Middle East - Anthony Ham [410]
The hillside south of the church is riddled with small caverns that archaeologists believe were inhabited by prehistoric man some 50,000 to 60,000 years ago. This road loops back to the village, where it’s possible to catch a minibus back to Damascus.
Sleeping & Eating
As Maalula is an easy half-day trip from Damascus, there’s no need to stay overnight unless you want to attend the Festival of the Cross (13 September) or the St Thecla Festival (24 September). It’s possible to stay overnight in simple rooms at the Convent of St Thecla, where there are no fixed rates; make a generous donation instead.
Maaloula Hotel ( 777 0250; maaloula@scs-net.org; s/d US$95/111; ) This comfortable four-star hotel offers clean, spacious rooms, and full amenities include a good restaurant serving Syrian and European food, and a coffeehouse and bar on its cliff-top perch.
La Grotta ( 777 0909; snacks from S£150) Adjacent to the Monastery and Church of St Sergius, this sparkling clean café in a light-filled stone building serves up excellent pizza, sandwiches, ice cream, cold beer and drinks.
Getting There & Away
From Damascus, minibuses (S£50, one hour) depart from Maalula Garage. In Maalula, buses stop at the main intersection in the village centre, just downhill from the Convent of St Thecla.
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HOMS
031 / pop 1.6 million
There’s little of interest in Homs, although it does have an interesting old souq and an agreeable atmosphere. That said, for most travellers, it’s one of those crossroads towns that you’ll have to pass through at some stage, if only to change transport. Roads head north to Hama and Aleppo, east to Palmyra and the Euphrates, south to Damascus and west to Tartus and the coast.
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INFORMATION
There’s no shortage of ATMs in Homs. For internet, Messenger (Sharia Tarablus; per hr S£50; 24hr) is excellent. The post office (Sharia Abdel Moniem Riad) is about 200m north of the clock-tower roundabout, while the telephone office (Sharia Shoukri al-Quwatli; 8am-8pm Sat-Thu, to 1pm Fri) is just east of the clock-tower roundabout.
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SIGHTS
The only building of great note is the Khaled ibn al-Walid Mosque, on the Hama road, about 600m north of the town centre. Behind its black-stone facade and beneath its silver dome lies the tomb of the commander of the Muslim armies that brought Islam to Syria in AD 636.
Homs’ restored old souq, with its grey stones, vaulted ceilings and elegant white lamp posts, is one of Syria’s most attractive. Southeast of the souq, Homs’ Christian Quarter is one of Syria’s most welcoming and relaxed.
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SLEEPING & EATING
An-Nasr al-Jedid Hotel ( 5227 423; Sharia Shoukri al-Quwatli; s/d S£250/450) Entered from a side street just off Sharia al-Quwatli, this is about the best of the budget places in town, but that’s not saying much. It’s grubby and has very uncomfortable beds, but the sheets are relatively clean and one of the showers along the corridor can sometimes be cranked up to give out some hot water (S£50 per shower). It is, however, set in a beautiful hundred-year-old building.
Lord Suites Hotel ( 5247 4008; www.lordsuiteshotel.com; Saahat Al Saa al-Jadida; s/d/tr US$50/70/100; ) This is a spotlessly clean, modern place and an excellent midrange choice. The rooms, which are actually one-, two- and three-bedroom suites, are enormous. Rooms come with fridge and satellite TV. Ask about discounts in winter.
Blue Stone ( 5245 9999; meals S£350; 9am-late) In a big, greystone building looking out onto the