Bosra, Syria - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Bosra, Syria

Weather: Some sun in the morning with increasing clouds during the afternoon, 52/78F.

Route: From Acre 208 km ESE on Route 109.

Population: 19,683

Significance: Bosra was the capital of Arabia for the Romans in the 2nd century. It this became an important city in the Byzantine Empire. It was also said to be the place where Mohammed was told that he would be a prophet. 

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

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Well preserved Roman Theater (from whc.unesco.org)

Ruins of the ancient city (from whc.unesco.org)

Acre, Israel - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Acre, Israel

Weather: Partly cloudy, 68/84F.

Route: From Tyre 205 km south on Route 90 and Route 85.

Population: 49,380

Places to visit: Citadel of Acre, Bahai Gardens and Shrine, Or Torah Synagogue, Templars Tunnel, Al-Jazzar Mosque, Underground Prisoners Museum, Hamam El Basha Museum, Ethnographic Museum Treasures in the Walls, Knights' Halls, Khan al-Umdan.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

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Crusader fortress (from whc.unesco.org)

Mosque in Acre (from whc.unesco.org)

Tyre, Lebanon - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Tyre, Lebanon

Weather: Partly cloudy 64/81F.

Route: From Damascus 186 km WSW on Route 1 and Route 30M.

Population: 60,000

Significance: First Phoenician, then Greek, then Roman - this is one of the great Ancient cities in the Mediterranean. The founder of Carthage, Dido, supposedly was born here.  There are many Roman ruins here. The city declined after the end of the crusades in the middle ages.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Images:

Roman era columns (from whc.unesco.org)

A Roman triumphal arch that was reconstructed (from whc.unesco.org)

Damascus, Syria - UNESCO World Heritage Site

Place: Damascus, Syria

Weather: Intervals of clouds and sunshine, 48/69F.

Route: From Anjar 60 km SE on Route 1.

Population: 2,979,000

Places to visit: Umayyad Mosque, Al Azem Palace, National Museum of Damascus, St Ananias Chapel, Khan Asaad Basha, The Citadel, Bimaristan an-Nuri.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site
 

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The mosque of Damascus (from whc.unesco.org)

Interior of Khan Asaad Basha (from whc.unesco.org)

Anjar, Lebanon - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Anjar, Lebanon

Weather: Sun and a few passing clouds, 41/63F.

Route: From Byblos 90 km SE on 51M and 30M.

Significance: Founded and abandoned in the 8th century, Anjar is a good example of an early Islamic city - that had many influences from earlier Byzantine architecture.  It was on the route between Beirut and Damascus.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Images:

The Grand Palace (from whc.unesco.org)

The Tetrapylon (from whc.unesco.org)

Byblos, Lebanon - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Byblos, Lebanon

Weather: Cloudy with showers, 61/71F.

Route: From Baalbek 90 km west on Aannaya road.

Population: 40,000

Significance: One of the oldest continuously inhabited places on the planet. During the Phoenician period it was important in the development of the first alphabet.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Images:

The ruined port of Byblos (from whc.unesco.org)

Temple of the Obelisks (from whc.unesco.org)

Baalbek, Lebanon - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Baalbek, Lebanon

Weather: Cloudy early with partial sunshine later, 41/63F.

Route: From Palmyra 251 km WSW on Route 3.

Population: 82,608

Significance: Baalbek was initially a Phoenician city, then Greek, and eventually Roman. Its Temple of Bacchus and Temple of Jupiter are among some of the largest and most intact Roman ruins in the world.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Temple of Bacchus (from whc.unesco.org)

Ruins with mountains behind (from whc.unesco.org)

Palmyra, Syria - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Palmyra, Syria

Weather: Sunny, 45/69F.

Route: From Aleppo 347 km SE on M5 and 3.

Significance: Palmyra reached its height in the 1st and 2nd centuries CE under the Romans. It was an important city on the Silk Road, as it was an oasis and had plenty of water. The city was destroyed by the Romans after an uprising and was never rebuilt.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

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Aerial view of Palmyra (from whc.unesco.org)

The theater at Palmyra (from whc.unesco.org)

Aleppo, Syria - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Aleppo, Syria

Weather: Plentiful sunshine, 43/68F.

Route: From Choirokotia 653 km ENE on A1, ferry, E90, E91.

Population: 1.8 million

Places to visit: Aleppo Citadel, Saint Simon Citadel, Dead City of Serjilla, Great Mosque, Aleppo Museum, Ebla.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

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Bridge to the Aleppo castle - one of the oldest and largest castles in the world (from whc.unesco.org)

Great Mosque of Aleppo (from whc.unesco.org)

Choirokoitia, Cyprus - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Choirokoitia, Cyprus

Weather: Rain likely, 57/67F.

Route: From Paphos 103 km east on A6 and A1.

Significance: Choirokoitia was a neolithic settlement where people lived from 6,000 to 3,000 BC. It is one of the best preserved prehistoric areas of the eastern mediterranean.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Images:

Reconstruction of neolithic structures alongside ruins of structure (from whc.unesco.org)

Part of the site that has been most excavated (from whc.unesco.org)

Paphos, Cyprus - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Paphos, Cyprus

Weather: Thunderstorms, 56/69F.

Route: From Catalhoyuk 532 km southwest on E90, ferry, A6.

Significance: The center of the cult of Aphrodite since pre-Hellenic time. There are remains from the Myceneans to to the Romans, including some impressive Roman mosaics.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Images:

The archaeological park of Paphos (from whc.unesco.org)

One of the beautiful mosaics of Paphos (from whc.unesco.org)

Catalhoyuk, Turkey - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Catalhoyuk, Turkey

Weather: Sunshine and clouds mixed, 49/77F.

Route: From Goreme 320 km SSE on O-21.

Significance: This is a neolithic site, inhabited from 7200 to 5600 BC. There was an impressively large group of domestic buildings, wall paintings, sculptures etc.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Images:

The site is covered by a protective roof (from whc.unesco.org)

Sculpture of seated goddess found at Catalhoyuk (from medium.com)

Goreme National Park and Rock Sites of Cappadocia, Turkey - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Goreme National Park and Rock Sites of Cappadocia, Turkey

Weather: Mainly sunny, 34/59F.

Route: From Nemrut Dag 508 km west on D300.

Significance: The National Park has hoodoos similar to Bryce Canyon in Utah. There are also underground towns built by Christians in the 1st-4th centuries. Byzantine frescoes are on the walls of the the underground churches.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

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The hoodoos (from whc.unesco.org)

Fresco from underground church (from whc.unesco.org)

Nemrut Dag, Turkey - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Nemrut Dag, Turkey

Weather: Sunshine, 39/60F.

Route: From Gobekli Tepe 197 km north on D885/E99 and D360.

Significance: This is the site of the burial of King Antiochus of the 1st century BC - this place had both strong Greek and Persian influences. The large sculptures were Greek gods in Persian headdresses. 

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

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Beneath the man made pyramid are the pedestals of statues - the heads on the ground - having fallen off during an earthquake (from whc.unesco.org)

Some of the heads up close (whc.unesco.org)

Gobekli Tepe, Turkey - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Gobekli Tepe, Turkey

Weather: Some clouds in the morning - mostly sunny in the afternoon, 41/71F.

Route: From Diyarbakir 184 km SW on D400.

Significance: Gobekli Tepe is the oldest megalithic structure in the world - 5,000 years older than Stonehenge.  Some of the large pillars are carved with animals.  The site is thought to be related to religious rituals.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Images:

Aerial view of the site (from whc.unesco.org)

One of the pillars with engravings of animals (from whc.unesco.org)

Diyarbakir, Turkey - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Diyarbakir, Turkey

Weather: Considerable cloudiness, 36/65F.

Route: From Echmiatsin 841 km SW on D950.

Population: 1,094,551

Places to visit: City walls, Grand Mosque, Suluklu Han, Cahit Sitki Taranci House Cultural Museum, Zerzevan Kalesi, Virgin Mary Ancient Assyrian Church, Four-Legged Minaret, Diyarbakir Archeology Museum, Ziya Gakalp House Museum, Meryem Ana Killsesi.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

Images:

The city walls are 2nd largest in the world, behind only the Great Wall of China (from whc.unesco.org)

The Artuqid Arch with 4 legged minaret behind (from whc.unesco.org)

Echmiatsin, Armenia - UNESCO World Heritage Site

 Place: Echmiatsin, Armenia

Weather: Mainly sunny, 30/56F.

Route: From Geghard 54 km west on H3.

Significance: Although Mount Ararat is in Turkey, it is an important symbol for Armenians. It is thought to be the mountain where Noah's Ark came to rest. Armenia was the first country to make Christianity the official religion in the early 4th century.  There are many important churches in the area.

Website: UNESCO World Heritage Site

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Cathedral of Echmiatsin (from whc.unesco.org)

Ruins of Zvartnots Cathedral (from whc.unesco.org)