Palmyra

Palmyra is the stuff of legend, conjuring up images of caravans laden with silks and spices and pictures of the enigmatic if redoubtable Queen Zenobia, who so bewitched many an eighteenth century Romantic adventurer. The history of Palmyra goes back to at least the second millennium BC. An oasis town at the limit of the Anti Lebanon Mountains, it was an important staging post both on the Silk Road and between the Mediterranean and the Gulf. It prospered through charging heavy tolls and was an important frontier town between the Romans and the Persians, even being visited by Emperor Hadrian in AD 130. Palmyra reached its zenith a century later with the reign of Queen Zenobia, although her eventual defeat marked the end of Palmyra's prosperity. The city was finally destroyed by an earthquake in 1089 and largely covered over by sand.

Today, Palmyra rises defiantly from the sands and surrounding palms, from which the city derives its name. After the monotony and emptiness of the desert, Palmyra is stunning and it is easy to see how it lays claim to being Syria's prime historical attraction. The ruins are dominated by the gargantuan temple of Baal, an incredible feat of engineering by any standards. The great colonnade is the spine of ancient Palmyra.