Hi all
Can anyone recommend a good history book on Syria which focus on places which are mentioned in the Bible, or places/events which were otherwise important in Christian history?
Also, would there be any problem in taking such a book into Syria?
Thanks very much
R
You shouldnt have trouble getting such a book in, though I dont have any specific book recomendations, most of the sites on history of Syria entail all religious factors of its history pretty well. If you know the biblical names of the cities that would make your searching easier, for instance here Hama was once known as Hamath in Biblical times from what I understand and you can begin such a search from there. Then in Damascus in particular you could start with places such as Straight Street mentioned in the bible. I beleive you should be able to find a wealth of info on the net, and maybe through that as well find a few books you might be interested in purchasing. THe one book that I am getting ready to read that I have heard nothing but oodles of good things about is the books " A scandalous Life" which is Jane Digbys biography, so it has some of Syrias history from when she moved here and married here. Gives a great picture of Palmyra from what I was told as well. There is another book, called The Road to Damascus, but that is more of a modern type descriptor of Syria.
Well hope this lands you in the right direction
From The Holy Mountain by William Dalrymple is an account of his travels through the Middle East from turkey through to Egypt looking at the (vanished or vanishing in many cases) legacy of christianity in this area. A brilliant book although it tends to focus on post Christ events rather than strictly biblical.
I doubt there would be any problem - Syria is strictly secular and there is a large and thriving Christian population.
Avoid books which concentrate mainly on, or highlight, biblical places in Israel and you'll be fine.
(Not that the Syrians have any problem with these, it's just that you don't want to give the impression you're going there.)
As far as biblical references are concerned Ross Burns guide book Monuments of Syria has good info on sites connected with biblical era. Probably the best thing for background is a relevant bible atlas like Rasmussen but of course they cover a wider area than just Syria and you have to pick information out. A good book on the two hundred years when Syria and Assyria and I - in Davids time and afterwards-were in a three way tussle is Unger's Israel and the Arameans of Damascus.which you can find on abebooks I think. For background on Syria in the time of Christ Kevin Butchers Roman Syria or Warwick Balls Roman East (?) are good. They dont look at your books at the border so would not worry.