you will get used to all the blue-eyed blondes and redheads here, some with the surname Salibi, meaning ''of the cross''. Rivalling Crac des Chevaliers for most impressive citadel in Syria is Qal'at Saladin, set in a beautiful gorge high in the mountains near the resort town of Slenfeh, which itself has become a major tourist draw in this part of the country thanks to its cool breeze and abundance of high-end property for rent during the holiday season.
Saladin's extraordinary setting on a rocky outcrop falling away steeply on three sides is augmented by the enormous, deep channel cut through the bedrock across the one side of the promontory (formerly) accessible by land, thereby cutting off the fortress entirely save for a single drawbridge. This massive undertaking is difficult to conceive when one considers it was achieved by manual labour using primitive tools; the resulting path through solid rock thirty metres high is nothing short of incredible.
Though the castles and fortresses of Crusader Syria are impressive enough, the Roman ruins at Palmyra still reign as the most visited tourism site in the country. Palmyra, three hours' drive from Damascus, is set in splendid isolation on a desert plain, removed from the densely populated centres to the west.
A stay at Zenobia Cham Palace will allow you to walk right out into the ruins, though the budget option Hotel Heliopolis allows a better overview of the site. Similarly evocative is Apamea, near Aleppo, less visited but equally captivating nonetheless, Apamea is set on a gentle hill where the landscape adds to the effect of the two-kilometre colonnade, the main thoroughfare of a thriving ancient city lost to the past.
The majestic colonnade has been re-erected and stands starkly on the landscape; originally stretching almost two kilometres, the colonnade is an excellent vantage point for Qal'at al-Mudiq, currently used as an archaeological museum displaying mosaics recovering among Apamea's Roman and Byzantine ruins. The two fortresses in the vicinity are located on opposite banks of the Orontes River, whose name derives from the Greek word for disobedient as the Orontes is the only river in Syria to flow south to north.
Syria is a colourful country in a black-and-white world. It gets a lot of bad press in the West, mostly because the Syrian government doesn't toe the line drawn by its Western counterparts with regard to its views in international affairs. This, however, is no deterrent to an enjoyable visit to a diverse, friendly, and well-fed nation with a fascinating history and proud people. If you are adventurous enough to consider holidays in places more exotic than Phuket or London, Syria will not disappoint.
Prev
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Next
