Featured places
Mosques, caravanserais, souks, museums — and why they are worth the walk.
100 Places
The Temple of Nabu at Palmyra
A 2nd-century temple at Palmyra built for Nabu, the Babylonian god of writing and wisdom. Where it stands by the colonnaded street, what is known and its state.
Palmyra · Roman — reign of Hadrian
The Funerary Temple at Palmyra (Tomb 86)
A family tomb dressed as a temple, with a six-column portico at the west end of Palmyra’s colonnaded street. The only tomb inside the walls: what to see and where.
Palmyra · Roman
The Baths of Diocletian at Palmyra
Four giant granite columns mark the entrance to a Roman bath on Palmyra’s colonnaded street. Each is over 12 metres tall; what else survives and where to find it.
Palmyra · Roman — renovated under Diocletian
The Agora of Palmyra and the Tariff Court
Where Palmyra’s caravans paid tax: a 71 by 84 metre courtyard with 11 gates, and the court where the tariff of AD 137 was found. What remains and how long to allow.
Palmyra · Roman
Al-Shadhbakiyya Mosque, Damascus
A Mamluk mosque of 1453 in Qanawat, Damascus: black-and-white banded stone, a muqarnas portal, a courtyard pool and the founder’s grave, a block south of Tankiz.
Damascus · Mamluk — Ottoman and 1986 repairs
Hagia Sophia Church and Icon Museum, Saidnaya
A church below Our Lady of Saidnaya with a small museum of 65 historic icons and about 25 manuscripts, a short walk from the monastery. Opening hours unconfirmed.
Damascus · Construction date not verified — museum opened around 2020
Mausoleum of Kujkun al-Mansuri, Damascus
A Mamluk tomb of 1312 in Salihiyya, Damascus, where the emir Kujkun lies. Its endowment inscription runs across three stone courses on the north wall.
Damascus · Mamluk
Tomb of Ibn Salama al-Raqqi, Damascus
An Ayyubid tomb of 1213 in Salihiyya, Damascus: a 16-ribbed dome on a two-tier drum and a lintel inscription giving the date of death. West of the Al-Sahiba Madrasa.
Damascus · Ayyubid
Mausoleum of Ibn al-Muqaddam (Talha Mosque), Damascus
An Ayyubid tomb of 1201 in Souq Saruja, Damascus, enclosed since 1993 by the Talha Mosque: a 12-ribbed dome and tall pointed arches. Near Dahdah Cemetery.
Damascus · Ayyubid — 1993 mosque extension
The Hilaliyya Zawiya in Aleppo
A Qadiri Sufi lodge in Aleppo’s Al-Jalloum quarter, rebuilt in 1790, that has trained the city’s qudud and muwashshah singers for four centuries. Still active.
Aleppo · Ottoman
Farrukh Shah and Bahramshah Mausoleums, Damascus
Two Ayyubid tombs side by side in Abu Rummaneh, Damascus: the dome of Saladin’s nephew Farrukh Shah, now a prayer room, and his son’s tomb, restored in 2005.
Damascus · Ayyubid
Dar Rajab Pasha, Aleppo’s Palace of Culture
A 16th-century Ottoman mansion near Bab al-Faraj, now Aleppo’s Palace of Culture. In 2025 it hosted craft shows, qudud concerts and a festival. Hours unconfirmed.
Aleppo · Ottoman