Krak Des Chevaliers

Harem Castle

This castle is built on a high hill, near Harem town at north-west Syria, now very adjacent to Turkish border at Iskenderoun district.

The castle is mentioned primarily during crusades, and was an important stop for attackers and defenders.

Arabic article here.

Der Sharqi and the Syrian fields of gold

Here rests the king (khalifeh) Omar ibn Abdul-Aziz, the Omayyad king.

The Syrian gold is…

Qasr Alheer Alsharqi قصر الحير الشرقي

Qasr Alheer Alsharqi (Eastern Alheer Palace) is located in the heart of the desert in Syria at distance of 128 km from Palmyra and 100 km from Sergiopolis (Rusafa). It was built by Umayyad kalif Hisham Ibn Abdul-Malek about 740 A.D. in an area rich in desert fauna.
It is said that kalif was used to pass his leasure time here, and go for hunting and learn pure Arabic from local bedouin tribes.

The palace is composed of two structures, the bigger one has a diameter of 300m and the lesser one 100m. It is found at the slopes of Bishri Mountain, near Palmyran Middle Mountains. The palaces contain remnants of rooms, arches and columns seem to be parts of a huge complex of royal premises. Some of the decorated parts are moved to Damascus National Museum.

The bigger palace has been several floors, with a huge gate and many towers. Towers were not built as defensive measures. There were also olive yards and a oil extracting mills. The palaces were supplied by water from nearby byzantine church by a canal 5700m long. The palaces contained bathrooms, water reservoirs, mosques and gardens.

Jdeideh Old Streets – Aleppo City

Aleppo old streets are quite appealing place with its ancient cobblestone pathways and old buildings. I would say Aleppo old town is distinct from other places in Syria. This is what I gathered from peoples’ impressions in the net.

A bw pic of Jdeideh square:

Old houses windows here, some of shots taken in Aleppo traditions museum:

Jdeideh square is one of oldest squares in Aleppo. The good thing that it is now full of jewellary shops (goldensmith’s and silversmith’s plus antique objects).
A lot of restaurants and hotels built on old style are now there.

Shibani Church-School

Aleppo. Now is museum too.

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Shamamis (Shmeimis) Castle

Syria, south-east Hama.
The sign board says:
The castle is built by Homsi (Emesa) princes in the first century B.C., and then devastated by earthquakes.
In 613, it was again ruined by Arab-Persian wars.
At the period of Islamic rule, it was neglected, until 1229 Ayoubid prince of Homs rebuilt it.
Mongolian tribes ruined it once more in 1260.
Al-Daher Bibros king rebuilt it after Mongolian disaster, and till today it is what left from that era.
ADIYAT association says it is still being ruined by careless people.

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Jaabar Castle. Euphrates Lake

Jaabar castle is an Arabic structure, dating back to the beginning of 8-th century, but it has been something before it also.

The castle is now surrounded by the waters of Euphrates Dam, which was constructed by the help of Soviet Union in the 70-ies, and it was a great help to Syria’s economy.

The castle has an entrance, less beautiful than in Najem Castle (also on Euphrates north to this), and has some walls remnants on the surface.

By the way Najem castle is far more impressive.

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Halabiye. Historical Site On Euphrates River

The pictures here you will see are taken at sunset time, as we arrived Halabiye location at about afternoon 3:00 o’clock. It was very cloudy in the morning in Aleppo, so we postponed the trip altogether to another day, but suddenly at 12 o’clock noon, it was shiny again, so it was ok to set on trip towards DerEzzor.

Here is what we saw (go to my friend’s site, there are pictures not available here):

A little info about the location:
Halabiye site is located on Euphrates at 100 km distance from Raqqa, or 65 km from Der-Ezzor. It is built back in the times of Palmyra kingdom, when Zenobia made it a defensive structure. Romans came after it, and Diocletian rebuilt it.

Byzantine emperor Justinian also took control of the site, and prepared it for fighting Persian empire.

Then came Sassanids and fortified it again in 610. Later after 15 years Arabs occupied it and because it was no more a frontier, it was neglected.

The complex site consists of towers, tombs, baths, 2 basilicas and a forum. The walls of the city are preserved well.

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Qasr Al-Heer Al-Gharbi قصر الحير الغربي

The weather was so nice here now in winter! In the depths of Syrian Desert, which is called Al-Badiye, truly not desert, kind of grass containing lands, where Bedouins ramble, found the palace of Omayyad kalif Hisham Abdul-Malek.

It is said that kalif went to hunting there, it was his resort and favorite place.

Nothing much remained from the palace, the front is now in Damascus museum, plus other pieces of statues describing kalif Hisham.

A link to palace’s history: http://www.syriatourism.org/index.php?module=subjects&func=viewpage&pageid=2230

Long roads with smooth drive. Enjoy the silence.

Photos from Flickr linking here:

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