Routes
Tested itineraries, from half a day to a full week.
172 Routes
The Ottoman face of Damascus: five stops from souq to khan
The Ottoman face of Damascus in five stops: two souqs, a merchant’s house, the Azm Palace and the Khan As’ad Pasha. 1560 metres on foot, hour by hour.
5 hours · 1.6 km · 5 stops · Easy
One day around Latakia: Ugarit, Kessab and Saladin Castle
One day around Latakia: the Bronze Age mound at Ugarit, mountain air at Kessab, and the rock-cut moat at Saladin Castle. 160 kilometres, hour by hour.
9 hours · 160.7 km · 3 stops · Moderate
One day in the Dead Cities: al-Bara, Serjilla and Qalb Lozeh
Three Dead Cities from Idlib by car: the largest, the best preserved, and the church at Qalb Lozeh. 180 kilometres in all, about five hours driving. Start early.
10 hours · 180 km · 3 stops · Moderate
From the gates to the souq: four stops in old Aleppo
Four stops in old Aleppo: Bab Qinnasrin, Bab Antakiya, the covered souq and the Great Mosque. 1570 metres on foot, with the order and hours that matter.
4 hours · 1.6 km · 4 stops · Easy
Half a day in Homs: three stops from the citadel mound to the mosque
Half a day in Homs, three stops: the citadel mound, the Church of the Holy Belt and the Khalid ibn al-Walid Mosque. 2470 metres, hour by hour, taxi optional.
4 hours · 2.5 km · 3 stops · Easy
One day in Bosra
From the theatre along the colonnaded street to the mosque, then the cathedral. Three stops, four hours on foot, an easy day trip out of Damascus and back.
4 hours · 0.9 km · 3 stops · Easy
Hama norias river walk: waterwheels, the Azm Palace and al-Muhammadiyah
A two-hour walk along the Orontes in Hama: under the turning norias, into the Azm Palace courtyard, and west to the al-Muhammadiyah wheel. Best in spring.
2 hours · 3.2 km · 3 stops · Easy
One day in Tartus: Amrit, Arwad and Safita
The Phoenician city to the south in the morning, the island by boat after lunch, the tower to the east at golden hour. Three stops, 120 kilometres, one full day.
10 hours · 120 km · 3 stops · Moderate
One day in Hama: from the norias to Apamea
Wheels and the Azm Palace by the river in the morning, the colonnaded street to the northwest after lunch. Three stops, 120 kilometres, a car for the afternoon.
8 hours · 120 km · 3 stops · Easy
A walk through the Christian quarter of Damascus: Bab Sharqi to Bab Kisan
900 metres and three stops in the Christian quarter of Damascus: the Roman east gate, a chapel below street level, and a gate that became a church front.
2 hours · 0.9 km · 3 stops · Easy
Seven stops from the Hamidiyya to the Umayyad Mosque
Seven stops from the Hamidiyya’s pierced tin roof to the Umayyad courtyard. 600 metres in all, no leg over 150 — the core of old Damascus, step by step.
4 hours · 0.6 km · 7 stops · Easy
Homs to Krak des Chevaliers in half a day
Out of the city to the lake at the mouth of the gap, then up to the castle on the mountain. Three stops, 80 kilometres, back in Homs for dinner. A car is needed.
6 hours · 80 km · 3 stops · Easy
