Bosra and Syrian Countryside
Day trip from Damascus to Bosra, the UNESCO World Heritage ancient city with the best-preserved Roman theatre in the world, and explore the Hauran volcanic plateau with its extraordinary black basalt Byzantine and Roman monuments.
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Bosra Roman Theatre
See the Bosra Roman theatre, the best-preserved Roman theatre in the world, its black basalt seating for 15,000 spectators intact inside the later Arab fortress that protected it through the medieval period, the remarkable survival of a complete ancient performance space.
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Bosra Old City
Walk through Bosra old city where the colonnaded streets, Roman baths, churches, and mosques of the ancient capital of the Nabataean, Roman, and early Islamic city create one of Syria greatest open-air archaeological museums.
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Bosra Cathedral
Visit the Cathedral of Bosra, the 4th century Byzantine church where the monk Bahira met the young Muhammad and predicted his prophethood, the site held sacred in Islamic tradition as the place where the future Prophet was first recognized.
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Hauran Plateau
Drive through the Hauran volcanic plateau where the black basalt landscape dotted with ruined Byzantine villages and Roman monuments creates a dramatic archaeological landscape unlike anywhere else in Syria.
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Shahba Roman City
Visit Shahba, the Roman city of Philippopolis built by Emperor Philip the Arab in the 3rd century CE, the complete Roman city plan with theatre, temple, baths, and forum built in one campaign by the Syrian-born Roman emperor.
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Sweida Museum
See the Sweida archaeological museum where the mosaics, sculptures, and objects from the Hauran region demonstrate the prosperity and artistic achievement of the Nabataean, Roman, and Byzantine communities of this Syrian volcanic plateau.