Featured places
Mosques, caravanserais, souks, museums — and why they are worth the walk.
813 Places
Khan al-Wazir
A merchant caravanserai of 1682 at the east end of the Al-Madina souq in Aleppo: its striped stone portal, its courtyard, and where repairs stand now.
Aleppo · Ottoman
Aleppo Soap and the Soap Khans
The hard bar soap made from olive oil and laurel oil: how it is boiled, why it is cured underground for months, and where to buy it in the Aleppo souq.
Aleppo · 16th century to the present
The Tower of Elahbel
The one tower tomb in Palmyra’s Valley of the Tombs open to visitors: four floors of burial niches, each sealed with a portrait. Blown up in August 2015.
Palmyra · Roman
The Efqa Spring
The sulphur spring that made the Palmyra oasis possible. It ran dry in 1994 and was reported flowing again after repairs; the rock-cut stair still stands.
Palmyra · Ancient — present
The Abu’l-Fida Mosque
On the bank of the Orontes: the mosque and tomb of the historian who ruled Hama. The mausoleum dates to 1327, and a carved snake column names it again.
Hama · Ayyubid mausoleum — Mamluk mosque
The Camp of Diocletian
The late Roman army base at the west end of Palmyra: a stepped terrace, the hall of the standards, and the older Temple of Allat enclosed inside its walls.
Palmyra · Roman
Deir Semaan (Telanissos)
The pilgrim town below Saint Simeon’s monastery: two-storey hostels, the ruins of three monasteries, and the street where pilgrims once bought souvenirs.
Aleppo · Late Roman — Byzantine
Beit Ghazaleh
A 17th century mansion of six courtyards in Aleppo’s Jdeideh quarter: its carved north facade, its looted wooden panels, and the repair work going on now.
Aleppo · Ottoman
Beit Junblatt
A 16th century mansion inside the walls of Aleppo: the largest iwan in the city, the wall its tiles were stripped from, and what is left standing today.
Aleppo · Ottoman
The Basilica of Bahira
The oldest church in Bosra: a Byzantine basilica whose walls still stand to roof height. The Bahira tradition, the plan, and what the building is now.
Bosra · Byzantine
Bab al-Faradis
A gate in the north wall of old Damascus, assigned to Mercury in Roman times and rebuilt by the Ayyubids in 1241. It now stands inside the Amara souq.
Damascus · Roman foundation — Ayyubid structure
Bab al-Jabiya
The western gate of old Damascus, at the far end of the Midhat Pasha Souq. Where the Roman street began, standing today among the shoe stalls with its inscription.
Damascus · Roman — Zengid and Mamluk repairs
