CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
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.
A 334 km round trip from Darkūsh - roughly 6 h 09 in the saddle. On the way it passes Ancient Villages of Northern Syria, Jebel Zawiyé 2 Rouweiha and back through Ancient Villages of Northern Syria. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Jebel Wastani Kafr Aqareb is where the day begins. Next is 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Ancient Villages of Northern Syria comes up about 77 km into the recorded legs. Next is Jebel Zawiyé 2 Rouweiha.
Scattered across the limestone hills of north-western Syria, between Aleppo and Idlib, lie hundreds of abandoned villages from late antiquity, built of finely cut stone between the first and seventh centuries and then gradually deserted. They are known as the Dead Cities, and together they form the World Heritage site of the Ancient Villages of Northern Syria. Ruweiha, in the Jebel Zawiye, is one of the largest: houses, churches, tombs and oil presses spread over a wide area, and among them the church of Bizzos, named after a local notable whose domed tomb stands beside it, is one of the best preserved. These villages grew rich on olive oil and trade, and their stone architecture, with arched doorways, carved lintels and crosses, is remarkably intact.
Read the complete Jebel Zawiyé 2 Rouweiha write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 173 km into the recorded legs you reach Jebel Zawiyé 2 Rouweiha. Next is back through Ancient Villages of Northern Syria.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ancient Villages of Northern Syria write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Ancient Villages of Northern Syria, late in the day. Next is Jebel Wastani Kafr Aqareb.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Jebel Wastani Kafr Aqareb write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Back at Jebel Wastani Kafr Aqareb. That is the ride.
Jebel Wastani Kafr Aqareb → Ancient Villages of Northern Syria is 77 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Ancient Villages of Northern Syria → Jebel Zawiyé 2 Rouweiha is 96 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Jebel Zawiyé 2 Rouweiha → back through Ancient Villages of Northern Syria is 84 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Ancient Villages of Northern Syria → Jebel Wastani Kafr Aqareb is 78 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.