Architecture sights in Palmyra
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A
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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B
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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C
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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D
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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E
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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F
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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G
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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