The Efqa Spring

This spring is the answer to why Palmyra stands in the middle of a desert. Warm sulphur water comes out of the limestone inside Mount al-Mintar, nine hand-dug wells gather it into an underground channel 400 metres long, and the channel spreads it through the date and olive groves. The name comes from the Aramaic word for source.

Is it flowing now

It ran dry in 1994, after drought, over-pumping and neglect arrived together. Following restoration work it was reported to be flowing again. The flow varies from year to year, so ask locally before you go. Even with no water coming through, the stair, the mouth of the channel and the stone basins are there to see.

Getting there

On the western edge of modern Tadmur, on the Damascus road, outside the archaeological site. You can walk to it from the town centre.

What to see

A stair cut into the rock goes down and opens into the mouth of the channel. Inside are small rock-cut niches with incense altars: looking after the spring was an act of worship, and a chief of the spring was chosen each year in the name of the god Yarhibol. Seats were carved along the edges of the stone basins in antiquity; the water surfaces at about 33 degrees and smells of sulphur.

What most people miss

The spring waters 420 hectares of date palms and olive trees. Take a turn through the oasis before you go into the ruins. Only after seeing the groves does it become clear why the colonnaded street is exactly where it is.