Palmyra - once flourishing town, and now a poor village in Syria, which is famous for its ruins of the executed works of grandeur, the monuments of the late pore architecture of ancient Rome. Ona lezhit in one of the oases in the desert between Damascus and the Euphrates, about 240 km north-east of the first and 140 km from the second.
According to the Bible and Josephus, Palmyra was founded by Solomon as the best bulwark against attacks on his tenure, which stretched to the banks of the Euphrates, Aramaic hordes. Palmyra destroyed Nebuchadnezzar, when organized invasion of Jerusalem, but it soon, thanks to its advantageous location between the Mediterranean and the Euphrates valley, once rebuilt, becoming a haven for trade caravans, and a place to store goods on their way from West to East and back. Here was the capital of the state, referred to as Palmirenoy. This state ruled by their own rulers, the senate and national assembly.
Only in 1678 the English merchants Halifax have been found difficult to reach the ruins of Palmyra day, in 1751-1753 gg. were first studied and described by Wood and Devkinsom. They stretch a continuous series for about three kilometers from the south-east to north-west, at the foot of several hills, and consist of remnants of structures belonging to two different periods: ancient, forming a shapeless heaps, ascending, apparently, to the time Nebuchadnezzar others that have not completely collapsed, are the three first centuries of the Christian era, when, as is well known, especially preferred the Corinthian style, which is common in these ruins. Among the Greek, Aramaic and Latin inscriptions, which were found in Palmyra, there is not one that would have been written before Christmas or after hours of Diocletian. In the eastern part of the ruins, stands the temple of the sun (Helios-Baal). This regal peripter with 16 columns in each fase long and 8 columns in each short, long, 551 / 3 m, a width of 29 m. The columns, many of which still stand on their own ground - kapelirovany, but previously had a deciduous metal decoration on the capitals, eventually ordering a long time to live. In the inner part of the church is an extended space, which has set, broken at the beautiful coffers, with stucco ornamentation of the walls and friezes, consisting of leaves and fruits. Against the north-western corner of the temple there is the entrance gate, similar to the Triumphal Arch of Constantine in Rome from them through the city for approximately 1,135 m, trailing the road, which was furnished with four rows of columns, the architrave which to place other, smaller columns. These four colonnades divided along the length of the road in three parts: the average, more generally, served to drive carriages and horsemen, the two sides, narrower - for pedestrians. The lower columns - 17 m. In total there were 1400, ie 375 in each row. The truth of this huge set of columns up to this hour not withstand more than 150, but at the same time, a long series of alleys formed by them, makes the tourists an unforgettable and magnificent impression. All the land of ancient city littered with debris entablement, capitals, sculptural friezes and other architectural parts, among which one can see fragments of other palaces, colonnades, temples, aqueducts, altars. During its conversion to the ruins of the city wall, which is the construction hours of Justinian, is in the necropolis of the valley with a huge number of burial caves and the family tombs, of which 60 units in increments of huge hewn stone in the form of towers. At the top of a hill, situated next door, stands the castle later, Arab building.

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Ugarit was an ancient trading city-state in Syria, the remains of settlements which opened French archaeologists under the direction of Claude Schaeffer in 1929-1939 and 1948-1963 years., Making excavation of the hill of Ras-Shamri, located twelve miles north of Latakia (Syria) approximately one kilometer from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.
Ugarit once flourished and was a city which is home to many ethnic groups that existed in the II millennium BC It was located on a hill, which was known as Ras-Shamri, on the Mediterranean coast, which is currently located north of Syria. Its territory stretched for 60 kilometers from north to south, from mountains to Kasios Tel Sukasa, and 30-40 kilometers from west to east, from the shores of the Mediterranean to the valley of the Orontes River. Temperate Ugarit flourishing animal husbandry. The land famous for its olive oil, grain, wine, and wood, which is extremely lacking in Egypt and Mesopotamia, and which has been a constant demand. Due to the intersection of Ugarit important trade routes, the city became one of the first major international ports. Merchants with the natives of the Aegean Sea, from Babylon, Anatolia, Egypt and other Middle Eastern countries in Ugarit traded agricultural products, metals and a huge assortment of goods of local production. Despite the fact that Ugarit flourished economically, he was fasting dependent state. Ugarit was the northern outpost of Egypt, entered the XIV century. BC. e. of the Hittite kingdom. The city was required to pay tribute to the Hittites and supplying them with troops. When the invading "peoples of the sea" began to ravage Turkish Anatolia and northern Syria, the Hittites were used to tselets war fleet and army of Ugarit. After that Ugarit was completely defenseless and in about 1200 BC. e. was completely destroyed.

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In one hundred and twenty miles south of Damascus, Bosra is situated, the former capital of the Roman province of Arabia, which is almost one hundred percent built from black basalt. The main attraction of the city is one of the very well-preserved Roman theaters in the world. The theater is unusual in that in the V century it was strengthened and turned into a citadel, building 9 towers around the building and a deep ditch. Now you can still see the magnificent theater in the citadel, which was designed for 15 thousand seats.
Also left untouched Nabatean gate Nymphaeum, triumphal arch, the medieval buildings, one of the oldest mosques in the world (Bosra in 634 converted to Islam, the first of the cities of Syria) and an ancient monastery (IV cent.). In 1980, Bosra made a World Heritage Site.

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Ruins near Hama (the ruins of Apamea) are phantasmagoric spectacle, which unexpectedly grows Corinthian colonnade of 12 m in height, stretching for 2 miles, the same way suddenly breaks off a grassy plateau among the sun-drenched on either side of a deserted country road.
We observe in this case in a pure form the axis of the ancient city planning. It is necessary to tell a few words about the city, before turning to his unit. Apameya was the urban centers, typical of the north of Syria, its wealth in the heyday of the Empire was based on the grain trade. Fields of wheat stretched right up to the horizon, and the rocky walls, losing their protektorskie function, isolated from the Greek language and culture from the Syrians the surrounding plain.
Ruins Apameya, nearby Hama is one of the most famous and little-studied ancient cities in Syria. Apomeya is located near the border with Lebanon between Hama and Aleppo. Today almost all the territory of the city hidden beneath the ground, hiding many secrets and promising archaeologists incredible discovery. Apameya impression already cleaned the streets, the length of 1800 meters and a width of 37 meters from the ground, of which 20 m oklolo occupied pavement, with clearly visible traces of chariots. If one of the sixteen parallel streets was so great, then the question arises, What was the whole city?
Chronicle indicate that in Apamea lived at least 400 thousand people (despite the fact that in those times people in the world was much smaller than now). The army was located in the city at the time of Seleucus I, in which the arms Besides from the horses stood about five hundred elephants. A well-known around the world the ancient world, the oracle was in the territory of which later the Romans erected the Temple of Doom, known in the film Indiana Jones, the ruins of which have survived to this day.
The city has great cultural significance in his time. Archaeologists have found a mosaic portrait of Socrates, which shows itself on very much. This was city scientists, the poets and philosophers. There have visited Cleopatra and Antony, Sevres Septimius, Caracalla, the queen of Palmyra, Zenobia, and many other prominent historical figures.
Most of the Roman period are preserved until now ruins. The town was named after a Persian princess in the beginning of III. BC Apam, the wife of the ruler of Syria Seleucus I.

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Holy basil constituted in terms of a rectangular building, which was divided into three longitudinal Hall - the nave - two parallel rows of columns. The height of the walls of the side aisles less than the central. In the wall towering above the roofs of the side of the central nave made windows. The altar is arranged in a special semi-circular ledge in the eastern end of the central nave - apse. Porch was built - narthex - just before the entrance to the basilica. In this very annexe could be located pledges - the people who accepted Christianity, but they have not dubbed.
The basilica was a length of 50 m, width - 22 m. The lateral and middle aisles of the basilica of marble columns, separated from each other, which were on 11 m each. About 36 meters reach a length of the central nave with the fact that he was 11 meters wide, topped by a semi-circular altar apse in the eastern part of the temple. Its floor is covered with rectangular marble slabs. Central nave inferior side aisles as the width and height, being much darker than his, completely without windows. In the aisles with mosaic floors: geometric pattern of bright colors laid out on a white background.
The most famous part of the ruins of the Basilica of St. today is baptistery. Climbing the stairs from the courtyard of the basilica, the building fell into the cross shape - baptistery or baptistry. Eksedroy (niche) ended in each branch of the cross inside the baptistery. Under the dome in the center of the hall was cut in the rock round the font. Its walls and floor were covered with marble.
Water through the pipe, which held under the floor, there were the font of the basin, which was near the baptistery, baptistry and then through the channel under the floor evacuated outside the building, in the pit. In the middle of the room the lower part of the walls lined with marble slabs, the upper plastered and covered with frescoes. Beautiful mosaics recruited from smalt (golden stars on a dark blue background), adorned the vault of the central hall and polusvody (Conch) eksedr.

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