A day in the Qalamoun: Deir Atiyah, Qara, Yabroud and Mar Musa

The four stops of the Qalamoun fit into one day, and the day runs to 84 kilometres. The order is not accidental: you go north in the morning, drop south after lunch, and climb the steps at Mar Musa once the sun has come off the slope. A car is essential; no regular service links the four. It starts at Nebek and ends at Nebek.

The route

Leave Nebek heading north. Deir Atiyah is 10 kilometres, a quarter of an hour; you turn off the main road and come down into the centre. From there it is 11 kilometres to Qara, and then the narrow road that climbs to the north-west of the town and the monastery of Mar Yakub. The longest leg of the day comes next: south from Qara, past Nebek, 34 kilometres to Yabroud. The cathedral is in the middle of the town and cars are left below. The way back runs north-east: 28 kilometres from Yabroud to Deir Mar Musa, the last kilometres unpaved, ending at a car park. The monastery is reached on foot from there. It is 14 kilometres down to Nebek.

Timing

Leave Nebek at 08:00. An hour is enough at Deir Atiyah: see the museum and the windmills along the garden lanes. Be at Mar Yakub by 10:00; the monastery asks to be told in advance, so make the call the day before. Give it an hour and a half for the church, the crypt and the tower. Reach Yabroud at 12:15, allow forty minutes for the cathedral and take your midday break in the town. Back on the road at 14:30, you reach Mar Musa around 15:30, and that hour suits the climb because the slope has moved into shade. Two hours at the monastery; your eyes need time to adjust before the frescoes come out of the dark. You are back in Nebek at 18:45.

Watch out for

Both Deir Mar Musa and Mar Yakub receive visitors and both ask to be told first. Make both calls before you leave Nebek, because there is no signal on the road. Covered shoulders and knees are expected at all four stops. The 350 steps at Mar Musa are dusty and have no handrail, and shoes with grip make a difference. Carry water; nothing is sold on either monastery road. There are checkpoints along the way: keep your passport to hand and do not photograph them. Winter in the Qalamoun brings snow and fog, and summer middays have no shade; from April to June and September to October every part of the day is comfortable.