Bosra’s southern and eastern edge: from the Roman circus to the Eastern Reservoir

Most visitors to Bosra stay on the line of streets, mosques and baths inside the walls. This route follows the big structures on the town’s southern and eastern edge: spectacle and water. It starts at the Roman circus outside the walls and walks to the theatre that became a citadel and to Birket al-Hajj. It then passes the Byzantine house known as the Palace of Trajan and ends at the Eastern Reservoir, also outside the walls. The walk is a little over one and a half kilometres; with an hour and a half in the theatre it takes about four hours. Two stops are outside the walls, so staying on clear paths is the fixed rule of this route.

The route

Reach the circus by going round the citadel on its south side: walk a few dozen metres along the railway line. At the first junction on the left a new mosque comes into view, and the opening there leads to the north-west corner of the circus. The structure dates from the 2nd or 3rd century. It is a little over 440 metres long, and the arena is 97 metres wide. At the north end of the west wall, the curved wall of the carceres, the starting stalls for the chariot races, was uncovered recently. According to Ifpo, the French institute for the Near East, the arena is wider than the circuses of Tyre and Caesarea. In the region only the circuses of Antioch and Alexandria are known to have held more people. Rather than walking the whole track, read it along the west wall and return to the north-west corner.

From there, walk about 400 metres north to the citadel gate of the theatre. The theatre was built of black basalt in the 2nd century and later became an Ayyubid fortress; its seating is 102 metres across. Climb the ramparts: the full half-circle of the theatre and the plain behind it come into view at once. Leave by the citadel gate and walk about 450 metres east to the west side of Birket al-Hajj. The pool, close to 150 metres on each side, was repaired by the Ayyubids for the pilgrim caravan between 1217 and 1229. The Dabbagha Madrasa stands on its north side and the small Yaqut Mosque, dated 1257, at its north-east corner.

From the pool, walk north into the eastern quarter. The Palace of Trajan is close to the Nabataean Arch, the quarter’s large church and Birket al-Hajj. The name is modern and wrong: the building is a Byzantine house of the 5th and 6th centuries, covering 1850 square metres today, and the only large Byzantine private residence still standing in Bosra. Look at the two rows of alternating niches on the outer face of the east wing and at the three-apsed hall on the upper floor of the south wing. Its exact spot is not marked on maps; ask around once you reach the Nabataean Arch, and do not confuse it with the bishop’s palace beside the cathedral. From the palace, walk a few hundred metres east, outside the walls, to the Eastern Reservoir, Birkat al-Nabatiyya. The masons’ marks on its lower courses are shaped like Nabataean letters, and a channel from the east entered at its south-east corner. The two pools are about 500 metres apart.

Timing

There is no shade at the circus, so be at its north-west corner at 08:00 and allow forty-five minutes. Enter the theatre at 09:00. The seats have not yet heated up in the morning; the seating, corridors and ramparts need an hour and a half. Reach Birket al-Hajj around 10:45. Look for the Palace of Trajan at 11:15 and walk on to the Eastern Reservoir around 11:45. The basalt and open ground heat up towards noon, and the order is set to finish before the midday heat.

Take care

The circus and the Eastern Reservoir are outside the walls. According to SANA, on 10 September 2026 Daraa’s civil defence carried out controlled detonations of war-era mines near Bosra. Do not leave clear paths, do not walk into the surrounding fields or empty ground, and do not look for shortcuts. Carry water and a hat. In June 2014 Syria’s Directorate-General of Antiquities reported light damage to the south wall of the Palace of Trajan; whether you can go inside is not confirmed, and the facade is worth the stop on its own. At Birket al-Hajj, keep back from the edge where there is no railing. Entry arrangements at the circus, the pools, the palace and the theatre-citadel vary, so check on site. In the April 2018 flood both pools and the north of the circus were under water; whether the pools hold water depends on the season. For transport and the current situation, see the site’s guide on getting to Bosra, and check locally before setting out.