"Ancient Syria" a Syria Travel Page by chizz

Syria was another of my favourite places to visit in the Middle East due to the fact that it is still so ancient; in fact, Damascus and Aleppo are known to be two of the oldest civilizations in the world. We started our trip in Damascus where we visited the Umayyad Mosque, Saladin's Tomb, Hamidiyeh Souq, various museums, Azem Palace, saw a whirling dervish at Umayyad Palace Restaurant, had a meal at the traditional Jabri House and looked around the souvenir shops of Straight St.. We then drove to see the Roman ruins at Bosra before stopping at the churches of Maaloula and Saidnaya. Palmyra was our next stop, seeing traditional beehive houses en route, where we saw the roman ruins, Tower Tombs, Three Brothers Tomb, mummies at the local museum and the Arab Castle. For lunch we had great pancakes at The Pancake House in the centre. Krak de Chavalier Castle was next on the route, before visiting St. Georges Convent and then seeing the famous waterwheels of Hama. We had a quick look around Homs where we stopped for the night before continuing to Aleppo which was my favourite place. Here we saw the old souqs, the Citadel, Grand Mosque, saw soap being made at Al Joubaili Soap Factory, visited the National Museum and the famous Baron Hotel where Agatha Christie stayed and had a meal at the Dar Zamaria Hotel, which served great shish taouk. St. Simeon Monastery was our last place to visit, before flying back to Kuwait from Damascus.

1. Damascus - Souq, Azem Palace, Umayyad Mosque tour, Straight St., Whirling Dervish at Umayyad Palace Restaurant.
2. Bosra - ruins
3. Churches of Maaloula and Saidnaya
4. Palmyra - ruins, museum
5. Krak de Chevaliers Castle
6. St. Georges Convent
7. Hama - waterwheels
8. Aleppo - Souq, Citadel, Grand Mosque, Soap Factory
9. St. Simeon Monastery
10. Eat Shish Taouk at Dar Zamaria Hotel, Aleppo and at Jabri House, Damascus.