Routes
Tested itineraries, from half a day to a full week.
100 Routes
From al-Jdayde to al-Almaji: Hokedun, the wool souq and Burdbek’s two fountains
Half a day in Aleppo from Jdayde to al-Almaji: the Armenian pilgrims’ khan, the wool souq, Al-Hatab Square and two works of Burdbek dated 1461 and 1491.
4 hours · 1.6 km · 6 stops · Easy
Inside Bab Qinnasrin: Aleppo’s southwest quarter from the Bimaristan to al-Rumi Mosque
A short walk inside Bab Qinnasrin in Aleppo: a Mamluk hospital of 1354, a khan of 1450, a mosque with a footprint stone, the gate itself and al-Rumi Mosque.
3.5 hours · 1.3 km · 5 stops · Easy
A day on the edge of the Ghab: Bourzey Castle, the theatre of Apamea and Suqaylabiyah
A long 185-kilometre day from Hama: Bourzey 450 metres above the Ghab, lived-in Qalaat al-Mudiq, the theatre of Apamea and the Hagia Sophia copy in Suqaylabiyah.
10.5 hours · 184.9 km · 5 stops · Hard
Tartus to Baniyas: Maraclea, Burj al-Sabi, Margat and Qalaat al-Qawz
A day’s drive north from Tartus: the sunken base of the Maraclea tower, the Burj al-Sabi lookout, Margat Castle, Bronze Age walls in Baniyas and a coastal khan.
7 hours · 45 km · 6 stops · Easy
Ottoman Damascus, last chapters: from the Takiyya Sulaymaniyya to Saladin’s Mausoleum
A 2200-metre walk across Damascus, seven stops: the grave of the last Ottoman sultan, the Hejaz Railway Station, a mosque in the Citadel wall, the aviators of 1914.
3 hours · 2.2 km · 7 stops · Easy
Madrasa Street in al-Salihiyya, Damascus: from al-Sahiba Madrasa to the Mausoleum of Amat al-Latif
About 1800 metres downhill through al-Salihiyya in Damascus, ten stops: madrasas founded by Ayyubid women, Ibn Arabi’s tomb and a 13th-century minaret.
3 hours · 1.8 km · 10 stops · Easy
Outside the walls of Damascus: from al-Qassaa and the Holy Cross Church to Bab Touma
A 90-minute, 1200-metre walk outside the old walls of Damascus: al-Qassaa Street, the Holy Cross Church finished in 1932, Sheikh Raslan Cemetery and Bab Touma.
1.5 hours · 1.2 km · 4 stops · Easy
From the Citadel to Bab al-Saghir: Abu al-Darda, Dar al-Hadith al-Ashrafiyya and Nur al-Din’s Damascus
About 1400 metres from the Citadel of Damascus to Bab al-Saghir, six stops: Abu al-Darda’s shrine, a hadith college of 1233, Nur al-Din’s tomb, the Bashura Mosque.
3 hours · 1.4 km · 6 stops · Easy
Damascus Jewish Quarter walk: from the Mariamite Cathedral to the synagogues and Bab Kisan
About 1500 metres through the Jewish Quarter of Damascus, five stops: the Mariamite Cathedral, the Farhi mansions, the Menarsha and Elfrange synagogues, Bab Kisan.
3 hours · 1.5 km · 5 stops · Easy
Damascus small khans walk south of the Umayyad Mosque
600 metres and seven stops south of the Umayyad Mosque: five small khans beside the Khan As’ad Pasha, a madrasa of 1779 and a striped façade of 1254. Half a day.
3 hours · 0.6 km · 7 stops · Easy
An old Damascus neighbourhood on foot: from Hammam al-Bakri to Maktab Anbar
950 metres and five stops on the Bab Touma side of old Damascus: a working hammam, a church from after 1856, a 1743 madrasa, a 1699 minaret and Maktab Anbar.
2 hours · 0.95 km · 5 stops · Easy
Latakia’s al-Saliba quarter on foot: mosques, a zawiya and Roman columns
A half-day walk in al-Saliba, Latakia’s oldest quarter: the Roman arch, two mosques that began as Crusader churches, a zawiya of 1291 and Roman columns.
2.5 hours · 0.8 km · 6 stops · Easy
