Middle East - Anthony Ham [441]
The only accommodation we can recommend is the Hotel Semiramis ( 421 185; s/d US$20/25), 100m south of the bus station with basic, fairly clean rooms. Across from the Chahba Hotel, there’s a nondescript restaurant (meals around S£200), where you can get fuul (fava bean soup), mezze and kebabs. Buses operate from Qamishle to major destinations including Damascus (S£400, 10 hours) and Aleppo (S£225, six to eight hours), departing from a station on Sharia Zaki al-Arsuzi.
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SIGHTS
The walls, enclosing a quadrangle measuring 550m by 400m, are virtually intact; the main entrance is by the North Gate. Once inside, you’re confronted by the immensity of the place, mostly bare now save for the churches inside. Little excavation has yet been done and you should stroll around the defensive perimeter walls before exploring the site.
Of the three churches that remain standing, the grandest is the partially restored Basilica of St Sergius. The wide central nave is flanked by two aisles, separated by a series of sweeping arches resting on pillars and a pair of less ambitious arch and column combinations. This and the two other churches date from the 6th century. In the southwestern corner of the complex lie huge underground cisterns that could keep a large garrison supplied with water through long sieges. There’s a small café outside the east wall of the site selling snacks and drinks.
Lake al-Assad
One of the Assad regime’s most ambitious plans, to dam the Euphrates, went into effect in the 1960s with the creation of this glorious azure-coloured inland sea.
Appearing to rise out of the lake, Qala’at Ja’abar (student/student S£10/150; 8am-6pm Apr-Sep, to 4pm Oct-Mar) is as impressive from a distance as the water vistas are from atop the citadel. Situated on the bank of Lake al-Assad, about 15km north of Ath-Thaura, the castle was built entirely of bricks in classic Mesopotamian style. Before the lake was dammed, the castle had rested on a rocky perch since before the arrival of Islam and had been rebuilt by Nureddin (Nur ad-Din) and altered by the Mamluks.
Without your own car, Qala’at Ja’abar can be difficult to get to. It’s necessary to go via Ath-Thaura, either coming from Raqqa (S£40 by microbus) or Aleppo (S£115 by bus). You can then negotiate with a local driver in Ath-Thaura; expect to pay about S£500 return.
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SYRIA DIRECTORY
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ACCOMMODATION
Syria has some outstanding budget accommodation, with the best choices in Damascus, Hama and Aleppo, with other decent choices in Palmyra and Lattakia. In some cases, the rooms are terrific – simple, yet clean and sometimes with bathrooms and satellite TV. But best of all, these are places switched on to the travellers’ network, great for meeting fellow travellers and arranging tours to nearby sites.
There’s at least one good midrange hotel in most major tourist hotspots – expect comfortable rooms with good bathrooms, satellite TV and good service. But the real highlight is the new wave of boutique hotels that usually straddle the upper midrange and top-end categories. These are to be found in the old cities of Damascus and Aleppo, with a further option in Hama. These places invariably occupy traditional Syrian homes arrayed around an interior courtyard, making an art form of traditional decoration detail in the public areas and usually