Palmyra Things to Do

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The size and grandeur of the Temple of Bel make this one of the greatest temples of the Roman east. This enormous temple is quite befitting of the most important Semitic god, Bel (or Baal), who was equated with the Greek god Zeus. The columned porticoes of the outer structure of the temple surround a large courtyard in which the cella (inner sanctuary) is located. The porticoes have survived in sections, but the cella is nearly intact. The entire temple dates from the 1st century AD, but was built on a spot which had probably been used for worship for several millennia. In the 5th century AD the temple was converted into a church and in the 12th century, the Arabs converted it into a citadel. Despite these modifications over time, the state of preservation of some of the temple's details is astonishing (see photos in the Travelogue "The Temple of Bel").

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I was disappointed because I wanted to spend more time on top of the citadel, and wait for the sunset, am not romantic or sumthin', just want to enjoy a beautiful scene, and the sun is still glaring and my group is already in the van!

Anyhoo, we left the castle, went down, drop of the others in their hotel in Palmyra, and me, one other guy and the driver started driving back to Hama.

I always give in to people's wishes, much to my silent rebellion. I just contented myself watching the sun goes down along our way to Hama inside the van while the driver keeps on talking while driving...ernie and bert it seemed to me...sweet? pffft! ... the driver was kind anyways, kept me awake whenever my eyes starts to shut down.

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And so we've reached the top, this is the much awaited climax of the tour - the rest of the group been asking for this - it has to be the last stop after all it's on the top.

I was a bit sad because, I was expecting to finish the tour watching the sunset on top of the citadel, some people say it's amazing, well, most sunsetsare amazing on top of a castle or a mountain, but seemed like my group was a little unenthused, seemed like they were all in a hurry, maybe because they were tired? or wanted to settle to their hotel in Palmyra?

We were early on top because it turned out that we were the only people - 6 of us - in the castle, after all it's just between 2 - 3pm I guess, and the rest of the tour packs are still making their rounds around Palmyra down below. So I was seeing the future -- means, we're not going to wait for the sunset -- and yes, we didn't! We stayed on top of the castle or fortress part of the castle and I sat on one of the enclave watching the blue skies. I went down to get some water, and I saw everyone coming down too, and started boarding our van. Which means how can I go back inside the castle when the group are already in the van? I want to see the sunset.

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I don't exactly know the official name of this castle, I'm even confused if it's a citadel or a castle? the Arabic Castle - it says on the wall just before the ticket window.

it's on top of the hill, so you'd better have a car or your tour service to get there, unless you realy want to take a steep hike. Not an easy feat. Palmyra is a huge ancient city and the tour of the area includes the castle on top of the hill I forgot how many turns our van made, not much but I can remember it's high.

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The final destination of our Palmyra tour is the highly anticipated climb to the citadel on top of the hill. Not really climb, we are in the van of course, but upon entry to the castle we have to navigate around and climb stairs going on the top of the citadel to witnesxs the great view of the surrounding including the whole ancient city of Palmyra.

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The fourth stop is my much awaited part of the tour - the gateway entrance of the ancient city leading to the kilometers long collonade. The arches are are intricately designed and seemed like inviting you to come in. It is the grand entrance to the rest of the ancient city of Palmyra.

I walk along the long colonnaded street, an ancient decumanus, until the end where the view of the citadel above the hill can be seen.

The theater is closed although it can be viewed from the steel bars, I've seen some audio equipment, there might be some sort of a concert later in the evening.

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The third stop is one of the best preserved ancient structure in Palmyra is the temple of Bel. Dedicated to the Semitic god Bel, worshipped in Palmyra as Malakbel. The temple is a religiouscenter of Palmyra. The main god of the Aramaeans at Palmyra was Bol later became known as Bel by assimilation to the Babylonian god Bel-Marduk. Both gods presided over the movements of the stars.

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Second stop in Palmyra is an underground tomb. No names, the side of the entrance which is under a long stairs says "The Tomb of Three Brothers" which I asked the guy who opened the gate with huge key, and he said just 3 brothers. Photography is not allowed inside.