A special tour designed for a maximum number of 12 participants.

Day1: 01 March, 2011: Depart home town

Day 2 : Arrive Damascus a.m. We will be met upon arrival by the local representative and transferred to our hotel. Damascus is best explored on foot so after lunch our guide will take us for a short stroll through the labyrinthine streets of the Old City to the famous Souq al Hamdiye, Syria’s most traditional covered market. A wonderful introduction to the sights, sounds and aromas of this charming city. Walking through a Byzantine arcade and under the Roman arches we face the breathtaking 8th Century Umayyad Mosque, one of Islam’s most magnificent buildings; as architecturally and decoratively grand as Jerusalem’s Dome of the Rock and second only in spiritual significance to the mosques of Mecca and Medina. Dinner tonight will be in the courtyard of one the traditional Damascene houses.

Day 3: This morning we commence our sightseeing at the National Museum. Syria was the crossroads of the ancient world and the museum's collection spans pre-history, the Bronze Age sites, the Roman Empire and the trading oasis of Palmyra, as well as Islamic art. We cross the street to Takiya Suliemaniyah, designed by the famed Ottoman architect Sinan, and one of the key Ottoman monuments in Damascus. After lunch our exploration of the Old City continues with visits to Maristan Nur ad Din (Museum of Medical History), the Azem Palace for a glimpse at how the Syrian aristocracy lived, then finishing our day’s sightseeing with a walk along the ‘Street called Straight’ to the St Ananias Chapel. Dinner at a local restaurant.

Day 4: We leave Damascus today and drive to the town of Al Nabek and the Deir Mar Musa al Habashi Monastery (Monastery of St Moses the Ethiopian). This monastery, home to a community of Syriac Catholic monks, has a spectacular setting built as it is on the foundation of a Roman Guard Tower at the opening of a canyon that drops precipitously to the desert floor. The monastery's chapel was built 1300 years ago and its remarkable frescoes depict biblical scenes dating back to the 11th and 12th centuries. The isolation of this place is wonderful, especially after being in bustling Damascus. One can sit outside in the evening and watch the sun set across the desert valley then enjoy an astounding display of stars after dark. The accommodation and food here is very basic, but the experience cannot be equalled! Note: the monastery is reached by a steep climb on a winding footpath (approx 25 minutes each way). Overnight in Mar Musa.

Day 5: Drive to the foothills of Jebel Ansariye past olive groves and small villages. We reach Safita where we visit the Crusader fortress of Chastel Blanc and Husn Soleiman. The scenery alone in this area is worth the visit with the site itself, easily missed in its sheltered valley amid trees, is superb. The enormous sanctuary walls still surround the temple, which although partly tumbled down, still gives an impression of its former splendour. Continue on to Krak des Chevaliers, the most famous and dramatic of all Crusader castles. From here we have a short drive to Hama where we will spend two nights. Hama, is a small town built on the banks of the Orontes River, famous since antiquity for its irrigation system, a series of wooden waterwheels, known as norias. Some of these waterwheels are up to 20m in diameter and have been constantly repaired and replaced for over a thousand years. The oldest existing wheels date back to the Middle Ages, and many are still used for agricultural purposes, although the norias in the centre of Hama are only for display. Dinner in a local restaurant.

Day 6: Day trip to the Dead Cities and Apamea, an astonishing Hellenistic and Roman city with the longest colonnaded street in the Roman East and a location of breathtaking beauty overlooking the Orontes Valley. Return to Hama for overnight.

Day 7: Drive to Qala’at Marqab, one of the most impressive castles in Syria. The castle is stunning. Sitting on the edge of an extinct volcano, the black basalt ramparts stand out in dramatic relief against the pastels of the hills. Continue on to Qala’at Salahaddin. The ruins of this castle are not nearly as complete as the Krak des Chevaliers, but the crumbling stone walls and overgrown interior areas are evocative and dramatic in their own way with a location perched on top of an “island” that rises dramatically from the surrounding forest and valley. Drive on to Aleppo and the Tourath Hotel where we will stay for three nights.

Day 8: The day is dedicated to Aleppo, one of the most picturesque and least spoilt of Arab cities. We begin in the Christian Quarter with the 15th-century Armenian Church and the 18th-century Ajikbash Palace. The huge citadel dominates the city, its fortifications representing the apogee of Arab military architecture. We explore the labyrinth of colourful covered bazaars and assorted caravanserais, the Great Mosque, madrassa and the picturesque residential quarter.

Day 9: This morning we drive out of Aleppo into the hills to the magnificent 6th century monastery church of St Simeon Stylites. Once a major pilgrimage destination, it is one of the masterpieces of Christian architecture with four basilicas radiating from the site of the pillar on which St Simeon lived for 40 years. Return to Aleppo. Rest of day at leisure.

Day 10: Today we have a long drive to the eastern part of Syria to the village of Raqqa for a more traditional village glimpse of Syria. We stay here overnight.

Day 11: – Excursion to the deserted city of Al Rasafeh, arguably the most spectacular historical site in eastern Syria after Palmyra. Situated in a starkly barren desert some 30kms west of the Euphrates, the first sight of Al Rasafeh with its magnificently preserved walls of light reflecting gypsum, is startling. The remains are massive in scale and stunning in detail, and include numerous, beautiful churches, palaces, huge underground cisterns, and defensive fortification walls and towers. Few tourists reach this remote place, which makes the journey all that much more rewarding. Drive to Palmyra for overnight at the Zenobia Hotel.

Day 12: Palmyra is one of the great sites of Syria, indeed one of the great sites of antiquity. We spend the morning with our guide exploring the monumental ruins of a great city that was one of the most important cultural centres of the ancient world. From the 1st to the 2nd century, the art and architecture of Palmyra, standing at the crossroads of several civilizations, married Graeco-Roman techniques with local traditions and Persian influences. After lunch we will return to Damascus and our hotel for a two night stay.

Day 13: Day at leisure

Day 14: Morning at leisure. Transfer to international airport. Depart Damascus.

Day 15 : Arrive home city.

Land Cost: A$3298 per person twin share. A$898 for a single supplement. Includes all accommodation, all meals, all sightseeing with private guide, all entrance fees and all transport by private vehicle.
Airfare and Taxes: Currently A$2672 return with Emirates, but there will probably be some specials coming out during the year. Also Qatar Airways is another one to look at as they will be flying out of Melbourne from December 2009. They will be offering some excellent airfares to introduce their services to the Australian public and have good flight connections.
TOUR GRADING:
This tour involves:
• 3-star hotels
• extensive minibus travel on desert roads and on winding coastal and mountain roads where road conditions are variable
• regular early-morning starts
• rudimentary toilet facilities in some places
• at times the minibus cannot access historical centres in most towns; the set-down point is usually 200-500 metres from central sites
• Everywhere you go in Syria you will encounter steps, rocky and uneven ground, slopes and steep walks up or down. The Deir Mar Musa al-Habashi (4th of March) is worth mentioning as the monastery is reached by a steep climb on a winding footpath (approx 25 minutes each way).

Potential tour participants should note that this tour is not suitable for people of below-average fitness. Many of the sites are large and unsheltered, or accessed by climbing up slopes or steps. The tour would not be suitable for those people who have foot, leg, or back problems, or are unsteady on their feet, not only for their own well-being, but for the undisturbed enjoyment of the rest of the group.