Grand Syria
Fourteen days from the south to cities and coast.
Damascus · Bosra · Maaloula · Palmyra / Tadmur · Homs
✦ Six World Heritage properties in context✦ Cities, desert and coast
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Palmyra / Tadmur
One of the ancient world’s great caravan cities, with monumental ruins stretching across the Syrian desert.
WHY GO
One of the ancient world’s great caravan cities, with monumental ruins stretching across the Syrian desert.
Palmyra grew from a desert oasis into a major caravan city linking Mediterranean and eastern trade routes. Its architecture blends Greco-Roman, local and Persian influences. The archaeological landscape remains immense, but recent destruction altered major monuments, so surviving remains and conservation work are described honestly rather than presenting destroyed structures as intact.
What to see
- The Great Colonnade, theatre, agora and surviving urban remains.
- Surviving temple remains and the funerary landscape where current access permits.
- Evidence of destruction and ongoing conservation as part of understanding the site today.
What to experience
- Read the scale and urban axes of a caravan city against the open desert.
- Understand Palmyra as a crossroads of civilizations rather than a Roman city detached from the East.
Food
A simple local stop according to available operating arrangements.
How long to stay
A day visit or overnight stay is arranged only after current routes, services and accommodation are verified.
SUGGESTED JOURNEYS
Place it within a route.
Syria Essentials
Seven days linking capital, desert and castle.
Damascus · Maaloula · Palmyra / Tadmur · Homs · Krak des Chevaliers
✦ Old Damascus in the morning✦ Mountain Maaloula
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Crossroads of Syria
From Damascus to Aleppo by way of desert and river.
Damascus · Maaloula · Palmyra / Tadmur · Hama · Aleppo
✦ Souqs of Damascus and Aleppo✦ Aleppine food culture
Price on requestView journey →