One day in the Dead Cities: al-Bara, Serjilla and Qalb Lozeh

Three of the Dead Cities fit into one day, but the day is full: 180 kilometres in all and about five hours behind the wheel. The morning goes to al-Bara and Serjilla in the Jebel Zawiya — one the largest of these sites, the other the best preserved, and only 7 kilometres apart. In the afternoon you cross north to the Jebel al-A’la, where the west front of the church at Qalb Lozeh takes the late light head-on. That is why the order runs this way.

The route

Head south out of Idlib. Al-Bara is 41 kilometres, about an hour and a quarter; the last stretch is narrow and the site is not signposted, so your driver needs to know where the tombs are. From al-Bara to Serjilla is 7 kilometres and 17 minutes on a dirt road that turns to mud after rain. After Serjilla comes the long leg of the day: Qalb Lozeh is 93 kilometres and takes two and a quarter hours. It is shorter as the crow flies, but do not count on shortcuts over the hills. The return from Qalb Lozeh to Idlib is 39 kilometres, an hour and a quarter.

Timing

Leave Idlib at 07:00. That puts you at al-Bara at 08:15; an hour and a half among the olive groves is enough, and the morning shadow picks out the side faces of the tombs. At 10:00 you are at Serjilla: another hour and a half for the bath house, the andron and the two-storey houses. Get back on the road at 11:30 and take lunch on the way — you reach Qalb Lozeh around 14:00, and from then on the west front takes the light head-on. Turn back at 15:30 and you are into Idlib before 17:00.

Take care

This route has to fit inside daylight. In winter, leaving at 15:30 puts part of the return in the dark, and you do not want to be driving a hill road at night; October–November and March–May are the right months for that reason. Unexploded ordnance is a reported hazard in rural Idlib: stay on roads and paths, and keep out of fields and collapsed buildings. Whether the archaeological sites need a separate permit changes from period to period — ask your driver, or the antiquities directorate in Idlib, before you set off. Carry your passport and entry stamp at checkpoints, and do not photograph them. None of the three sites has shade, water or a toilet; bring the first two with you.