In Damascus, wander the Old
Quarter, with its busy souks and narrow streets lined with Ottoman
houses, and then continue to the Umayyad Mosque, the Citadel, the Museum
of Popular Tradition, the National Museum and, of course, pay a visit to the
elegant hammams…travel to Crac
De Chevaliers, a spectacular mountain stronghold that is the largest
and best preserved Crusader castle in the Middle East…also visit the nearby
Phoenician island of Arwad…visit the remains
at Ugarit, one of the most important Bronze Age sites
in the Middle East…in Aleppo, stroll the stone-vaulted
souks and spend a day touring the Church of St. Simeon and the surrounding 'Dead
Cities' of Byzantium…in Palmyra,
explore the Valley of the Tombs, the Temple of Bel, and the Museum…visit
Ma'alula in the mountains, where Aramaic speakers
live in pastel painted houses set against the Qallamoun Mountains…wander
Dura Europos, an ancient city overlooking the Euphrates
River.
