<p><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Verdana', 'sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="Template1.aspx?MenuID=136"><span style="color: #800080;">Damascus &amp; South Region</span></a><span style="color: #000000;"> | </span><a href="Template1.aspx?MenuID=138"><span style="color: #800080;">Central Region</span></a><span style="color: #000000;"> | </span>Aleppo &amp; North Region<span style="color: #000000;"> | </span><a href="Template1.aspx?MenuID=141">Mediterranean Region</a><span style="color: #000000;"> | </span><a href="Template1.aspx?MenuID=142">East Region</a></span> <br /><br /></p>
<p><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;">- <a href="#Aleppo">Aleppo</a><br />- <a href="#Elba">Ebla</a><a name="St Simeon Church"></a><br />- <a href="#st simeon church">Saint Simeon Church</a><br />- <span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;"><a href="#DEAD CITIES">The Dead Cities</a></span><br /></span><br /><strong><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;">ALE<a name="Aleppo"></a>PPO<br /></span></strong><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;">Situated where the largely featureless plains of northern Syria. Aleppo and Damascus vie for the title of "oldest continuously inhabited city in the world". Aleppo is a city which, perhaps even more than Damascus, readily leads you back into the past; a sort of time continuum in which flashes of the past, rather than dissipating with time, accumulates in the present.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Aleppo Citadel Syria Aleppo - Aleppo Citadel: <br /></strong><br />An enormous expanse of bare stone, rising from its base to a total height of 50 meters, shimmering white in the harsh sun, Aleppo Citadel it is. At mid point on its gleaming flanks, stood out in stylized black the legend of the fortress' foundation.<br /><br />The hill which the Citadel stands on is supposed to date back to the 16th century BC, when the Amorites were in control. However, the earliest remains that have been uncovered only go back as far as the 10th century BC when the Neo Hittites raised a temple on this site. Later it was said that Abraham milked his cow there. It became a citadel under the Seleucids, 4th - 1st centuries BC. During the Ayyūbid reign in Syria, Saladin's son, Ghazi, used it as both residence and fortress and it suffered from the Mongol invasions in 1269 and 1400.<br /><br /><strong>Aleppo Great Mosque: </strong><br /><br />The popular attribution of this building to the Umayyad applies only to its basic plan and not to any of the present fabric. It was founded around 715 AD by the Umayyad Caliph Walid I and was completed in 717 by his brother and successor Caliph Suleiman.<br /><br /><strong>Aleppo Souks and Khans (Bazaars), Khans and Madrasas:</strong> <br /><br />The main area of covered Souks is behind the Umayyad Mosque. The Aleppo souk, unlike the Damascus one, is covered by stone archways for about 30km. This makes it the longest covered souk in the Middle East. Once it became the most important trade area in Syria, a complicated maze of narrow cobbled streets forms this magnificent Bazaar.<br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Aleppo Museum: <br /><br /></strong>The Aleppo Museum contains an important collection of items from many periods with a strong emphasis on Iron Age and classical finds. The main entrance contains elements from the gateway to the temple excavated at Tell Halaf by a German expedition in the twenties. <br /><br />At the museum you will witness, starting at the main entrance, a temple gateway and a female sphinx from the Iron Age Neo Hittite settlement in Tell Hallaf. The first hall exhibits statues and cuneiform slates from Mari in the Bronze Age, including some pieces discovered by Agatha Christie's husband, Max Mallowan, at the site of Tell Brak (Tell Khouwayra). Further on, you will find a room containing Bronze Age objects from Hama and Ugarit.<br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>E<a name="Elba"></a>BLA<br /><br />Ebla (Tell Mardikh):<br /></strong><br />54 Km away from Aleppo lays the excavation site that used to be the capital of an ancient kingdom. Ebla the ancient city found at Tell Mardikh is one of the most important Bronze Age sites discovered since the Second World War but it yields few of its secrets to the naked eye.<br /><br />The history of Ebla and its place in the Bronze Age civilizations of the area is a fascinating piece of historical reconstruction marked by considerable controversy. The discovery in 1975 of a major archive of clay tablets at Ebla should throw much light on the period and the inter-relationships between the kingdoms and city/states of the area but the work of translating and publishing the tablets is making slow progress<br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>ST. SIME<a name="St simeon church"></a><a name="st simeon church"></a>ON<a name="st simeon church"></a> CHURCH<br /></strong><br />As all roads in Northern Syria lead to Qalaat Semaan, so does the history of Syrian architecture lead up to the building of the great church and monastery which were erected at the foot of St Simeon's pillar.<br />Situated 60 Km from Aleppo is the well-preserved Church of St. Simeon. This beautiful church was built in honor of St. Simeon who lived here atop a column for 37 years. This church became famous and was visited by pilgrims from all around the area.<br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>THE DE<a name="DEAD CITIES"></a>AD CITIES<br /></strong><br />The so called "Dead Cities" are found in the elevated limestone country between the Orontes and Afrin Rivers to the west and the Aleppo/Hama highway to the east. Approximately 20 - 40 km in width, the zone spreads over a much greater length covering most of 140 km between Cyrrhus in the north and Apamea in the south.<br /> <br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Bara: <br /><br /></strong>In terms of size and variety of remains, this is one of the most impressive of the dead cities.<br />Extending over an area of 6 Km sq. is the dead city of Al Bara, often considered one of the most important and beautiful in Syria. It is situated 35 Km south of Idleb on the western slopes of Al Zawiye Mountain and is at a height of 700 meters above sea level.<br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><strong>Serjila: <br /></strong><br />One of the most famous dead cities in the region is that of Serjila. It is located about 7 km from Al Bara, and is famous for the beautiful remains of Roman baths. <br />Situated in a natural basin at the bottom of the Eastern slope of the Ariha Mountain, it is the remains of a complete Byzantine settlement including remains of houses, baths, tombs and a church. The existence of baths in this region shows how prosperous this region had been. This region was rich in vine and it was a center for its cultivation and the production of wine.<br /></span></span></p>