Cities
Each one keeps its own scent and its own rhythm.
17 Cities
Palmyra
An oasis in the middle of the Badia, and colonnades that are still standing. How to reach Palmyra, when to go, and what is left of the ruins after 2015.
Latakia
Syria’s main port and the heart of the coast. Rocky coves, pine forests and the mildest weather in the country — what to do in Latakia, and when to go.
Homs
In the middle of Syria, at the mouth of the only natural break in the coastal mountains. What to see in Homs, when to go, and the road to Krak des Chevaliers.
Hama
A city built on both banks of the Orontes. The water wheels still turn, the Azm Palace still stands, and Apamea, Qasr Ibn Wardan and Masyaf lie around it.
Tartus
A port city on the Mediterranean. Its old town sits inside a Crusader fortress, its cathedral still stands, and Syria’s only inhabited island lies offshore.
Bosra
A town on the Hauran plain, built end to end in black basalt. How to reach Bosra from Damascus, how long you need there, and what is still standing today.
Idlib
The way in to the Dead Cities: Byzantine villages built and abandoned between the 1st and 7th centuries. The city itself was damaged in the war; this page says so.
Daraa
The capital of the Hauran plain, a few kilometres from Jordan. How to reach Daraa, what is left in the town, how far Izra and Bosra are, and how things stand.
Deir ez-Zor
The Euphrates capital of eastern Syria and the way in to Mari and Dura-Europos. What is in the city, what happened to the sites, and whether you can go.
Raqqa
A city on the north bank of the Euphrates that was the Abbasid capital for twelve years. What still stands in Raqqa, whether you can go, and what to ask.
As-Suwayda
The basalt town at the heart of Jabal al-Druze: Nabataean Suada, Roman Dionysias, Druze capital. What stands there, what is nearby, and where the region stands now.
Hasakah
The plain city where the Jaghjagh meets the Khabur and the way in to the tells of the Jazira. What is in town, how to reach the sites, whether you can go.
