Middle East - Anthony Ham [408]
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BOSRA
015 / pop 28,800
The black-basalt town of Bosra, 137km from Damascus, is an easy day trip from the capital. Once the capital of the Roman province of Arabia, it’s now something of a backwater. But what a weird and wonderful backwater it is. Bosra’s gigantic Roman theatre is alone worth the trip here and the surrounding ruins are brooding and atmospheric.
Information
Exchange booth ( 8am-2pm & 4-6pm Sat-Thu) You can change cash here (if they’re open), just southeast of the citadel; the Cham Palace Hotel may change travellers cheques.
Tourist office ( 9am-7pm) Southeast of the citadel. Staff are willing but resources (and English) are limited.
Sights
The citadel (adult/student S£150/10; 9am-6pm Mar-Nov, to 4pm Dec-Feb) is a unique construction – it began life as a massive Roman theatre and later had its fortifications grafted on. The theatre was built early in the 2nd century AD, when Bosra was the capital of the Roman province of Arabia. The first walls were built during the Umayyad and Abbasid periods, with further additions being made in the 11th century by the Fatimids.
The magnificent 15,000-seat theatre is a rarity among Roman theatres in that it is completely freestanding rather than built into the side of a hill. It’s a wonderful experience to be lost in the dark, oppressive fortress halls and dimly lit vaulted corridors and then to emerge through a sunlit opening to find yourself suddenly looking down on a vast, steeply terraced hillside of stone seating.
Other sites located in the Old Town north of the citadel include the old Roman baths, a 4th-century monastery, a cathedral (c 512) with an unfortunate concrete roof in one corner, various monumental gates, partially reconstructed colonnades of basalt corridors, the Roman market in lighter sandstone with mosaic-floor remnants off its northwestern side, vast cisterns and the Mosque of Omar, which dates to the 12th century.
Sleeping & Eating
All of the restaurants that occupy the open square outside the citadel entrance serve similar set menus of Syrian staples for around S£350.
Restaurant 1001 Nights ( 795 331) This is a long-standing traveller favourite, run by local entrepreneur Obeida Mekdad, but there’s not much to distinguish it from half a dozen places alongside. The advantage here, apart from the 25% discount for students, is that budget travellers may be able to unfurl a sleeping bag to stay overnight; there’s a shower and toilet but you’ll need your own sleeping bag. Single women may not feel comfortable doing this. There are no fixed prices for overnight stays, ask when you arrive. Meals from S£350.
Bosra Cham Palace ( 790 881; www.chamhotels.com; s/d US$125/145; ) The Cham Palace, a few hundred metres south from the citadel entrance, is the only hotel in town. On offer are well-presented rooms, nice gardens, a large swimming pool and a licensed coffeehouse (snacks around S£200). The restaurant (three-course meal S£660) is popular with tour groups.
Getting There & Away
Damas Tours runs new air-con buses between Bosra and Damascus (S£90, two hours, every two hours from 8am to 10pm). Al-Muhib runs similar services at the same times. Both leave from Damascus’s Al-Samariyeh Garage.
Minibuses run between Bosra and Deraa (S£25) between 4.30am and 4pm. These leave when full from the front of the tourist information office.
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SEIDNAYYA
Perched spectacularly on an enormous rocky outcrop, the Greek Orthodox Convent of Our Lady of Seidnayya is one of the most important places of Christian pilgrimage in the Middle East, due to the presence of a portrait of the Virgin Mary purportedly painted by St Luke. All manner of miracles have been attributed to this icon; at the time of the Crusades, the Christians considered Seidnayya second in importance only to Jerusalem. Veneration of the icon is fervent, and it’s fascinating to witness Muslim pilgrims as well as Christians. Most of the structure dates from the 19th