Sights in Palmyra
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Great Colonnade
The spine of ancient Palmyra was a stately colonnaded avenue stretching between the city's main funerary temple in the west and the Temple of Bel in the east, and covering a distance of almost 1km. Unlike the typical Roman model, Palmyra's main avenue was far from straight, pivoting decisively at two points - a result of piecemeal growth and improvisation.
Where the modern asphalted road slices across the ancient way is an imposing monumental arch ( M04D2). Dating from the reign of Septimius Severus, when Palmyra was at its peak, the construction is actually two arches, joined like a hinge to swing the street through a 30-degree turn, aiming it at the Temple of Bel.
The se…
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Palmyra Museum
Only the keenest of archaeologists would benefit from a visit to Palmyra's modest museum. With its poor labelling, it adds little to the experience of Palmyra. There are a few highlights, however, including a large-scale model of the Temple of Bel that gives a good impression of how the complex would have looked in its original state, and some fascinating friezes depicting camel trains and cargo ships, attesting to the importance trade played in the wealth of Palmyra.
There are some dynamic mosaics found in nobles' houses east of the Temple of Bel, including one representing a scene from the Iliad in which Ulysses discovers Achilles disguised in women's clothes, concealed…
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Tower of Elahbel
Further west of the Towers of Yemliko (a group of towers constructed as multistorey burial chambers), deeper into the hills, are plenty more funerary towers, some totally dilapidated, others relatively complete. By far the best preserved is the Tower of Elahbel, which is situated about 500m west of the Yemliko group. Built in AD 103, it has four storeys and could purportedly accommodate up to 300 sarcophagi. It's possible to ascend an internal staircase to visit the upper storey tomb chambers and to get out onto the roof.
Also here is the chamber that formerly housed the Hypogeum of Yarhai, dismantled and reconstructed in the National Museum.To visit Elahbel it's necessar…
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Hypogeum of the Three Brothers
In addition to the funerary towers, Palmyra boasts a second, later type of tomb, the hypogeum, which was an underground burial chamber. As with the towers, this chamber was filled with loculi fitted with stone carved seals. The best of the 50 or more hypogea that have been discovered and excavated, apart from the Hypogeum of Yarhai, is the Hypogeum of the Three Brothers , which lies just southwest of the Palmyra Cham Palace hotel.
The tomb dates from AD 160 to AD 91. It is very modest in size but contains some beautiful frescoes, including portraits of the three brothers in oval frames. There are also three large sarcophagi topped by figures reclining on couches. You'll n…
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Qala'at ibn Maan
To the west of the ruins perched high on a hilltop, Qala'at ibn Maan is most notable as the prime viewing spot for overlooking the ruins of Palmyra. The castle is said to have been built in the 17th century by Fakhreddine (Fakhr ad-Din al-Maan II), the Lebanese warlord who challenged the Ottomans for control of the Syrian desert. However, it's also possible that some sort of fortifications existed up here well before then.
The castle is surrounded by a moat, and a footbridge allows access to the rooms and various levels within. However, it's not necessary to enter the castle to enjoy the views. The best time to go up is in the late afternoon, with the sun to the west, cas…
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Towers of Yemliko
To the south of the city wall at the foot of low hills is a series of variously sized, freestanding, square-based towers. Known as the Towers of Yemliko, they were constructed as multistorey burial chambers, stacked high with coffins posted in pigeonhole-like niches. The niches, or loculi, were then sealed with a stone panel carved with a head and shoulders portrait of the deceased; you can see dozens of these stone portraits in the Palmyra Museum, and in the National Museum at Damascus.
The tallest of the towers - at four storeys high - is the most interesting. It dates from AD 83 and although it is kept locked you can peer in through the barred entrance. There is also a…
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Temple of Baal Shamin
Dating from AD 17 and dedicated to the Phoenician god of storms and fertilising rains, the Temple of Baal Shamin is all that remains of a much larger compound. This small shrine stands alone 200m north of the main colonnaded street, near the Zenobia Hotel, in what was a residential area of the ancient city. Baal Shamin was an import, like Bel, who only really gained popularity in Palmyra when Roman influence was at its height.
Although the temple gate is permanently padlocked closed, it is possible to peer inside. Fronting the temple , the six columns of the vestibule have platforms for statues, and carry inscriptions. The column on the far left, dated AD 131, has an insc…
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cella
The cella was completed in AD 32, a date given in a dedication inscribed on a pedestal found inside the temple, and now exhibited in the Palmyra Museum. It's unusual that the entrance is in one of the sides rather than at an end, and is offset from the centre. Inside is a single chamber with adytons (large niches) at either end.
The adyton ceilings, carved from single slabs of stone, are magnificent: the northern ceiling has a cupola featuring seven busts of divinities and the 12 signs of the zodiac, while the southern ceiling has a circular pattern of acanthus leaves surrounded by a ring of geometric patterning all inset within a square frame, itself surrounded by an ela…
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Theatre
Palmyra's theatre, lies on the south side of the street accessed between two arches in the colonnade. Until the 1950s it was buried beneath sand but since then has been extensively restored.
Beneath the platforms on many of the columns are inscriptions with names for the statues that once stood there: representations of prominent people including emperors, princes of Palmyra, magistrates, officials, high-ranking priests and caravan chiefs.
The freestanding stage façade of the theatre itself is designed along the lines of a palace entrance, complete with a royal door and smaller doors on either side. From the rear of the theatre, a pillared way once led south to a gate in t…
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Ruins
Set the alarm for an early start to beat the heat - from May through to September the sun can be merciless - and take plenty of water and a hat when you explore the ruins . Follow the road that runs south directly opposite the tourist office to reach the Temple of Bel and monumental arch, the latter being the best place to start exploring.
Depending on the heat and your energy levels, you may need to organise transport to visit Qala'at ibn Maan (the Arab castle), the Valley of the Tombs and the underground hypogea (underground burial chambers); most hotels are keen to oblige.Although there is no admission fee to the main site, the museums, Temple of Bel, Qala'at ibn Maan …
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agora
The agora was the hub of Palmyrene life, the city's most important meeting space, used for public discussion and as a market where caravans unloaded their wares and engaged in the trade that brought the desert oasis its wealth. What remains today is a clearly defined courtyard measuring 84m by 71m. Numerous pillars survive to indicate that the central area was once enclosed by porticoes on all four sides and that the pillars carried statues.
The dedications reveal that the portico on the north held statues of Palmyrene and Roman officials, the eastern one had senators, the western portico was for military officers, while on the south side, merchants and caravan leaders we…
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Tetrapylon
Perhaps the most striking construction at Palmyra, the Tetrapylon marks the second pivot in the route of the colonnaded street. It consists of a square platform bearing at each corner a tight grouping of four columns. Each of the four groups of pillars supports 150,000kg of solid cornice. A pedestal at the centre of each quartet originally carried a statue.
Only one of the 16 pillars is of the original pink granite (probably brought from Aswan in Egypt); the rest are a result of some rather hasty reconstruction carried out from the 1960s onwards by the Syrian Antiquities Department.From here the main colonnaded street continues northwest, while smaller pillared transverse…
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Temple of the Standards
Dating from the late 3rd or early 4th century AD, Diocletian's camp comprises the remains of a monumental gateway, a tetrapylon and two temples, one of which, the Temple of the Standards, dominates from an elevated position at the head of a flight of worn steps. The 'camp' was erected after the destruction of the city by Aurelian.
The extent of the complex and the fact that it was built on top of, and incorporates, earlier structures of evident grandeur has led some historians to speculate that it occupies what had been the palace of Zenobia.Behind the complex a section of fortified wall climbs a steep hill - from where there are excellent views of the site - then descend…
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funerary temple
Beyond the Tetrapylon the main street continues for another 500m. This stretch has seen much less excavation and reconstruction than elsewhere and is still littered with tumbled columns and assorted blocks of masonry. The road ends at the impressive portico of a funerary temple, dating from the 3rd century AD. The portico with its six columns stands as it was found but the walls are a relatively recent reconstruction.
This was the main residential section of town and streets can be seen leading off to both sides. There is scattered masonry everywhere, in places literally heaped into small hillocks of statuary fragments and decorated friezes and panels.
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Tariff Court
South of the agora is a large, walled rectangular space, known as the Tariff Court, because this is where the great tariff stele (now residing in the St Petersburg Hermitage) was found. The enormous stone tablet dates from AD 137 and bears the inscription 'Tariff of Palmyra', setting out the taxes payable on each commodity that passed through the city.
The small structure at the north end of the court, closest to the theatre, has a semicircular arrangement of tiered seating leading archaeologists to believe that it may have been the city's Senate ( M04DA), or council building.
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Diocletian's Baths
On the north side of the great colonnaded way, four columns standing forward of the line of the portico announce the location of what was once a public bathhouse founded by Diocletian. These columns once carried a pediment over the entrance, but this has been lost. The baths survive only as trenches and as outlines scored in the baked earth.
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Temple of Bel
The single most impressive part of the ruins and the most complete structure is this temple, also known as the Sanctuary of Bel. Although very little is known about Palmyra's deities, Bel is assumed to be the most important of the gods in the Palmyrene pantheon, the equivalent of the Greek Zeus or Roman Jupiter.
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Nabo Temple
The ruined area to the left immediately after passing through the arch of the Great Colonnade is a small trapezoidal temple built in the 1st century AD and dedicated to Nabo, the Palmyrene god of destinies. All that's left are the temple podium, lower courses of the outer walls and some re-erected columns.
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Diocletian's camp
Southwest of the funerary temple (at the end of the main street), reached via a porticoed way, is an extensive complex known as Diocletian's camp.
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banqueting hall
Adjoining the agora in the northwest corner are the remains of a small banqueting hall used by the rulers of Palmyra.
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