Gods of Syria

7 Days – 6 Nights

Day1

Arrival in Damascus

Arrival – Transfer to Damascus – overnight at the hotel.

When your plane lands in Lebanon, a driver will be waiting for you at the airport or around Beirut to get you to the Lebanese-Syrian borders. After crossing the borders the car will get you to the hotel in Damascus.

Day2

Damascus - Maaloula - Ugarit - Lattakia

Departure towards Maaloula, a village famous for its houses dug in the rock like beehives and especially because it still speaks Aramaic, the language of Chris. The monastery of Maaloula contains a portrait of the Virgin believed to have been painted by St. Luke. The little houses of the village cling to the face of an enormous rock; they look suspended in mid-air. The word Maaloula means “entrance” in Aramaic.
Continues to visit Ugarit, a coastal town north of Lattakia, Ugarit became famous thanks to the discovery of tablets of the oldest consonantal alphabet known to date, The first habitat, a large fortified village, dates back to the 8th millennium BC. The two immense palaces, later constructions, yielded archives and literary archives, attesting to an astonishing diversity of languages and five writing systems, including the consonantal alphabetical or Ugaritic script which dates from the 14th century BC AD.

Day3

Lattakia – Saladin Castle – Amrit – Tartous

Heading to visit Lattakia is a major Syrian city situated on the Mediterranean Sea, Lattakia is an important port playing an essential role in the imports and exports for Aleppo (Syria’s industrial capital) and for the Syrian Eastern Region. it is known for its diversity of landscapes, from the green mountains to the sandy beaches, with many important archeological sites like the Saladin Castle.
Drive towards the Saladin Castle, beautiful citadel built by the franks in the middle of the forests , on a rocky peak . it allowed to control the roads coming from and going towards Lattakia.
The history of this stronghold is long The Phoenicians had already fortified the place, Alexander the Great seized it, as well as the Byzantines a few centuries later. It is the Crusaders who, in the twelfth century, will give the castle its current appearance. At the time, it was called “Château de Saône” (named after a crusader). Its current name was only awarded in 1957, commemorating Saladin’s seizure of the place in 1188.
Amrit was a Phoenician port located near present-day Tartus in Syria. Founded in the third millennium BC, Amrit was the northernmost important city of ancient Phoenicia and a rival of nearby Arwad.

Day4

Tartous - Safita tower- Crack des Chevaliers - ALMishtaya

Heading to visit Tartous, Tartous is a city on the Mediterranean coast of Syria. It is the second largest coastal city in Syria (after Lattakia), The Phoenician founders named the city Antarados meaning “The town facing Arwad”, it is a favorite destination for tourists and a beautiful modern city with its buildings, markets, modern resorts, tourist facilities and port. As for beaches of Tartous, it is a beautiful extension of the Syrian coast, with soft sand, chalets, hotels, cafes and marine restaurants that are scattered on it.
Departure towards Safita Tower, located on a site where remains of the Phoenician settlement were discovered. It’s square is a chapel dedicated to St. Michael and serving the Greek Orthodox community of the city.
Continuation to the Crack des Chevaliers, the most famous fortress of the Middle Ages. The crusaders made it the basic element of their system of strongholds on the coast. It is so vast and so impregnable that it has become the symbol of a whole era of bloody struggles between Muslims and Crusaders.
Heading to visit Al-Mishtaya, a village in northwestern Syria, located west of Homs. It is characterized by its charming landscapes, and beautiful climate.

Day5

AlMishtaya – Palmyra – Damascus.

The architecture of Palmyra mixes Greco-Roman, Persian and Arabic styles، Palmyra is called in Latin “Palmyra”, which is associated with palms, and the origin of this name is the Arabic word “Palmyra”, which is associated with dates and palm trees as well.
Palmyra, the one that the Romans baptized Palmyra (the city of palms) and that the Syrians call Tadmor (miracle in Aramaic) is the most important oasis of the Syrian desert. Located 240 km from Damascus, Palmyra is the city of all superlatives. It arises in the midst of golden sands that extend to infinity. An oasis of columns, remains and palm trees that testifies to the splendor of this city that made, one day, tremble Rome.
The temple of Bel: It was for the Palmyrenes what Zeus was for the Greeks. Its temple is the largest and most majestic building in Palmyra, a unique example of fusion between Greco-Roman and oriental-inspired architecture.
The theater and the big colonnade: It crosses the city on more than one kilometer by which the caravans arriving from the desert passed.
Tombs: including tombs towers, tombs dug, tombs temples or individual tombs.

Day6

Damascus city tour

The National Museum: Its visit provides an overview of the civilizations that have succeeded in Syrian soil. It contains statues, seals, jewelry, masks, mosaics, tablets and weavings from the most important sites in the country.
The Umayyad Mosque: which is the best example of Arabic Islamic architecture that dates back to the 8th century A.D; The tour will also include a stroll in the old Souks to enjoy the oriental fragrance Located in the heart of the Medina, the mosque is distinguished by its prayer room, its courtyard and its walls covered with mosaics.
El-Azem Palace: Not far from the Great Mosque, in the labyrinth of the souk is the palace El-Azem. It is considered as the sumptuous model of the Damascene house whose exterior simplicity and sobriety do not suggest anything about a beautiful and rich interior, with many varieties of flowers, fruit trees and water jets.
Saint Ananian Church: It is of particular importance because it is attached to the memory of Saint Paul. Before his conversion to Christianity he had a vision here that blinded him for several days and gave him an unshakeable faith.
Souk Al-Hamidiye: The most beautiful souk of Damascus. Its shops display all sorts of goods, especially clothes, fabrics, pastries and handicrafts.