Church on the way to Qaal'at Samaan
View from the church
Detail of the church
New lamb, just outside the church
Lion at Ain Dara, a Hittite temple to Ishtar
Lion at Ain Dara
Carving at Ain Dara
Approach to the basilica at Qaal'at Samaan, where St. Simeon sat on a pillar for 40 years
Qaal'at Samaan
Qaal'at Samaan, with the remains of the pillar
Detail at Qaal'at Samaan
Looking from syria to Turkey
Qalb Lozeh
Qalb Lozeh - the roof of the side aisle is still intact
Apamea, founded in the 3rd century B.C.E. by Seleucus I, taken by the Romans in 64 B.C.E., much rebuilt in 115 C.E. Flattened by earthquake, 1157.
Apamea's impressively long main street (2km)
Some suggestion of scale
Unusual fluted columns
Despite the restoration, much remains ruined
11th - 12th century Crusader castle - T. E. Lawrence: "the finest castle in the world"
The walls and moat kept out attackers, until the diminished Christians surrendered in 1271
View from the castle
Gothic facade in the inner fortress
