Featured places
Mosques, caravanserais, souks, museums — and why they are worth the walk.
43 Places
Qal’at Sukkara
An Ayyubid-Mamluk hilltop garrison on Mount Abdulaziz, 35 km south-west of Al-Hasakah: four ruined towers, five rock-cut wells, a stucco dome, and access notes.
Hasakah · Ayyubid — Mamluk
Sa’neh Roman Fort
A square Roman frontier fort with 12 towers at 1365 metres east of Jabal al-Arab: basalt walls up to 3 metres high, planned in 1990 and never excavated.
As-Suwayda · Roman
Qalaat al-Riba (Riba Castle), Salamiyah
A semicircular fortification on a basalt hill 12 kilometres north of Salamiyah: dry-laid basalt blocks, a single gate on the west and Roman-era tombs on the slopes.
Hama · Disputed: Middle Bronze Age or Hellenistic
Burj Zara, a Crusader Tower near Talkalakh
An 11 m square Crusader tower on an ancient temple platform in al-Zarah, west of Homs. Basalt with reused white limestone, and one of the best preserved in the area.
Homs · Crusader
Shmemis Castle near Salamiyah
An oval castle on the cone of an extinct volcano just outside Salamiyah, with a 15-metre rock-cut ditch, a deep well, and an Ayyubid rebuilding from 1228.
Hama · Roman-era origins — Ayyubid — Mamluk
Al-Rusafa Castle near Masyaf
A Nizari Ismaili castle on a hill above the village of al-Rusafa, southwest of Masyaf: an oval plan 75 metres long, three storeys and stores 20 metres deep.
Hama · Medieval — Nizari Ismaili, Mamluk
Diyatheh Roman Fort
A four-towered Roman fort built around 300 on the eastern slopes of Jabal al-Druze, with a deserted village of 102 buildings, wells, mills and cemeteries beside it.
As-Suwayda · Roman — Byzantine
Burj al-Arab, a Crusader Tower near Talkalakh
A basalt tower the Crusaders built in the early 12th century in Burj al-Arab, west of Homs near the Lebanese border. Baibars took it in 1271; it is partly ruined.
Homs · Crusader — Mamluk
The Castles of Shughr and Bakas
Two castles facing each other on the Orontes, 8 km north-west of Jisr al-Shughur: taken by Saladin in 1188, repaired by Baybars, felled by the 1408 earthquake.
Idlib · Crusader — Ayyubid — Mamluk
Sheikh Deeb Castle (Qulay’a)
A Nizari Ismaili castle on a cone of volcanic rock above Qulay’a village, about 2 km from Hosn Suleiman: wall stubs between the crags and a well cut into the rock.
Tartus · Ismaili — Mamluk — Ottoman
Maniqa Castle in the Syrian Coastal Mountains
A castle between Jableh and Baniyas, raised by a ruse in 1028 and taken after a 13-day siege in 1031. A 15-20 minute dirt path climbs to it from Wadi al-Qalaa.
Latakia · Byzantine — Crusader — Ismaili — Mamluk
Burj al-Sabi, the Crusader Watchtower below Margat
A two-storey basalt tower by the coastal motorway, 2 km west of Margat Castle, built to guard its harbour. Arrow slits, repairs and a name with two stories.
Tartus · Crusader