Syria

Syria is something for culture buffs like myself - beautiful, largely medevial cities, great churches and monasteries from early christianity and mosques, crusader castles or roman ruins to name just a few. Not to forget its friendly inhabitants!

Busra Theatre

File size 95 kB. Choose JPEG or Java Viewer. Made exclusively from black basalt and surrounded by an Arab fortress, the roman theatre of Busra survived well into modern times.

Hama - Nurias

File size 102 kB. Choose JPEG or Java Viewer. Nurias are part of a century-old irrgation scheme where large waterwheels scoop water into aqueducts which in turn bring it to the fields and gardens nearby. 17 Nurias have survived in Hama, still making their very distinct noise.

Aleppo Citadel

File size 93 kB. Choose JPEG or Java Viewer. The Citadel in Aleppo has definitly the most astonishing keep I have ever seen - and I've seen some.

Aleppo Suq

File size 113 kB. Choose JPEG or Java Viewer. There's nothing which beats Aleppo in Near Eastern authenticity. Wander around the endless roofed markets with all their goods & crafts amidst donkeys and trikes.

Khan As'ad Pasha

File size 174 kB. Choose JPEG or Java Viewer. The Khan As'ad Pasha is one of the (grandest) trader's inns in Aleppo - recently restored to its grandeur.

Qala'at Samaan

File size 109 kB. Choose JPEG or Java Viewer. Built around the site of Simeon, possibly the most famous person in the 5th century world because he had lived atop a pillar for some 40 years, we can easily guess on how marvellous this church - the greatest at its time in 490 - must have been. The region must have been loaded in Byzantine times - even the nearby town has only first grade masonry in very good condition. After the decline of pilgrimage and political changes, Qala'at Samaan (it was a fortress for a short time, hence the name) joined the fate of many other so-called Dead Cities in the region.

Qala'at Samaan - Entrance

File size 110 kB. Choose JPEG or Java Viewer. The well-preserved western facade is something for the Java Viewer.

Qala'at Salah ad-Din

File size 93 kB. Only JPEG. The impressively-located crusader castle Qala'at Salah ad-Din was eventually taken after a siege of only two days.

Qala'at Salah ad-Din Moat

File size 36 kB. Choose JPEG or Java Viewer. Have a look across the rock needle in the man-made canyon which once supported a drawbridge - or rather 28 m towards the ground?

Krak des Chevaliers

File size 84 kB. Choose JPEG or Java Viewer. Krak des Chevaliers had always been the quintessential castle since I got interested in castles some twenty years ago. Being there, it was very difficult to find a decent pano spot because of all these thick walls which deprive you of all the interesting foreground or obstruct your view when you are atop. Nevertheless, this glimpse gives you an idea of the castle's rather solid construction. By the way, Krak is on a hilltop above a town, but from pictures I had always thought that it is located on a small ridge in a plain.

Qala'at ibn Maan Sunset

File size 71 kB. Choose JPEG or Java Viewer. Qala'at ibn Maan is the castle towering over the desert close to Palmyra. As you can see from the buses, it draws massivly crowds at sunset.

Palmyra

File size 57 kB. Choose JPEG or Java Viewer. Camels are a nice way to explore the ruins of Palmyra.

Umayyad Mosque - Court

File size 126 kB. Choose JPEG or Java Viewer. The Umayyad Mosque in Damascus is one of the most notable buildings of the Islam and of the Near East in general.

Umayyad Mosque - Inside

File size 85 kB. Choose JPEG or Java Viewer. The green structure is the grave of St. John the Baptist. Note the Hoods that female visitors must wear.

Azem Palace

File size 113 kB. Choose JPEG or Java Viewer. The Azem Palace is one of the grandest residential houses in Damascus, now a heritage museum.

Qanawaat neighborhood in Damascus

File size 123 kB. Choose JPEG or Java Viewer. In Aleppo I wanted to take a pano of a small picturesque alley with people, shops, a mosque including the minarett and the Citadel as backdrop. It was too ambitious to fit in one pano, but in the Qanawaat neighborhood south of Hejaz station in Damascus I got pretty close to my vision.