to the south east we see Shahba. A Curious town that is, from an archaeological point of view, the only town in the Roman Hauran - apart from the capital, Bosra - built to a grid pattern, and the walls are broadly oriented towards the cardinal points of the compass. It is also the only "new town" in Syria established according to a purely Roman plan (the others being Hellenistic, Nabataean or Pre-Hellenistic in origin and modified by Romans). The architectural style adopted in Shahba was not found elsewhere in the Hauran which largely lacks buildings of the mid third century.<br /><br /><strong>D<a name="Deir Mar Mousa"></a>EIR MAR MOUSA<br /><br /></strong>The ancient Syrian monastery of St. Moses the Abyssinian (Deir Mar Musa el-Habashi) overlooks a harsh valley in the mountains east of the small town of Nabk, 80 km north of Damascus. It is about 1320 meters above sea level.<br />The church of the monastery was built in 1058 AD. It is a square of about 10*10-meters and divided into two sections. The larger section is a nave, with two aisles, illuminated by a high eastern window. The second section is the sanctuary containing the altar and the apse; it is separated from the rest of the church by a stone and wooden chancel screen.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;">To date, three layers of frescoes have been revealed in the church. The first layer is from the middle of the 11th century AD, the second from the end of the 11th century, and the third from the end of the 12th or the beginning of the 13th century.<br /><br /><strong>Q<a name="Qanawat"></a>ANAWAT<br /></strong><br />100 km south east of Damascus is a site of considerable interest. Its first historical mention dates to the reign of Herod the Great around the first century BC when Nabatean Arab forces inflicted a humiliating defeat in the Jewish forces. <br />From Pompey's time until the period of Trajan, it was listed as one of the cities of the Decapolis, a loose federation allowed by the Romans to retain some degree of civic autonomy. Incorporated into the province of Syria (1st century), it was titled Septima Canatha by Septimus Severus and transferred to the province of Arabia at end of the second century. Christianity flourished in the fourth and fifth centuries and it became the seat of the bishop. The town fell to the Arabs in 637, after Damascus' capture, and then declined. It was virtually deserted by the mid 19th century.<br />Most of the ruins belong to the Christian period, especially the renovated parts of the buildings and the additions that have been made. We can see that the column decorations, that are surrounding the platform of the sun god Helios' temple, are rich as in the Baalbek/Palmyra tradition<br /></span></p>
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