How many days do you need in Bosra?
The whole of the ancient city is within walking distance and fits comfortably into one day; a second day only makes sense if you are sleeping in Bosra, which is not really practical. Be at the theatre in the first hour of the morning — that is when you get both the shade and the quiet. Keep the citadel towers and the stage building for the late morning, and the colonnaded street, the Mosque of Omar and the cathedral for the afternoon. Coming from Damascus for the day means five or six hours on the road, so you need to leave at seven.
- Suggested length
- 1 day
- Total visiting time across these places
- 10 hours 55 minutes
- Best season
- April–May, October–November
Ready-made routes
See all →
On foot · 2–3 hoursBosra crossroads walk: from the al-Omari Mosque to the al-Khidr Mosque
A walk through Roman Bosra's crossroads between two Burid mosques: the exedra columns, Bab al-Qandil, a 108-metre cryptoporticus and the tetrapylon square.
On foot · 4 hoursBosra’s southern and eastern edge: from the Roman circus to the Eastern Reservoir
A four-hour walk around Bosra's edge: the Roman circus outside the walls, the theatre-citadel, Birket al-Hajj, the Palace of Trajan and the Nabataean reservoir.
On foot · 2 hoursBosra on the Hajj road: a walk from the pilgrims’ pool to the Mamluk bathhouse
A two-hour walk through Bosra's pilgrim-caravan stop: the Ayyubid pool, a madrasa dated 1225, a Mamluk minaret and the caravan's bathhouse. Under 800 metres.
What to see
Bosra · 2nd centuryThe Nymphaeum and the Four-Column Exedra of Bosra
Two Roman monuments face each other on Bosra's main street: a fountain with a façade of nearly 24 metres, and the four-column exedra often mistaken for it.
- Bosra · 2nd-4th century
The Cryptoporticus, Market and Tetrapylon of Bosra
A vaulted gallery 108 metres long under Bosra's main street, a four-column Roman market entrance and a 4th-century tetrapylon square: what the sources describe.
- Bosra · 2nd-3rd century
The Roman Circus of Bosra, the Hippodrome South of the Theatre
South of Bosra's theatre lies a U-shaped Roman circus over 440 metres long: a chariot track, 20 rows of seating and the short walk to it from the citadel.
- Bosra · 12th century
The Al-Khidr Mosque and the Tomb of Mar Jirjis in Bosra
A small mosque in western Bosra with an inscription dated 1134, a square minaret 17 metres tall and the tomb of Mar Jirjis beside it: what the sources describe.
- Bosra · 1st century
Birkat al-Nabatiyya, the Eastern Reservoir of Bosra
A square reservoir east of Bosra's walls marked with Nabataean masons' signs: sides nearly 150 metres long, a channel from 5 km away and what is known of it today.
- Bosra · 5th-6th century
The So-called Palace of Trajan in Bosra
Named after Trajan but built as a Byzantine residence: an 1850-square-metre courtyard house in Bosra, its three-apsed upper hall, and why the name is wrong.
Transparency
- How this was chosen
- The answer on this page is written by hand. The lists are built from published records tied to this city and grow on their own as records are added.
- Facts checked
- August 2026
- Last updated
- September 15, 2026