Why this ride
304 km from Aleppo to Aleppo, about 6 h 56 of riding. It goes by way of Jebel Sem’an 3 Sinkhar, Jebel Barisha Deirouné, Ancient Villages of Northern Syria and Jebelal-A’la QalbLozé. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Ancient City of Aleppo and Jebelal-A’la QalbLozé
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 304 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 56
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Ancient City of Aleppo
Aleppo has a claim to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, and for most of its history it was a great trading city at the western end of the Silk Road. Its old town, listed by UNESCO in 1986, grew around a massive citadel on a mound in the centre, ringed by a moat and entered through a fortified gateway and bridge, mostly the work of the Ayyubid rulers in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Around it lay the souqs, kilometres of covered markets, among the largest in the Middle East, and caravanserais, mosques, madrasas and fine courtyard houses.
Read the complete Ancient City of Aleppo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ancient City of Aleppo is where the day begins. Next is Jebel Sem’an 3 Sinkhar.
2. Jebel Sem’an 3 Sinkhar
The limestone massif north-west of Aleppo, in Syria, is one of the most remarkable archaeological landscapes in the Middle East, but it has also been in a war zone for more than a decade, and travel there is not safe or practical. What follows is about what the place is, not an invitation to visit.
Read the complete Jebel Sem’an 3 Sinkhar write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Jebel Sem’an 3 Sinkhar comes up about 33 km into the recorded legs. Next is Jebel Barisha Deirouné.
3. Jebel Barisha Deirouné
On the limestone ridge of Jebel Barisha, in north-west Syria near the Turkish border at Reyhanlı, lie the stone ruins of Deirouné, one of the hundreds of late Roman and Byzantine villages that UNESCO lists as the Ancient Villages of Northern Syria, often called the Dead Cities. Between roughly the first and seventh centuries, farmers here grew olives and vines on the uplands, prospered, and built houses, churches and olive presses in finely cut stone. When the trade networks that sustained them collapsed, the villages were slowly abandoned, and the dry climate left them remarkably intact.
Read the complete Jebel Barisha Deirouné write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 68 km into the recorded legs you reach Jebel Barisha Deirouné. Next is Ancient Villages of Northern Syria.
4. Ancient Villages of Northern Syria
On the limestone hills west of Aleppo, hundreds of abandoned villages stand in a landscape of olive groves and stony fields, their houses, churches, oil presses and tombs built of finely cut stone between the first and seventh centuries. These are the Ancient Villages of Northern Syria, often called the Dead Cities, listed by UNESCO in 2011. They were prosperous farming communities in the late Roman and Byzantine periods, growing olives and grapes for trade, and were abandoned for reasons still debated, perhaps changing trade routes and the political upheavals of the seventh century.
Read the complete Ancient Villages of Northern Syria write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ancient Villages of Northern Syria, about halfway. Next is Jebelal-A’la QalbLozé.
5. Jebelal-A’la QalbLozé
High on the limestone ridge of the Jebel al-A'la, in the north west of Syria near the Turkish border, stands one of the most beautiful early Christian churches anywhere. The basilica of Qalb Lozeh was built in the second half of the fifth century, probably as a pilgrimage church on the route to the shrine of Saint Simeon Stylites, the hermit who spent decades living on top of a pillar not far to the east. Its facade, with a great arch flanked by two towers, is one of the earliest examples of a design that would later be repeated in the Romanesque churches of Europe. The church is part of the Ancient Villages of Northern Syria, a UNESCO site listed in 2011, which includes some forty villages abandoned between the eighth and tenth centuries, often known as the Dead Cities.
Read the complete Jebelal-A’la QalbLozé write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Jebelal-A’la QalbLozé sits at 137 km, about halfway. Next is back through Ancient Villages of Northern Syria.
6. back through Ancient Villages of Northern Syria
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ancient Villages of Northern Syria write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Ancient Villages of Northern Syria comes up about 202 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Jebel Barisha Deirouné.
7. back through Jebel Barisha Deirouné
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Jebel Barisha Deirouné write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 236 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Jebel Barisha Deirouné. Next is back through Jebel Sem’an 3 Sinkhar.
8. back through Jebel Sem’an 3 Sinkhar
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Jebel Sem’an 3 Sinkhar write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Jebel Sem’an 3 Sinkhar, late in the day. Next is Ancient City of Aleppo.
9. Ancient City of Aleppo
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ancient City of Aleppo write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 304 km.
Leg by leg
Ancient City of Aleppo to Jebel Sem’an 3 Sinkhar
Ancient City of Aleppo → Jebel Sem’an 3 Sinkhar is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Jebel Sem’an 3 Sinkhar to Jebel Barisha Deirouné
Jebel Sem’an 3 Sinkhar → Jebel Barisha Deirouné is 35 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Jebel Barisha Deirouné to Ancient Villages of Northern Syria
Jebel Barisha Deirouné → Ancient Villages of Northern Syria is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ancient Villages of Northern Syria to Jebelal-A’la QalbLozé
Ancient Villages of Northern Syria → Jebelal-A’la QalbLozé is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Jebelal-A’la QalbLozé to back through Ancient Villages of Northern Syria
Jebelal-A’la QalbLozé → back through Ancient Villages of Northern Syria is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Ancient Villages of Northern Syria to back through Jebel Barisha Deirouné
back through Ancient Villages of Northern Syria → back through Jebel Barisha Deirouné is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Jebel Barisha Deirouné to back through Jebel Sem’an 3 Sinkhar
back through Jebel Barisha Deirouné → back through Jebel Sem’an 3 Sinkhar is 36 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Jebel Sem’an 3 Sinkhar to Ancient City of Aleppo
back through Jebel Sem’an 3 Sinkhar → Ancient City of Aleppo is 33 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.