Showing 1-8 of 8 results
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An-Nuri Mosque
A little way south of the roundabout at the eastern end of Sharia Shoukri al-Quwatli and tucked down a laneway is the unassuming 20th-century façade of the An-Nuri Mosque, which is actually much older than first appearances might suggest. Just north of the prayer hall, the mosque courtyard contains a curious long, low platform, and an ancient capital is embedded in the western end of the platform.
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Azze Hrawe
From the Church of the Girdle of Our Lady, follow the road that heads off to the north, taking the first right for the Azze Hrawe, a Mamluk-era residence of impressive size. It was being restored at the time of research and should soon open to the public as a National Folklore Museum. There's a beautiful big courtyard with a fountain and a liwan (summer room) featuring exquisite carved-wood decoration. Don't hesitate to knock on the door if it's closed; nobody minds you snooping around.
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Church of the Girdle of Our Lady
From the Christian Quarter along Sharia Abi al-Hawl, continue due east, straight over the crossroad, until you see a small gateway topped by a cross - this leads through a grey stone wall to the Church of the Girdle of Our Lady . In 1953 the patriarch of Antioch, Ignatius Aphraim, declared a delicate strip of woven wool and silk, found in the church six months earlier, to be a girdle worn by the Virgin Mary.
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Citadel Mound
Half a kilometre to the south of Homs, the large earthen Citadel Mound marks the site where a citadel once stood.
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Fortified Wall
Little remains of the old city of Homs. Its walls and gates were largely demolished in the Ottoman era, although there is a short section of Fortified Wall with a circular corner tower just south of Sharia Shoukri al-Quwatli.
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Khaled ibn al-Walid Mosque
Built as recently as the first decade of the 20th century, Homs' best-known monument, Khaled ibn al-Walid Mosque , is an attractive example of a Turkish-style mosque. The black-and-white Mamluk-style stone banding in the courtyard is particularly striking. Inside the prayer hall, over in one corner, is the domed mausoleum of Khaled ibn al-Walid, the military strategist and hero who conquered Syria for Islam in AD 636.
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Museum
In the big Department of Antiquities building on the main street, Homs' Museum contains a rather modest collection of artefacts, from prehistoric to early Islamic, unearthed in the region. Labelling is in Arabic only.
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Souq
A few steps from the An-Nuri Mosque is Homs' restored old Souq, which buzzes in the evenings when the whole city seemingly comes out to shop. With its grey stones, vaulted ceilings and elegant white lamp posts, it's one of Syria's most attractive souqs. The artisans, carpenters, cobblers, metal-workers and knife-sharpeners sitting cross-legged on the floors of their workshops make it all the more fascinating, and it's an easy place to while away a couple of hours.
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Showing 1-8 of 8 results
