The Road to Aleppo

Syria, 7 Nights

Bustling Damascus, Crusader castles and magnificent Palmyra await your visit.

Day 1 - London/Damascus.
Your spacious guest room awaits at the Four Seasons Hotel after a relaxing flight with bmi to Damascus.

Day 2 - Damascus.
Ancient and modern Damascus surrounds you as you explore the clamour of the souks and the former east-west thoroughfare of Straight Street. See the glow of the columns and the gold and green mosaics that adorn the impressive courtyard of the 8th century Omayyad Mosque, a place of remarkable beauty and calm. Explore the separate quarters of the imposing Azem Palace and wander in the great court around the large pond shaded by citrus trees.

Day 3 - Damascus/Palmyra.
Head north into the Syrian Desert and arrive in Palmyra, set amidst barren desert and stark mountains. Explore Queen Zenobia's ancient and once glorious city known as a 'City of a Thousand Columns'. Enhanced by the almost complete absence of modern buildings in view and by the natural beauty of the setting, Palmyra offers incomparable ruins with the vista of an Arab castle on a hilltop to the west, viewed as you walk along the central colonnade.

Day 4 - Palmyra/Aleppo.
Follow the River Orontes along a narrow and twisting course through to Hama. See the famous water wheels which still irrigate the surrounding fields and from the bridge in the town centre view the norias and the citadel. Drive through the rural northern treeless plains of Syria to Aleppo, stopping enroute to discover the Hellenisitic ruins of Apamea. See where Cleopatra romanced Mark Anthony into making his fatal bid for the Imperial purple. Before arriving to Aleppo stop to visit the fascinating excavations at the Elba.

Day 5 - Aleppo
We wander through the medieval souk, with its labyrinthine alleyways crammed with colourful stalls selling everything from leather and metalwork to exotic herbs and spices. Take time to stop for a thick, black Syrian coffee, flavoured with cardamom. Explore the sights of Aleppo, taking in the looming battlements of the medieval citadel, the museum and the Omayyad Mosque, before heading out to the haunting remains of the church dedicated to St Simeon, who spent 42 years meditating atop a tall column.

Day 6 - Aleppo/Damascus.
Travel south to view the encircling curtain wall with a line of round towers from the west flank before overlooking the Homs Gap from the impregnable Krak des Chevaliers, the finest and most picturesque of the Holy Land's Crusader castles. See the glimmering mosaic of white and pale blue houses climbing against the escarpment you approach Maaloula where you visit the Church of St Sergius, wander a narrow gorge and emerge by a monastery, within it a chapel of St Thecla. Head on to Damascus for a two night stay.

Day 7 - Damascus.
Today you head south passing fields of watermelons to the ancient Roman city of Bosra which dates back some 3,400 years and was once the capital of the Roman Province of Arabia. Sit in the remarkably well preserved Roman amphitheatre that once seated 6000 spectators, walk under a Nabatean Arch and peer into an underground vault.Continue on to the ghost city of Philippopolis at Shahba, passing through the northern gate to explore ancient steps  with basalt columns, old walls and huge arches of the ancient baths.

Day 8 - Damascus/London.
Leaving behind the contrasts of Damascus, board your flight back to London.