A week in Syria
Seven days across Syria: Tadmur, Aleppo, Latakia, Homs, Damascus and As-Suwayda. Each day is a walk through the best-known places in one city, and the cities follow in the order that keeps the travel between them short.
Day 1: Tadmur
- PalmyraArchaeological site · On the map
- Tower of ElahbelMonument · 0.1 km on from Palmyra · On the map
- Lion of Al-lātStatue · 0.7 km on from Tower of Elahbel · On the map
- Fakhr-al-Din al-Maani CastleCastle · 1.1 km on from Lion of Al-lāt · On the map
4 stops, 5.3 km on foot along the streets: about 1 h 13 min of walking.
Day 2: Aleppo
- Citadel of AleppoCastle · On the map
- Khusrawiyya MosqueMosque · 0.3 km on from Citadel of Aleppo · On the map
- Great Mosque of AleppoMosque · 0.4 km on from Khusrawiyya Mosque · On the map
- Forty Martyrs CathedralCathedral · 0.8 km on from Great Mosque of Aleppo · On the map
- Saint Elias CathedralCathedral · 0.1 km on from Forty Martyrs Cathedral · On the map
- National Museum of AleppoMuseum · 0.6 km on from Saint Elias Cathedral · On the map
6 stops, 3.3 km on foot along the streets: about 41 min of walking.
Day 3: Latakia
- National Evangelical Presbyterian Church of LatakiaTemple or shrine · On the map
- National Museum of LatakiaMuseum · 0.1 km on from National Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Latakia · On the map
- Church of the Sacred Heart of JesusTemple or shrine · 0.4 km on from National Museum of Latakia · On the map
- Arch of Septimius Severus (Latakia)Monument · 0.7 km on from Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus · On the map
4 stops, 1.7 km on foot along the streets: about 22 min of walking.
Day 4: Homs
- Khalid ibn al-Walid MosqueMosque · On the map
- Great Mosque of al-NuriMosque · 0.7 km on from Khalid ibn al-Walid Mosque · On the map
- Homs Cathedral of the Holy SpiritCathedral · 0.3 km on from Great Mosque of al-Nuri · On the map
- St. Mary Church of the Holy BeltCathedral · 0.3 km on from Homs Cathedral of the Holy Spirit · On the map
- Forty Martyrs Cathedral, HomsCathedral · 0.1 km on from St. Mary Church of the Holy Belt · On the map
- Church of Saint ElianTemple or shrine · 0.3 km on from Forty Martyrs Cathedral, Homs · On the map
6 stops, 2.5 km on foot along the streets: about 31 min of walking.
Day 5: Damascus
- Mariamite Cathedral of DamascusCathedral · On the map
- Al-Azm PalacePalace · 0.4 km on from Mariamite Cathedral of Damascus · On the map
- Umayyad MosqueMosque · 0.1 km on from Al-Azm Palace · On the map
- Sayyidah Ruqayya MosqueMosque · 0.2 km on from Umayyad Mosque · On the map
- Mausoleum of SaladinMonument · 0.2 km on from Sayyidah Ruqayya Mosque · On the map
- Citadel of DamascusCastle · 0.4 km on from Mausoleum of Saladin · On the map
6 stops, 2.2 km on foot along the streets: about 28 min of walking.
Day 6: Damascus
- National Museum in DamascusMuseum · On the map
- Marjeh SquareSquare · 0.8 km on from National Museum in Damascus · On the map
- Darwish Pasha MosqueMosque · 0.4 km on from Marjeh Square · On the map
- Sinan Pasha MosqueMosque · 0.2 km on from Darwish Pasha Mosque · On the map
- Temple of Jupiter, DamascusTemple or shrine · 0.5 km on from Sinan Pasha Mosque · On the map
- Saint Anania's HouseTemple or shrine · 1.3 km on from Temple of Jupiter, Damascus · On the map
6 stops, 3.9 km on foot along the streets: about 47 min of walking.
Day 7: As-Suwayda
- BosraArchaeological site · On the map
- Roman Theatre at BosraTheatre or opera house · 0.2 km on from Bosra · On the map
- Al-Omari MosqueMosque · 0.4 km on from Roman Theatre at Bosra · On the map
3 stops, 0.8 km on foot along the streets: about 9 min of walking.
More for Syria
- Things to do in Syria · 40 places to see, led by Palmyra and Umayyad Mosque
Photo credits
- Palmyra: Quim Bahí, CC BY-SA 2.0
- Tower of Elahbel: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Lion of Al-lāt: Mappo, Public domain
- Fakhr-al-Din al-Maani Castle: Mewes, Public domain
- Citadel of Aleppo: Memorino, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Khusrawiyya Mosque: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Great Mosque of Aleppo: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0
- Forty Martyrs Cathedral: Kevorkmail, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Saint Elias Cathedral: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0
- National Museum of Aleppo: Xvlun~commonswiki, CC BY-SA 2.5
- National Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Latakia: Ranibasna, CC BY-SA 3.0
- National Museum of Latakia: Riad Salih, Public domain
- Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus: Bertramz, CC BY 3.0
- Arch of Septimius Severus (Latakia): LorisRomito, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Khalid ibn al-Walid Mosque: AAlsaiad, CC BY 3.0
- Great Mosque of al-Nuri: Zozo2kx, Public domain
- Homs Cathedral of the Holy Spirit: Dosseman, CC BY-SA 4.0
- St. Mary Church of the Holy Belt: Shaza Askar, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Forty Martyrs Cathedral, Homs: Dosseman, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Church of Saint Elian: User:Zozo2kx, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Mariamite Cathedral of Damascus: Mappo, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Al-Azm Palace: krebsmaus07, CC BY 2.0
- Umayyad Mosque: Unknown author, Public domain
- Sayyidah Ruqayya Mosque: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Mausoleum of Saladin: Jan Smith, CC BY 2.0
- Citadel of Damascus: Mewes, Public domain
- National Museum in Damascus: User:Aziz1005, Public domain
- Marjeh Square: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0
- Darwish Pasha Mosque: Dosseman, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Sinan Pasha Mosque: Tareq Mnadili, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Temple of Jupiter, Damascus: Ai@ce, CC BY 2.0
- Saint Anania's House: Patrickneil, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Bosra: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0
- Roman Theatre at Bosra: Unknown author, Copyrighted free use
- Al-Omari Mosque: seier+seier, CC BY 2.0
Pictures from Wikimedia Commons, through each place’s Wikidata entry.
Good to know
- Each day starts at the best-known place not yet seen and adds the best known within a short walk of it, then puts them in the shortest order. The places come from Wikidata (CC0), ranked by how many Wikipedias have an article about them.
- The map draws each day’s walk along the streets, routed by Valhalla on OpenStreetMap; the distances beside the stops are straight lines.
- Opening hours, tickets and closures are not checked: each place’s Wikipedia article has them.