"Palmyra - Bride of the Desert" Top 5 Page for this destination Palmyra by iwys

Palmyra Travel Guide: 236 reviews and 764 photos

The Great Colonnade at sunrise - Palmyra

Before you go to Palmyra, you hear so much about it that you almost become cynical. You start to think, no place can be that great, can it? But, when you wake up to your first Palmyran dawn, all of that cynicism drops away. Yes, it really is that great.

The Tetrapylon

On my first morning there, I woke up at 5am and for the next four hours I had the great ancient city of Palmyra almost to myself. I say almost because to be honest the guides with their camels were waiting, even then. Do they ever sleep? It was, nevertheless, a magical time and everything they say about the early morning pink hues of the ruins is true.

Wall of the Temple of Bel

Palmyra has a dramatic setting in the Syrian desert. It grew as a trading centre on the caravan route between Persia and the Mediterranean ports. Originally known as Tadmor, it is mentioned in the Bible. In the 3rd century AD it was a powerful city state ruled by the legendary Queen Zenobia who led a rebellion against the Romans.

Last visit to Palmyra: Aug 2006
Intro Updated Apr 24, 2007
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Reviews (22)

The Oasis Off The Beaten Path (6)

The ruins of Palmyra look dusty and arid today, but between the ruins and the new town you can see why the city... more travel advice

Tower Tombs 2 Off The Beaten Path (6)

more travel advice

Tower tombs Off The Beaten Path (6)

more travel advice

The Agora Things to Do (13)

Adjacent to the Senate is Palmyra's public meeting place: the agora. It was also a place for business transactions. It... more travel advice

Hotels (2)
See All good location

Restaurants (1)
Palmyra's travellers' restaurant

Travelogues (1)

Written Sep 14, 2006

8 photos

Palmyran Sunset

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Comments (4)

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Cristian_Uluru Dec 11, 2007 at 11:52 AM

Wonderful page!!! I have planned to visit Syria two years ago but due problems I wasn't able to go there!!! I hope to visit it in the future!!! Great tips!
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nurgle May 11, 2007 at 9:34 AM

We went to this place, ordered beer and thought it tasted suspiciously watery. Later, we found out we'd been sold Laziza, which is alcohol free, but charged a mint for it! Dodgyy!
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PA2AKgirl Oct 8, 2006 at 2:29 PM

Now I have to look at more of your pages because this one was great...thanks! We have a town called Palmyra in Pennsylvania and guess what? It looks nothing like this;-)
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jckim Oct 7, 2006 at 5:27 PM

Wonderful Palmyra pages!!