Andante Travels

Introduction

Syria’s power has always lain not so much with its resources but with its position, the controller of all trade, traffic and military ambition between the Mediterranean and the East. Caravan routes criss-cross its boundaries, and mighty cities grew up where weary - but wealthy - travellers needed to break their journey.

It also lies, though, just within the fertile crescent which saw the beginnings of cultivation and animal husbandry - the Euphrates, Hauran and Tigris (just) rivers all run through the country, and mountains have provided enough rainfall to sustain the good life in some areas.

Our tour encompasses Syria’s history from the 3rd millennium BC, when the mudbrick mound at Mari was the centre of one of the world’s earliest true cities, to the 19th and 20th centuries, when travellers were given a new mode of transport to cross the desert - a steam railway, built by the Ottomans to take pilgrims on their Hajj to Mecca. We commission a train to take you along part of its route towards ancient Bosra.

We have two days to explore the incomparable Palmyra, huge desert city which grew wealthy from trade - we spend a night in a hotel within the site, so that you can watch the sun rise and set over the golden ruins. We travel east to the great Roman fortress of Dura Europos on the Euphrates, source of so much uniquely preserved military material; we explore one of the intriguing ‘dead’ Byzantine cities, Serjilla and there is time to explore the souks, mosques and monuments of the vibrant cities of Damascus and Aleppo.

Itinerary

Day One
Arrive in Damascus and drive to our hotel. 

Day Two
Krak des Chevaliers, headquarters of the Knights Hospitallers and the supreme example of Crusader castle-building. After a major earthquake in 1170 the castle underwent an extensive reconstruction and resisted the attentions of Saladin in 1188. With the departure of the Crusaders, the purpose of Krak was gone, and it was gradually colonised by local inhabitants. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Afterwards we travel to the coast and Amrit, the religious centre of the kingdom of Arwad. Here is an open air temple: a rock-cut rectangular structure which incorporates an artificial lake with a central island sanctuary constructed on a pinnacle of rock. The temple was dedicated to Melqart, a deity favoured by traders from Tyre.

Day Three
The Canaanite city of Ugarit, one of the most important trading centres of the Bronze Age, and central to the diplomacy of the eastern Mediterranean, located as it was between the Hittites and the Egyptians. A vast palace complex (1ha in extent) belongs to this period, along with temples to Baal and Dagan.

Continue to Qala’at Salah ad-Din (Saladin’s Castle), one of the most spectacular Crusader period castles situated on a rocky promontary dominating the coastal plain to the west and the main access road across the jebel.

The remote ‘dead’ city of Serjilla is one of the most interesting of several nearly complete Byzantine settlements. These ‘dead’ cities are the physical remains of a historical mystery, for how could it be that such a large area, at the heart of Greek and Roman influence in Syria, seemed to come to such an abrupt end? Serjilla lies in a beautiful and isolated setting, and the remains of houses, tombs, baths and a church can be explored here.

Day Four
The peaceful basilica of Qala’at Semaan, site of the cult of the Byzantine St Simeon, who spent his life at the top of a 15m column with a small platform on top.

The Neo-Hittite temple of Ishtar at Ain Dara, and the unfinished giant monolithic basalt lions, which were probably intended to mark the entrance to the temple precinct.

Free time to explore Aleppo. with its imposing citadel, royal palace and medieval markets - the biggest souk in the world.

Day Five
Early morning visit to the Aleppo Archaeological Museum; then on to the Byzantine city of Resafa and the fortress of Halabiye on the banks of the Euphrates. Full exploration here requires scrambling through the ruins on a steep hillside.

Day Six
Morning visit to Mari, a royal city state founded around 2900 BC, which traded with the cities of ancient Mesopotamia. Later we visit Dura Europos, the greatest Roman border fortress on the Euphrates, the base of the cohors XX Palmyrenorium and detailed papyrus records for them have survived thanks to the effects of the Sassanid Persian seige of AD256. To strengthen the wall against attack the defenders raised a huge earthen rampart and in so doing buried many buildings and rarely-preserved organic material.  An exciting archaeological tale of soldiers buried in a tunnel has since emerged.

Day Seven
Morning visit to the excellent museum at Deir ez-Zor and then drive across the desert to Palmyra, The late afternoon is spent exploring the extensive city, an oasis in the desert,  dominating east-west trade, particularly once the camel made caravans so important. Everything about Palmyra demonstrates eclecticism with Hellenistic, Parthian and Roman influences all evident, and in many ways summed up by the Palmyrene gods, depicted wearing Roman swords and armour over baggy Parthian clothing.

Day Eight
We spend the morning exploring Palmyra; drive to Damascus.

Day Nine
The claim of Damascus to be the oldest continuously-occupied settlement in the world, is difficult to dispute. We spend a full day exploring, including the National Museum, the 8th century Umayyad Mosque (built over the remains of the Temple of Jupiter and the Cathedral of St John the Baptist) and the Street Called Straight.

Day Ten
South through the desert plains of the Hauran on the antique Hejaz Railway, which will have been fired up overnight especially for our party. It was intended by the Ottomans to carry pilgrims on the Hajj from Istanbul to Mecca. By 1914 it was transporting 300,000 pilgrims per year, but the line was prone to attack by desert tribesmen. The train journey through the desert is not likely to suffer the same excitement, but is still a very memorable experience. On to the black basalt city of Bosra, with its impressive buildings.

Day Eleven
Return flight from Damascus.

Included

WHAT’S INCLUDED

• Flights Scheduled flights from London to Damascus
• Transfers private coach provided to coincide with group flights
• Local Travel Private a/c coach and privately chartered Hejaz steam railway
• Meals All meals included; drinks (except water) are not.
• Guide Lecturer Not to be confused with "guest lecturers"!  The guide lecturer will be with you from breakfast to supper, and probably even a drink in the bar afterwards.  There is the occasional site where they may not be allowed to guide because of local regulations (we normally manage to circumnavigate these) but otherwise the guides are just that.  They will have been chosen because of specialist knowledge and their ability to communicate and interest you.  After 22 years of making tours worldwide, we are highly appreciative of the attributes of a good guide, and intensely critical of people who do not possess them.  If you would like to know more about Dr Kay Prag or Nick Jackson, please click their name.
• Tour Manager We never know how best to call the very special people whom we choose to accompany you on your tour.  They are usually employed in this capacity only by us, and have been trained to do things in the Andante way - unobtrusive, friendly and quietly efficient.
• Local Guide
• Fieldnotes written for the tour
• Entry & tips Entry to all sites in programme; tips included.

Flights & Visa

Please note these are an indication of what the flights are likely to be. Please contact the office for exact details.

Scheduled flights with BMI
BD947       London Heathrow / Damascus       14:30 / 21:40
BD944       Damascus / London Heathrow       10:30 / 14:05

Visa and Passport Requirements (for British passport holders only)

Passports must be valid for 6 months after your return home. You cannot enter Syria if you have an Israeli stamp in you passport or a stamp indicating an Israel-Jordon border crossing. Visas will be arranged for you by Andante Travels and will be administered on arrival at Damascus airport.

Hotels

1 night in a hotel in Damascus (positioned to save time for the first site visit!)
1 night in a 5* resort hotel in Latakkia
2 nights in a converted minor palace in Aleppo
2 nights in a grand modern hotel overlooking the Euphrates in Deir ez-Zor
1 night in Palmyra in one of the most fabulous positions in the world, within the site of Palmyra
3 nights in a 'boutique' traditional-style hotel in the old town of Damascus

Comments

What Did You Enjoy Most About This Tour?
Comprehensive tour and introduction to the rich heritage and wealth of sites. Highlight has to be Palmyra, particularly enjoyed staying on the edge of the site. Guest, April 2009

We can't find fault with anything on the tour.  The accommodation, food, tours, arrangements and timings were all very well planned and of excellent quality.  The variety and pace were very stimulating. Guest, December 2008 / January 2009

Syria is not an easy country to negotiate; in such a context the tour was excellently managed. Travel over considerable distances was efficiently handled with expert drivers.... A rare opportunity to see unusual sites with a congenial and experienced guide and a truly competent manager. The sites were various and gave a rare overview of Syria's past. A splendid opportunity I would not have missed! A tour which has given me new windows on the Arab world and sobering reflections on the fall of the Empires! What more can one ask? Guest, October 2008

Krak des Chevaliers, Saladin's Castle, The Euphrates and not least Palmyra. The serenity of the early morning waking birds on the river, and the evening light at various sites, especially Palmyra. The ability of the coach driver to rustle up a hot cup of tea anywhere! Guest, October 2008

At the risk of sounding childish, the greatest fun was the half day spent on the Hejaz railway. Fantastic and the new museum is great. But dawn over Palmyra, the sheer size of Ebla and Ugarit, the ramparts of Dura Europus rising up out of the desert and the lure of the Euphrates magical. The Syrian people were also a delight to talk to. Guest, October 2008

Reading List

 

Because Syria is, in so many ways, a "coincidence of cultures", no single book can hope to provide a comprehensive archaeological or historical survey which does justice to each and every region.  Probably for this reason, detailed synthetic works have never really appeared.  A good archaeological survey of the Pre-classical periods, for example, simply does not exist.  Below, however, are listed recommended guide-books and some of the more reliable works which address various aspects of Syrian history of civilisation and culture. This list is no more than a guide to some books that you may find useful to read in advance of the tour. Talks given on the tour will attempt to fill in the background to what we are seeing, so no prior knowledge or pre-tour cramming is expected or needed. In many cases, we expect that you will find some of these books even more interesting and useful to read once the tour is over.

Guide Lecturer's Choice: (if you only want to read one or two books)
Healey J. F. (1990)  The Early Alphabet.  Reading the Past.  British Museum Publications:  London.

A readable book on our modern debt to the region.

Maalouf A.  The Crusades through Arab Eyes.

A different perspective on the Crusades.

General:

Akkermans, P.M.M.G & Schwartz (2004) The Archaeology of Syria, Cambridge World Archaeology.

Ball W. (1994) Syria: An Historical and Architectural Guide, Buckhurst Hill, Essex.  A good general guide (probably the best available), but much stronger on the later periods (Byzantine and Islamic) than on the earlier which are dealt with in a rather sketchy manner.

Browning I. (1976) Palmyra, London. An excellent book for this important site with lots of plans and illustrations.

Burns, R. (1992) Monuments of Syria - An Historical Guide. IB Tauris. An archaeological guide book to the sites. Easy to use, very informative and up to date.  Highly recommended.

Burns, R. (2005) Damascus. A History. Routledge. Now available in paperback.

Butcher, K. (2003) Roman Syria & the Near East. BM - London.

Butler H. C. (1969) Early Churches in Syria, Fourth to Seventh Centuries, Amsterdam. A good authoritative account - too much detail for most purposes.

Curtis A. (1985) Ugarit: Ras-Shamra, Cambridge.  A very readable account of the main discoveries at what is probably the most important Late Bronze Age Canaanite site.

Dalley, S. (1984) Mari and Karana. Two Old Babylonian Cities. Longman.  A book which brings to life the ancient texts from Mari.

Ettinghausen R. and Grabar O. (1967) The Art and Architecture of Islam 650-1250, Harmondsworth.  Probably the best survey of the Islamic period available - not exclusively about Syria, but plenty of accurate information on major sites and monuments.

Fedden R. (1965) Syria and Lebanon, London.  A reasonable book, but a little old-fashioned in its approach, and written very much from the perspective of an historian rather than an archaeologist.

Hopkins C. (1979) The Discovery of Dura Europos, Yale.  A popular but definitive account of the excavations at Dura-Europos by one of the principal investigators of the Yale expedition.

Hourani, A. (1991) A History of the Arab Peoples. Faber and Faber.  Some background to the country today.

Klengel H. (1992) Syria 3000 to 300 BC, Berlin.  Detailed survey of the ancient history of Syria by one of the leading authorities on the subject - not bed-time reading!

Matthiae P. (1980) Ebla: An Empire Rediscovered, London.  Something of an "ego-trip" for Matthaie who firmly believes that his site is the centre of all civilisation.  Nevertheless, the opening chapters which discuss the development of archaeological exploration in Syria are extremely valuable.

Muller-Weiner W. (1966) Castle of the Crusaders, London.  Still one of the best sources, despite the reprinting of T. E. Lawrence's Crusader Castles.

Nicolle, D. (2004) Crusader Castles in the Holy Land 1097 - 1192. A splendidly illustrated and informative little book on the castles.

Parrot A. (1974) Mari: capitale fabuleuse, Paris.  A definitive popular account by the excavator of Mari.  The French is quite easy to cope with, and there are many good illustrations.

Perkins A. (1973) The Art of Dura-Europos, Oxford.  An interesting and well-illustrated book which examines the unique blend of classical and oriental styles at Dura (and elsewhere).

J. Riley-Smith (1991)  The Atlas of the Crusades.  London.

Well illustrated, well known scholar.

M. Roaf (1990).  Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East.

A really superb and illustrated background.

Smail R. C. (1973) The Crusaders in Syria and the Holy Land, London.  This book, in conjunction with Muller-Weiner (above) will provide everything necessary for a complete understanding of the Crusader Period - very well written.

Stoneman R. (1992) Palmyra and its Empire, Ann Arbor.  Not as good as Browning, but it does look further beyond the immediate city of Palmyra.

Weiss H. (ed) (1985) Ebla to Damascus: Art and Archaeology of Ancient Syria, Washington.  Good in places but the book has, generally, a very "Mesopotamia-centric" bias, and fails to give Syria a real cultural identity.  Some of the chapters, however, are excellent (for example, the section on the development of writing).

Historical Travel:

Dalrymple W. (1998)  From the Holy Mountain, Flamingo.  Tracing the history of Christianity in the Middle East, this book is both a fascinating historical account and an extremely engaging travel journal.

Maps:

Syria, scale 1:1,000,000, is published by GEOprojects in association with OUP and costs £6.00.  It contains city plans of Damascus, Aleppo and Palmyra and interesting information on the Syrian Arab Republic, and is perhaps a little more user-friendly!

Freytag & Berndt produce a map of Syria, scale 1:800,000, which costs £6.95 and includes a large-scale city map of Damascus.  Both are available from Stanfords Bookshop in Covent Garden, LONDON, tel: (0270) 836 1321.

Booking