Syria is part of The Cradle Of Civilization. It's chock full of ruins of castles and citadels and cities of various empires from thousands of years ago. The people there were all very friendly, and happy to see tourists.
Aleppo to Hama
After spending a couple of days in Aleppo, an ancient trading city, we drove around northwest Syria to the ruins of the Citadel of San Simeon, the ancient city of Ebla, and the Roman village of Apamea. We spent the night in Hama, and then visited the Crusader castle Crac des Chevaliers. The western strip of Syria is all quite fertile and green, unlike the rest of the country which is largely desert. More pictures...
Palmyra
Palmyra is the top tourist destination in Syria, out in the middle of the desert. It started out as an independent city between Persia and Rome from about the 13th century BC until the third century AD. It fell to Rome in 267 AD, to the Muslims in 634, and to an earthquake in 1089. It was rediscovered in 1678, and excavations began in 1924. There's a main colonnade with enough columns reconstructed that you can get an idea of the extent of it; lots of temples large and small, and some pretty interesting sarcophagi.
More pictures...
Bosra
Bosra ash-sham was an ancient Nabatean city, later taken over by the Romans. It has one of the largest and best-preserved Roman amphitheaters in the world. More pictures...
Damascus
Damascus is the bustling capital of Syria. More pictures...
