What is Hama famous for?
Hama is known for the wooden water wheels on the Orontes, the norias. The surviving wheels stand on the central stretch of the river and turn whenever the water is high enough; the largest are over twenty metres across. The city's other well-known building is the Azm Palace of the eighteenth century. Apamea, Qasr Ibn Wardan and Masyaf Castle around it make Hama the best base in central Syria.
Highlights
- The norias and the aqueduct on the Orontes
- The eighteenth-century Azm Palace
- The colonnaded street of Apamea to the northwest
- Qasr Ibn Wardan out in the steppe
- Masyaf Castle on its rock to the west
What to see
Masyaf Castle
A castle set on the rock above the town, west of Hama. In the 12th century it was the Nizari Ismaili centre in Syria, and Sinan governed from here.
The Norias of Hama
Wooden wheels standing in the Orontes. They lift the river into the aqueducts, and the groan they make as they turn is taken as the sound of the city.
Azm Palace, Hama
The governor's mansion the Azm family built in Hama before moving to Damascus. Courtyard, iwan and painted ceilings — an 18th-century Syrian house entire.
Apamea
A Hellenistic city on a plateau above the Orontes northwest of Hama. Its colonnaded street runs nearly two kilometres, lined with twisted fluted columns.
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
- August 20, 2026