Middle East - Anthony Ham [432]
The Roman emperor Aurelian, who had been prepared to negotiate, was not amused. After defeating Zenobia’s forces at Antioch and Emesa (Homs) in 271, he besieged Palmyra itself. Zenobia was defiant to the last and instead of accepting the generous surrender terms offered by Aurelian, made a dash on a camel through the encircling Roman forces. She headed for Persia to appeal for military aid, only to be captured by Roman cavalry at the Euphrates. Zenobia was carted off to Rome in 272 as Aurelian’s trophy and reputedly paraded in the streets, bound in gold chains. Later freed, she married a Roman senator and lived out her days in Tibur (now Tivoli), close to Rome.
* * *
The emperor Diocletian (r 254–305) later fortified the broken city as one in a line of fortresses marking the eastern boundary of the Roman Empire, and Justinian further rebuilt the city’s defences in the 6th century. The city survived primarily as a military outpost and the caravan traffic all but dropped away.
In 634 the city fell to a Muslim army led by Khaled ibn al-Walid, and from this time Palmyra all but fades from history. It was finally and completely destroyed by an earthquake in 1089.
Return to beginning of chapter
INFORMATION
Palmyra’s helpful tourist information office ( 591 0574; www.syriatourism.org; Saahat ar-Rais; 8am-6pm Sat-Thu) is situated across from the museum. There is a Commercial Bank of Syria exchange booth ( 8am-8pm Sun-Thu, 10am-8pm Fri & Sat) in front of the museum; it doesn’t change travellers cheques. The post office ( 8am-2pm Sat-Thu) is in front of the Al-Assad Gardens, just west of the tourist office.
Hani Internet ( 591 0878; per hr S£100; 8am-midnight), at the Traditional Palmyra Restaurant, has OK connections and also wi-fi for those toting laptops for the same price; you can also burn CDs here. For visa extensions, visit the office signed as Passports (Sharia al-Quwatli; 8am-1.30pm Sat-Thu) with three photos and pick up your passport the next day.
* * *
THE PROBLEM WITH PALMYRA
Palmyra is a once-small town and conservative Bedouin society that has, in recent decades, been inundated with tourists and its economy is almost entirely dependent on tourism. When tourist numbers plummeted after September 2001, these businesses hit hard times and competition between them became fierce – and sometimes nasty – as a result. The same happens whenever regional politics cause a downturn in tourist numbers. For example, the town’s long-standing restaurants have a simmering feud and are known to regale travellers with rants about the competition. If they start sounding off to you, tell them you’re not interested.
Competition is no less heated in the hotel scene, with some hotels meeting arriving buses, much to the annoyance of the others. Once in town, travellers may encounter another competition-fuelled annoyance: hotel touts. These guys (often kids) will try to take you to one of the hotels in town for a paying commission. Be aware that if you turn up with one of them, an extra 10% to 20% will be added to the quoted cost of a bed or room to cover his commission. And ignore the old ‘That hotel is full/dirty/closed/a brothel’ spiel about somewhere that you’ve already booked. If you’re female and staff at any restaurant offer a massage, turn them down flat.
All of that said, be aware of the situation but don’t be paranoid. Palmyra is not Egypt or Morocco. Most of what happens is pretty low level and the hassles are, in most cases, only bad by Syrian standards.
* * *
Return to beginning of chapter
SIGHTS
The Ruins
There’s no entry fee and no opening hours for the ruins, although three sites (the Temple of Bel, the Theatre and Elahbel, one of the funerary towers) do have set hours