Many thanks to all of you, friends and family, native of
the land of smiling faces :-)
You always have had time for us and we only had two weeks for all of you.
Syrian Collections
The locations where the pictures were taken can be seen on this map of Syria
| Al Rasafah, Rassafa, Resafa, Sergiopolis |
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Sergiopolis is a dead city located 64
km to the north-west of Raqqa. It was built during the Roman and
Byzantine Periods, back to the 9th century BC, when the Assyrians built a
military camp here. It later became a minor center on the trade routes
between the Euphrates, Damascus and Palmyra. A continued line of ramparts, marking out a quadrangle 300m wide by 500m long in the hard soil of the steppe at the edge of the desert. It is something of an archaeological commonplace in Syria, above all on the approaches to the Euphrates, where so many ruins lie, so many vain glorious monuments returning to dust… The ruins of Rassafa do, however, deserve special attention and more than make up for the thirty bumpy kilometers. I liked it so much I made the trip twice in two days. 04-01-10.
New! Pictures of a second trip are available here. 05-03-22. |
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| Raqqa, Micheleb, Tal Al-Bayaa |
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Here lies the origin of
my father's family, a great many generations back. You will find images of the town
of Raqqa and around, like
the Micheleb city zone or from the Tal Al-Bayaa
hill nearby, where further ruins from the Bronze age rest under the sun, waiting
to be further funded and explored.
Even if you have no family there the extreme friendliness of its inhabitants will make you feel at home. 04-01-12.
New! Pictures of a second trip are available here. 05-03-22. Family pictures are located in the private section of the site |
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| Aleppo, the citadel, the souks |
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A city comparable to
Damascus in many respects. We had only a few hours at our disposal during
which we visited the
insides of a neighborhood mosque and the citadel.
We also made a quick plunge into its world-famous souk. 04-01-14.
New! Pictures of a second trip are available here. 05-03-22. |
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| The fields and the steppe |
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As we were not driving
ourselves I have barely touched the potential lying out there. Here are some
pictures shot through the bus window or from the spots where our chauffeur
stopped.
As on this particular picture, Raqqa's backland reveals the main economical resource of the area, agriculture, made possible by the water captured in the Euphrates. 04-01-17. |
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| Jabar or Jaabar Castle and Lake Assad |
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It was a rainy day that we chose to get closer to the only large Syrian lake. Men made it and the Euphrates filled it. The Jaabar castle is an Arab fortress in terracotta which first historical record goes back to around 1000 AD. 04-01-21. |
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| Palmyra |
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In the middle of the
Syrian Desert is, I am told, the most beautiful and magnificent of the
Syrian historic sites, Palmyra. This Arab commercial metropolis used to be
on the old Silk Road. Called Tadmor by the Arabs, Palmyra appeared for the first time in the 2nd millennium BC in the archives of Mari and in an Assyrian text. It was also mentioned in the Bible as a part of Solomon's territory. Palmyra is doubtless the target number one for foreign visitors in Syria. As the weather changed rapidly, I took mainly pictures of the upper part of the zone, where the burial places are. Most of the pictures were taken as I walked down the Great Colonnade up to the . 04-01-26.
New! Pictures of a second trip are available here. 05-03-22. |
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| Damascus, the Omayyad Mosque, the souks, the old town. |
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Helped with a portable
GPS, I walked hours in the streets of old Damascus. Only on the departure day
have I found that subtle blend of morning sun rays entering those
narrow alleys. I wish I had more time... 04-01-29.
New! Pictures of a second trip are available here. 05-03-22. |
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Related Links |
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| Stories & Articles | ||
| Syrian Gate |
In-depth articles about famous Syrian sites. Some general information about Syria. A few pictures. |
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| Made in Syria |
General information about Syria |
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| Doug Burnet | His logbook about his 1996 journey in Syria | |
| Images | ||
| Bram Bos | A photographer and "globetrotter" from Netherlands who made a trip in Syria in 2002. He has some really nice pictures that are also well worth surfing to. | |
| Jakub Mikulastik | 2002 pictures about Aleppo, Qala'at Samaan, Ugarit, Qala'at Salah ad-Din, Krak des Chevaliers, Hama, Qala'at al-Mudiq, Apamea, Damascus, Quneitra, Bosra, Palmyra, Deir ez-Zur, Dura Europos, Rasafa, Kharab Shams, Qalb Lozeh | |
