Why this ride
385 km from Kafranbel to Kafranbel, about 7 h 25 of riding. It goes by way of Jebel Zawiyé 2 Rouweiha, Jebel Wastani Kafr Aqareb, Jebelal-A’la QalbLozé and Ancient Villages of Northern Syria. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Jebel Zawiyé 1 Ba’uda and Ancient Villages of Northern Syria
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 385 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 25
- 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 Zawiyé 1 Ba’uda
On the limestone uplands of the Jebel Zawiya in north-western Syria, among olive groves and stony fields, stand the remains of villages abandoned more than a thousand years ago. They are part of the Ancient Villages of Northern Syria, often called the Dead Cities, inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 2011. Ba'uda is one of these sites, with houses, churches, tombs and presses built of finely cut stone between the first and seventh centuries, when the region grew rich on olive oil.
Read the complete Jebel Zawiyé 1 Ba’uda write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Jebel Zawiyé 1 Ba’uda is where the day begins. Next is Jebel Zawiyé 2 Rouweiha.
2. 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.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Jebel Zawiyé 2 Rouweiha comes up about 28 km into the recorded legs. Next is Jebel Wastani Kafr Aqareb.
3. 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
about 106 km into the recorded legs you reach Jebel Wastani Kafr Aqareb. Next is Jebelal-A’la QalbLozé.
4. 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, about halfway. Next is Ancient Villages of Northern Syria.
5. 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 sits at 140 km, about halfway. Next is back through Jebelal-A’la QalbLozé.
6. 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 comes up about 245 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Jebel Wastani Kafr Aqareb.
7. back through 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
about 284 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Jebel Wastani Kafr Aqareb. Next is back through Jebel Zawiyé 2 Rouweiha.
8. back through Jebel Zawiyé 2 Rouweiha
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Jebel Zawiyé 2 Rouweiha write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Jebel Zawiyé 2 Rouweiha, late in the day. Next is Jebel Zawiyé 1 Ba’uda.
9. Jebel Zawiyé 1 Ba’uda
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Jebel Zawiyé 1 Ba’uda 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 385 km.
Leg by leg
Jebel Zawiyé 1 Ba’uda to Jebel Zawiyé 2 Rouweiha
Jebel Zawiyé 1 Ba’uda → Jebel Zawiyé 2 Rouweiha is 28 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Jebel Zawiyé 2 Rouweiha to Jebel Wastani Kafr Aqareb
Jebel Zawiyé 2 Rouweiha → Jebel Wastani Kafr Aqareb is 78 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Jebel Wastani Kafr Aqareb to Jebelal-A’la QalbLozé
Jebel Wastani Kafr Aqareb → Jebelal-A’la QalbLozé is 39 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 back through Jebelal-A’la QalbLozé
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 back through Jebel Wastani Kafr Aqareb
back through Jebelal-A’la QalbLozé → back through Jebel Wastani Kafr Aqareb is 39 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Jebel Wastani Kafr Aqareb to back through Jebel Zawiyé 2 Rouweiha
back through Jebel Wastani Kafr Aqareb → back through Jebel Zawiyé 2 Rouweiha is 75 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Jebel Zawiyé 2 Rouweiha to Jebel Zawiyé 1 Ba’uda
back through Jebel Zawiyé 2 Rouweiha → Jebel Zawiyé 1 Ba’uda is 27 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.