Understanding Syria Through 40 Monuments

How can a nation's archaeological treasures help explain its history, especially one as richly complex as Syria's? Ross Burns chooses 40 among Syria's outstanding range of sites, accompanied by over 200 colour illustrations, to take the reader through the tangled paths of this crossroads of the eastern Mediterranean where numerous world cultures intersected. Given the last 12 years of savage conflict, the author reports too on the plight of many of these monuments, addressing the common but unhelpful assumption that much of the country's archaeological treasures have been 'destroyed'. A better approach is to recognise that Syria's heritage can play a role in the country's recovery and cannot simply be declared a write-off. This is a history which tells us much about how Syria's mixture of traditions defy simplistic categorisation through modern definitions of cultures and identities.

How can a nation's archaeological treasures help explain its history, especially one as richly complex as Syria's? Ross Burns chooses 40 among Syria's outstanding range of sites, accompanied by over 200 colour illustrations, to take the reader through the tangled paths of this crossroads of the eastern Mediterranean where numerous world cultures intersected. Given the last 12 years of savage conflict, the author reports too on the plight of many of these monuments, addressing the common but unhelpful assumption that much of the country's archaeological treasures have been 'destroyed'. A better approach is to recognise that Syria's heritage can play a role in the country's recovery and cannot simply be declared a write-off. This is a history which tells us much about how Syria's mixture of traditions defy simplistic categorisation through modern definitions of cultures and identities.

Syria's Monuments: their Survival and Destruction analyses travellers’ accounts of the Roman, Christian and Islamic monuments of Syria (including Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine/Israel). An epilogue assesses the impact of the recent civil war on the state of the monuments, and their likely future.

"Monuments of Syria is organized as a gazetteer of all Syria's historical sites, with complementary sections on history and architectural influences and comprehensive chronologies and glossaries. New material has been added to this revised edition, including 20 colour photographs, while its format has been redesigned to a more convenient size for travellers."--BOOK JACKET.

Ancient Syria has one of the richest cultures outside Egypt, with particularly impressive and virtually unspoiled remains from the Byzantine period and the time of the Crusades. An encyclopedic survey of Syria's ancient monuments, this guidebook takes the traveller through Syria's turbulent history, linking the sites to events and historical figures. Supplementary notes on the history and architectural influences are given for all the main sites and monuments, along with an explanation of the main architectural and foreign language term, alternative place names, and indications of the level of interest.

This is a guidebook to Syria's historical and archeological treasures. It is a new, revised and expanded edition in a travel-friendly format. Syria is home to some of the world's richest historical and archaeological remains dating from the Bronze Age through biblical and Byzantine times to the early Islamic and Ottoman periods. Yet even in an age of mass tourism these magnificent monuments are little known and rarely visited - in other words, ripe for discovery by independent-minded and adventurous travellers."The Monuments of Syria" is organised as a gazetteer of all Syria's historical sites, with complementary sections on history and architectural influences and comprehensive chronologies and glossaries. This fully revised edition includes the latest information about site visits and the layout of museums, extensive and detailed itineraries for further travel and a new 24-page colour section.