Syria

November 11th

Syria.. is a place of magic and mystery. It is home to some of the oldest known settlements on Earth. There is evidence of civilisations dating back to 6000BC at the site of Ebla and 4500BC at Telle Harari; in the Mesopotamian city of Mari; and further references to the existence of Damascus have been traced much further back in Egypt. It also boasts some of the greatest archaeological sites in the Middle East. Many legends that are referenced in The Holy Bible draw from locations in and around this country where once a vast Semitic empire once stretched from Turkey to the Red Sea. It is bordered on the north by Turkey; the east by Iraq; the south by the kingdom of Jordan; and to the west, Lebanon and Israel. The ancient river, Euphrates, wound its way through the north-eastern region on the way to Babylon in what is now the modern Iraq. St Paul was converted to Christianity on the way to Damascus. The prophet, Mohammed, wandered through these lands. It has been occupied by Canaanites, Phoenicians, Hebrews, Arameans, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Roman, and Byzantines. Many of the wars of the Crusades were fought in Syria: The ruins of the desert fortresses, or Qa'alats, are to be found throughout this country; one particular, Krak des Chavaliers was described by T.E. Lawrence (more famously known as Lawrence of Arabia) as the most beautiful castle in the world. There are so many places to explore and marvel at in Syria, from the labyrinthine alleys of ancient Damascus, to the great emptiness in the East, inside of the exquisite Omayyad Mosque, or throughout the vast and endless passageways of the Souqs of Aleppo. The oldest alphabet in the world was invented here in Ras Shamra and it was also here the explorer Richard Burton translated the Arabian Nights and to English thus opening a whole world of Eastern myticism to Western Culture. Excited yet?