Routes
Tested itineraries, from half a day to a full week.
100 Routes
Bosra crossroads walk: from the al-Omari Mosque to the al-Khidr Mosque
A walk through Roman Bosra’s crossroads between two Burid mosques: the exedra columns, Bab al-Qandil, a 108-metre cryptoporticus and the tetrapylon square.
2.5 hours · 1 km · 5 stops · Easy
Bosra’s southern and eastern edge: from the Roman circus to the Eastern Reservoir
A four-hour walk around Bosra’s edge: the Roman circus outside the walls, the theatre-citadel, Birket al-Hajj, the Palace of Trajan and the Nabataean reservoir.
4 hours · 1.7 km · 5 stops · Moderate
Arwad Island walking tour: harbour tower, citadel and Phoenician wall
A 20-minute boat ride from Tartus, then Arwad on foot: the harbour tower, the citadel and its museum, and the giant blocks of the Phoenician wall on the west shore.
3.5 hours · 0.7 km · 4 stops · Easy
A day in the kingdom of Ugarit: Ras Ibn Hani, Ugarit and Gibala
The Bronze Age kingdom of Ugarit in one day from Latakia: the palaces of Ras Ibn Hani, the capital, the museum and Tell Tweini, its southern port. 45 km by car.
8 hours · 44.5 km · 4 stops · Easy
South of Tartus in a day: Amrit, Chastel Rouge, Tell Kazel and Areimeh
A day’s drive south of Tartus: Phoenician Amrit, the Crusader Chastel Rouge, Tell Kazel (ancient Sumur), a monastery rebuilt in 1806 and Areimeh Castle.
8 hours · 43.6 km · 5 stops · Moderate
Damascus to Muzayrib: a day drive along the first stages of the Hajj road
The Hajj caravan’s first stages south of Damascus in one day: Qadam station, Khan Dannun of 1376, the temple at As-Sanamayn, Muzayrib and Daraa’s railway junction.
8 hours · 122.6 km · 5 stops · Easy
Aleppo day trip: four Dead Villages of southern Jebel Sem’an
Four Dead Villages west of Aleppo in one day by car: a basilica dated 602, a 4th-century church, the standing colonnade of Batuta and a chapel with its stone roof.
7.5 hours · 72 km · 4 stops · Moderate
Sarouja to Uqaybah: Ayyubid and Mamluk Damascus north of the walls
Nearly three kilometres north of the walls of Damascus: a madrasa by Saladin’s sister, the wall’s only Islamic-era gate, a mosque of 1426 and Dahdah Cemetery.
3 hours · 2.8 km · 6 stops · Easy
Marjeh to Sabaa Bahrat: a walk through late Ottoman and Mandate-era Damascus
Two kilometres, seven facades, from the Al-Hamidiyah Souq to Sabaa Bahrat: a seat of government since 1554, a hotel that never opened and the Mandate parliament.
3 hours · 2 km · 7 stops · Easy
Mamluk mosques of Damascus: a walk from Bab al-Jabiya to al-Midan
Nearly three kilometres from Bab al-Jabiya down the Midan pilgrim road, seven stops: Mamluk mosques and tombs from 1318 to 1464, fronts banded black and white.
4 hours · 2.9 km · 7 stops · Easy
Damascus churches walk: six cathedrals from Bab Touma to Bab Sharqi
Just under a kilometre from Bab Touma to Bab Sharqi: six cathedrals of six communities, built between 1848 and 1951, free to enter whenever the doors are open.
3 hours · 1 km · 6 stops · Easy
In the footsteps of St Paul in Damascus: Kawkab, Straight Street and Bab Kisan
Six stops in the order of Acts: the two conversion traditions at Kawkab and Tabbaleh, Straight Street, the underground Chapel of Saint Ananias and Bab Kisan.
6 hours · 53 km · 6 stops · Easy
