Deir ez-Zor to Mayadin: Bouqras, Rahba Castle and Terqa in a day

This route follows the right bank of the Euphrates south-east from Deir ez-Zor and lines up four stops along the valley. First comes Tell Bouqras, the mound of a Neolithic village dated to between 7400 and 6200 BC. Then Rahba Castle: a castle within a castle, built of mud brick and fired brick on an artificial mound at the edge of the desert. Just beside it is Mayadin, the town on the site of medieval al-Rahba. The last stop is Terqa, the northern city of the kingdom of Mari, which now lies beneath the village of Ashara. Out from Deir ez-Zor and back along the same road, the trip is about 144 kilometres.

The route

Take the Mayadin road out of Deir ez-Zor. Tell Bouqras comes after about 39 kilometres, beside the villages of Buqras Tahtani and Buqras Fawqani; ask in the village for the track to the mound. From there it is 17 kilometres more. Rahba Castle stands 1 kilometre from the south-west edge of Mayadin; the mound is visible from the town, and the last stretch is a dirt road. From the castle to the centre of Mayadin is 5 kilometres. Carry on south-east along the same bank for 17 kilometres to reach the village of Ashara, and Terqa. The drive back from Terqa to Deir ez-Zor is 65 kilometres.

Timing

Leave Deir ez-Zor at 07:00. If you have not yet been to the Deir ez-Zor Museum, treat this day as the follow-on to a museum day: the house rebuilt from Bouqras and the wall painting of birds are there. Be at Bouqras around 07:45; 45 minutes on the mound is enough. Reach the foot of Rahba by 08:45 and give it an hour and a half. The mud brick looks its best in late-afternoon light, but this plan puts the castle in the morning so the drive home does not run into darkness. There is no shade on the mound, so come down before the midday heat. The market in Mayadin is busiest in the morning, so head straight there; spend 10:30 to 12:30 in the town and on the riverbank. Be at Terqa by 13:00 and look at the section of the mound from the water’s edge. Leave at 14:00 and you are back in Deir ez-Zor around 15:00.

Take care

Access along this route cannot be confirmed as current. Mayadin was under ISIS rule from 2014 to 2017; ask about conditions in Deir ez-Zor and in Mayadin before entering the town or climbing up to Rahba. The state of the surface at Bouqras and Terqa since 2011 is unknown, and so is whether the Deir ez-Zor Museum is open. Rahba has no guard, no signs and no railings; the bases of the walls are undercut, so do not lean on or climb the mud brick. At Terqa the village houses sit on top of the mound: ask permission before walking into the lanes or taking photographs. Do not drive at night, take no photographs at checkpoints, and carry water and fuel. There is nowhere to stop for a meal along the route.