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The Atlas Obscura Guide To Syria

13 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Syria

Updated November 29, 2022

Unusual Attractions in Syria

Palmyra, Syria

Palmyra

Mysterious lost empire of the Silk Road.

Safita, Syria

Krak des Chevaliers

Ruins of the Crusaders' headquarters.

Balshoon, Syria

Dead City of Serjilla

A 1,500-year-old ghost settlement is slowly fading away.

Masyaf, Syria

Musyaf Castle

The Syrian headquarters of alleged hashish-smoking assassins.

Aleppo, Syria

The Citadel of Aleppo

One of the oldest and largest castles in the world.

Syria

Church of Saint Simeon the Stylite

What is left of the pillar of Saint Simeon, the voluntary martyr who climbed the column to give his sermons, remaining perched there for thirty-seven years.

Aleppo, Syria

Souk al-Saqatiya

Amid the rubble of Aleppo's Old Quarter, part of a historic market has been restored and re-opened.

An-Nabk District, Syria

Deir Mar Musa al-Habashi

This ancient mountain monastery welcomes all manner of faith in an effort to keep Christians in Syria.

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Stories About Syria

The Quest to Preserve Syria's Cassette Tape Era

Keeping sounds, stories, and cultural memory alive through years of conflict.

by Line Sidonie Talla Mafotsing

November 29, 2022

The Rare Seeds That Escaped Syria for an Arctic Vault

Formerly stashed at Svalbard, they've since sprouted in Morocco and beyond.

December 2, 2020

Syrians Won't Give Up on the Great Mosque of Aleppo

In 2013, the mosque's minaret shattered into 2,000 pieces. A restoration team aims to put them back together.

December 10, 2019

A New Crusade

How the mysterious, millennium-old, stateless Order of Malta outlived its contemporaries and established a place in the modern Middle East.

by Ariel Sophia Bardi

September 29, 2019

In Syria, War and Modernity Are No Match for the World's Oldest Soap

The artisans of Aleppo keep plying their ancient trade, one bar at a time.

by Nora Wallaya

Syrian Refugees Are Learning Stonemasonry to Rebuild Their Country

The apprentices hope to restore damaged buildings and monuments after the war ends.

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