One day in the Hauran: Suwayda, Bosra and Salkhad

The Hauran is a region built of basalt. This route shows the same stone in three states: in a museum case, in the seating of a Roman theatre at Bosra, and in a wall on top of a volcanic cone at Salkhad. The driving comes to 57 kilometres and about an hour and a half; the rest of the day is spent at the stops. You need a car, because the three stops sit in three different towns.

The route

Start at the museum on the Qanawat road, on the northern edge of Suwayda. From there it is 34 kilometres southwest to Bosra; the road runs flat across the plain and takes fifty minutes. In Bosra park at the southwestern end of the ancient town, opposite the main square — there is no direct door into the theatre, you enter through the castle gate and walk dark corridors first. The last leg turns east: 23 kilometres from Bosra to Salkhad, forty minutes. At Salkhad the car climbs to the foot of the cone and you walk the rest.

Timing

Be at the museum at 09:00. The central hall takes daylight from the dome above it, and morning is its best hour. Allow an hour and a half if you also walk the garden; the inscribed blocks and door lintels are out there, not in the cases. Leave at 11:00 and spend midday in Bosra. The seating has no shade and basalt heats up in the afternoon, but the corridors behind the stage wall and the covered upper gallery stay cool; spend the hot hours in them. Be at Salkhad around 16:00. Climbing to the castle an hour before sunset is the whole point of the route. The plain takes the light from the side, and the Hauran to the west and the edge of the desert to the east come into one view.

Take care

None of the three stops keeps a confirmed timetable. Check the hours of the museum and the theatre locally before you set out; entry fees also vary, so carry cash. The climb at Salkhad is short but steep and the ground is volcanic scoria — smooth soles struggle here. The summit is windy and the evening cool; a light layer helps even in summer. In high summer the plain bakes, so this route works in spring and autumn. If you can give Bosra a second day, its hammam, mosque and basilica make a separate walk.