Why this ride
From Darkūsh it runs 312 km to Darkūsh; allow about 6 h 44 of riding. On the way it passes Jebelal-A’la QalbLozé, Ancient Villages of Northern Syria, Jebel Barisha Deirouné and Jebel Sem’an 1 Qal’atSem’an.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Jebel Wastani Kafr Aqareb and Jebel Sem’an 1 Qal’atSem’an
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 312 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 6 h 44
- 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. Jebel Wastani Kafr Aqareb
Along the limestone uplands of north-western Syria, close to the Turkish border, lie the remains of hundreds of abandoned villages from late antiquity, the so-called Dead Cities. Kafr Aqareb, on the Jebel Wastani, is one of them, part of the Ancient Villages of Northern Syria listed by UNESCO in 2011. These were prosperous farming communities between roughly the first and seventh centuries, growing olives, grapes and grain, and producing oil that was traded across the Roman and Byzantine world. They built in stone, with remarkable skill: houses, churches, bath houses, olive presses and tombs, many still standing to roof height. When trade routes shifted and the region changed hands, the villages were gradually abandoned, leaving ghost towns that look as if their inhabitants left only recently.
Read the complete Jebel Wastani Kafr Aqareb write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Jebel Wastani Kafr Aqareb is where the day begins. Next is Jebelal-A’la QalbLozé.
2. 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 comes up about 38 km into the recorded legs. Next is Ancient Villages of Northern Syria.
3. 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
about 88 km into the recorded legs you reach Ancient Villages of Northern Syria. Next is Jebel Barisha Deirouné.
4. 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
Jebel Barisha Deirouné, about halfway. Next is Jebel Sem’an 1 Qal’atSem’an.
5. Jebel Sem’an 1 Qal’atSem’an
Saint Simeon the Stylite spent more than three decades on top of a pillar, and the ruins of the great church built around that pillar still stand in the limestone hills northwest of Aleppo. Simeon, a fifth-century monk from the region, withdrew from the world by climbing onto a column that was raised gradually to about eighteen metres, and from there he preached, prayed and advised pilgrims until his death in 459. Pilgrims came from across the Byzantine world, and within a few decades, a vast cruciform church, one of the largest of its time, rose around the base of the pillar.
Read the complete Jebel Sem’an 1 Qal’atSem’an write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Jebel Sem’an 1 Qal’atSem’an sits at 125 km, about halfway. Next is back through Jebel Barisha Deirouné.
6. 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
back through Jebel Barisha Deirouné comes up about 190 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Ancient Villages of Northern Syria.
7. 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
about 224 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Ancient Villages of Northern Syria. Next is back through Jebelal-A’la QalbLozé.
8. back through Jebelal-A’la QalbLozé
Return visit. Read the place description above.
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
back through Jebelal-A’la QalbLozé, late in the day. Next is Jebel Wastani Kafr Aqareb.
9. Jebel Wastani Kafr Aqareb
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Jebel Wastani Kafr Aqareb 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 312 km.
Leg by leg
Jebel Wastani Kafr Aqareb to Jebelal-A’la QalbLozé
Jebel Wastani Kafr Aqareb → Jebelal-A’la QalbLozé is 38 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Jebelal-A’la QalbLozé to Ancient Villages of Northern Syria
Jebelal-A’la QalbLozé → Ancient Villages of Northern Syria is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Ancient Villages of Northern Syria to Jebel Barisha Deirouné
Ancient Villages of Northern Syria → Jebel Barisha Deirouné is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Jebel Barisha Deirouné to Jebel Sem’an 1 Qal’atSem’an
Jebel Barisha Deirouné → Jebel Sem’an 1 Qal’atSem’an is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Jebel Sem’an 1 Qal’atSem’an to back through Jebel Barisha Deirouné
Jebel Sem’an 1 Qal’atSem’an → 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 Ancient Villages of Northern Syria
back through Jebel Barisha Deirouné → back through Ancient Villages of Northern Syria is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Ancient Villages of Northern Syria to back through Jebelal-A’la QalbLozé
back through Ancient Villages of Northern Syria → back through Jebelal-A’la QalbLozé is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Jebelal-A’la QalbLozé to Jebel Wastani Kafr Aqareb
back through Jebelal-A’la QalbLozé → Jebel Wastani Kafr Aqareb is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.