Tour Length: 7 days / 6 nights
Recommended Period(s):The tours announced are available for groups of seven or more people.
Dates are flexible within the recommended periods. Anytime of the year
Dates are flexible within the recommended periods. Anytime of the year
Price:The tours announced are available for groups of seven or more people.
Dates are flexible within the recommended periods. This tour is currently unavailable. Please contact enterprise@museumwnf.net for further details.
Dates are flexible within the recommended periods. This tour is currently unavailable. Please contact enterprise@museumwnf.net for further details.
See Also
THE AYYUBID ERA. Art and Architecture in Medieval Syria.
SYRIA - Central region of Syria, Mediterranean Coast and South
Detailed Programme |
Day 1
|
ARRIVAL IN DAMASCUSProgramme Upon arrival at Damascus Airport you will be met by a representative of the travel agency, who will assist you with all formalities and take you to your hotel for overnight in Damascus. |
Day 2
|
DAMASCUSProgramme During the reigns of Nur al-Din and Salah al-Din intense anti-Crusader military campaigns went hand in hand with the religious and cultural revival testified to by the many madrasas, khanqas and bimaristans and by restoration works aimed at displaying the sultans’ religious piety and allowing the transmission of knowledge. Monuments, gates and fortifications in Damascus survived over the centuries, showing local architectonic traditions and some new elements borrowed from the East, such as the iwan (vaulted hall) and muqarnas (honeycomb ornamentation). Sightseeing in Damascus to visit the National Museum, Umayyad Mosque (built in the Umayyad period and restored in 12th century by the Atabegs and Ayyubids), the Saladin Mausoleum (1195), Azem Palace, the suqs and gates of Damascus and the panoramic view of Mount Qassyun. Reference to Exhibition Trail: ITINERARY I |
Day 3
|
MAR MUSA AL-HABASHI / HOMSProgramme This itinerary includes a visit to some fine examples of Christian art of Atabeg and Ayyubid Syria. Christian communities of Syria played an important social and cultural role as leading figures in science, culture and diplomacy. Both Christian and Muslim communities in Syria experienced the consequences of Crusader occupation and, after the military victories of Nur al-Din and Salah al-Din, Christians witnessed a revival of architectural patronage of churches and monasteries, sharing artistic elements and a common cultural heritage with Muslim communities. Visit the Monastery of Mar Musa Al-Habashi with its frescoed church founded in 1058, and continue to Homs to visit the Great Mosque of Nur al-Din (restored by Nur al-Din in the 12th century) and the Church of Elian, whose frescos date back to the 13th century. Overnight in Homs. Reference to Exhibition Trail: ITINERARY III.2,4 |
Day 4
|
SHMEMIS CASTLE / QAL‘AT SHAYZAR / CRAC DES CHEVALIERS / HAMAProgramme Visit Shmemis Castle, refortified during the Ayyubid period, Qal‘at Shayzar (home of the famous poet/warrior Usama ibn Munqidh, it dates back to the Hellenistic and Byzantine period, and was restored by Nur al-Din in 1157 and 1170), Crac des Chevaliers, the most famous Crusader castle in Syria, the seat of the Hospitallers, reoccupied by Nur al-Din in 1163, by Salah al-Din in 1188 and then by the Mamluks in 1271. Continue to Hama to see the famous norias or waterwheels. First introduced by the Romans and Byzantines, the construction of norias became part of Arab-Muslim water-collecting technology, due to the importance of water for religious acts. In Hama, norias were restored or built during Atabeg and Ayyubid era. Both the Atabegs and the Ayyubids considered these works as part of their political message based on the restoration of religious orthodoxy and jihad against the Crusaders. Continue to Mosque of Nur Al-Din (1164) and Hama Archeological Museum. Overnight in Hama. Reference to Exhibition Trail: ITINERARIES IV, V.3 |
Day 5
|
QAL‘AT NAJM / QAL‘AT JA‘BAR / RAQQA / ALEPPOProgramme This itinerary is completely devoted to an excursion to the fortified castles on the Euphrates in the Jazira region (northern Mesopotamia), built since the 10th century by local Bedouin chiefs to protect their territories from Byzantine, Fatimid and local tribes’ military attacks. Atabegs and Ayyubids conquered the entire region in the 11th and 12th centuries and commissioned restoration works for those fortresses to control the territory and communication routes. Visit Qal‘at Najm, Qal‘at Ja‘bar (incorporated by the Crusaders in the County of Edessa in 1104 and finally taken by Nur al-Din in 1168), a citadel built on the shore of modern Lake Asad, set in a beautiful landscape. Continue to Raqqa to visit the museum. Raqqa was the most important Abbasid city in the Jazira region and was famous for its glazed ceramic production. Visit Qasr al-Banat and Bab Baghdad (10th-11th centuries). Continue to Aleppo for overnight. Reference to Exhibition Trail: ITINERARY VIII.1,3,4 |
Day 6
|
ALEPPO / DAMASCUSProgramme Aleppo is an example of a typical Atabeg-Ayyubid city, with its fortified citadel, walls and gates, but also with all the elements of a Middle Eastern city of that period, with its suqs, hammams (baths), bimaristans, mosques, madrasas and caravanserais, fulfilling the three purposes of religion, security and economic activity. Visit the National Museum of Aleppo, Bab Antakia, Madrasa al-Shu‘aybiyya (built by Nur al-Din in 1150), Madrasa al-Muqaddamiyya (built by a military commander in 1168), Bimaristan al-Nuri (1150), Madrasa al-Hallawiyya (rebuilt in the 12th century over the remains of the Byzantine church of St Helena), Great Mosque of Aleppo (built under the Umayyad Caliphs, restored during the Atabeg period in 1090), Hammam al-Nahassin, Madrasa al-Sultaniyya (completed in 1223), the citadel of Aleppo and Aleppo suq. Return to Damascus for overnight. Reference to Exhibition Trail: ITINERARIES VI, VII |
Day 7
|
DEPARTURE FROM DAMASCUSProgramme On departure day you will be collected from the hotel by a representative of the travel agency, who will accompany you to Damascus Airport and assist you until check-in. |
PAST & PRESENT OPTION
On request the visit to historical monuments and sites can be combined with features representing the country today:
Aleppo
A panoramic visit to Chahba Quarter with its unique modern villas to compare the architecture of Aleppo of the past with modern building styles and witness its impact on modern lifestyles of Aleppo.
Ma‘loulâ
Visit the Christian town of Ma‘loulâ where people still speak Aramaic, the language of Jesus Christ.
Programme And Prices Are Subject To Change. © Museum With No Frontiers, 2009 – 2013