Things to Do in Syria

Quick facts: You feel the scale instantly as a marble courtyard opens beneath shadowed arcades, while slender minarets rise into the sky as crisp geometric silhouettes. A dazzling program of Byzantine-style mosaics uses thousands of tiny tesserae, the gold and glass catching daylight so the river and city scenes seem to shimmer.

Highlights: A small octagonal shrine houses a relic revered as the head of John the Baptist, set behind carved wooden screens and an emerald lamp that casts a cool green glow. Visitors note three named minarets, the Minaret of the Bride, the Minaret of Jesus, and the Minaret of the Eagle, and climbing one of their tight stone staircases rewards you with a dizzying view over layered courtyards and glittering mosaics.

Quick facts: Imagine a fortress that stood through hundreds of battles during the Crusades, maintaining its grandeur to this day. This place was a key piece in controlling important routes in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Highlights: The walls reach an impressive 6 meters thick, making defense nearly impenetrable. Exploring the knights' quarters, you can almost hear the echoes of past strategies and battles.

Quick facts: The ancient walls hold millennia-old stories intertwined at every corner. The architecture shows Byzantine, Roman, and Ottoman influences, revealing the region's cultural blend.

Highlights: Find yourself in the heart of a maze of narrow streets where the scent of spices and the sounds of vibrant souks create a unique atmosphere. The great citadel, with its imposing stone walls, offers a panoramic view that seems to freeze time.

Quick facts: More than 100,000 objects fill the galleries, ranging from chipped Paleolithic tools to luminous Umayyad glass that seems to change color under certain lights. You'll find towering stone reliefs, a rich array of Roman mosaics, and coin hoards that let you trace trade routes across the ancient Near East.

Highlights: Step into a fully reassembled merchant's room, its roughly 500 carved wood panels and painted tiles arranged so you can almost hear the creak of the floorboards and smell cedar when sunlight hits the varnish. A tucked-away corridor holds funerary stelae including one dated around 200 BCE with a clear Aramaic inscription, and curators sometimes bathe the stone in low light so visitors can trace the ancient chisel marks by hand-held lamps.

Quick facts: Imagine stepping into a massive arena that could hold over 15,000 cheering spectators. The stone walls here still echo ancient performances that blend Roman engineering genius with stunning local craftsmanship.

Highlights: Unique basalt stones give the theater a dark, dramatic look unlike any other Roman site. Visualize actors and audiences surrounded by a perfectly preserved oval stage, one of the best examples of Roman theaters standing today.

Quick facts: The citadel offers an impressive panoramic view of the old city, with its robust walls that withstand time and many conflicts. Some of the structures inside include palaces, mosques, and arches that tell stories of various empires that passed through.

Highlights: Inside the citadel, a tall minaret carved with intricate details reveals the art of centuries ago, a visual gem that few visitors notice right away. Also, the giant stones used in construction show ancient techniques that challenged engineering with limited resources.