3. Lying at the east end of Souk al Hamidiyeh, it is a place of magnificent beauty. Its history goes back three thousand years. This location was first used as a temple dedicated to the worship of Hadad, who is the Aramean deity representing sun and thunder. Later on, in the 1st century AD, a large temple was built by the Romans and was dedicated to the Roman god of gods, Jupiter.

7. It now holds the Shrine of John the Baptist's head, and there are many rumors to explain how it came to be here. One is that Herod sent it to D D D D D aaaa mmmm aaaa ssss cccc uuuu ssss so that the Romans could be sure of his execution, while another is that when the Arabs took over the church, John the Baptist's blood bubbled and when the church was demolished his head was found underneath it with skin and hair. The plan of the mosque is quite simple, there is a magnificent courtyard which is heavily decorated by mosaics. In the middle of the courtyard are the Dome of the hours, the ablutions fountain, and the beautifully decorated Dome of the treasure.

9. This mosque is one of the few mosques that has three minarets, Minaret of the Bride (9th and 12th centuries), Minaret of Qat Bey (15th century), and the Minaret of Jesus (13th century).

11. Palmyra (Tadmor in Arabic) is in the heart of Syrian Desert, and is often described as the bride of the desert. Its magnificent remains tell of a heroic history during the reign of Queen Zenobia. The Oasis, as it is sometimes called, is located near a hot-water spring called Afqa, which make it an ideal halt for caravans moving between Iraq and Al-Sham (present day Syria, Lebanon, Holy Land and Jordan), trading in silk from China to the Mediterranean. This strategic location made Palmyra prosper in a well-established kingdom from the 2nd century BC. Palmyra History Called Tadmor by the Arabs, Palmyra appeared for the first time in the 2nd millennium BC in the archives of Mari and in an Assyrian text. It was also mentioned in the Bible as a part of Solomon's territory.

12. The Seleucids practically ignored Tadmor and it became independent. It flourished through trade with Persia, the Indian subcontinent and the Arabian Peninsula. In 41 BC it had become rich enough to attract the Romans and Anthony attempted to occupy it but failed because of the Palmyreans escaping to the other side of the Euphrates. It was fully occupied by the Romans under Tiberius, Augustus' successor and was integrated into the Province of Syria between 14-37 AD. During the next 100 years of Roman rule Palmyra prospered greatly as a trade route linking the East Asian empires of Persia, India, China, and the Parthians who were Rome's enemy for a long time.

14. Palmyra's greatest days however were after the murder of Odeinat, when his wife Zenobia started ruling Palmyra on behalf of her son Vaballath. Zenobia with the help of her Prime Minister Longings extended Palmyra power to the west and took over Bosra and occupied as far as Egypt (269-270), then she headed for the north and attempted to take Antioch. This sudden expansion posed a threat for the Romans, and after two years in 272 of being flexible Aurelian retaliated and took back Antioch then Emesa (Homs) and then Palmyra itself. Zenobia tried to escape but was captured and was taken back to Rome as a prisoner.

15. Later in the Byzantine period a few churches were built and added to the much ruined city. It was then taken by the Arabs under Khalid Ibn Al Walid who was leader of the Arab army under the Caliph Abu Bakr. It played a minor defensive role during the Islamic periods although the Umayyads built the two Qasr Al Heirs. Later T T T T T eeee mmmm pppp llll eeee o o o o ffff B B B B eeee llll was fortified and the Arab Castle of Fakhredin Al Maany was built. Since then it has had no major roles and the ruins have fallen victim to natural erosion.