Jebel Zawiyé 2 Rouweiha and Ancient City of Aleppo starting at Ma‘arrat an Nu‘mān

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Jebelal-A’la QalbLozé.

2. 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 81 km into the recorded legs. Next is Ancient City of Aleppo.

3. 3. 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

   about 143 km into the recorded legs you reach Ancient City of Aleppo. Next is back through Jebelal-A’la QalbLozé.

4. 4. 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 Zawiyé 2 Rouweiha.

5. 5. 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 at Jebel Zawiyé 2 Rouweiha. That is the ride.