What to see in Syria: 8 must-sees

Visit the citadel of Aleppo, considered one of the oldest continuously inhabited in the world, with 5,000 years of history marked on its walls. Walk its temples and stones narrating centuries of successive civilisations. This site, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986, keeps the testimony of a millenarian cultural tradition. Its alleys, souks and mosques reflect the identity of a city that has resisted invasions and reconstructions over time, keeping its historic character alive.

Walk the ruins of Palmyra, the caravan city of the Syrian desert where the caravans between the Mediterranean and the Euphrates left colonnades, the Temple of Bel and the Roman theatre. This oasis in Homs Province was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980 and keeps remnants of 2,000 years of history. Walk among the monumental arches and the funerary towers testifying to a vanished civilisation, and watch how the sunset light dyes the limestone of the Valley of the Tombs golden.

Enter the Grand Bazaar of Aleppo, an intricate maze of covered alleys with nearly 13 kilometers of streets dating back to the 13th century. Cross its vaulted passages, where pale stone khans keep mountains of cumin, saffron and pepper beside Aleppo's famous laurel soap. Listen to the haggling in Arabic, watch the coppersmiths hammer away, and walk past silk fabrics hanging from the stalls. Stop at a traditional café to smoke shisha and watch the oldest commercial life in the Arab world go by — still marked by centuries of caravans.

Admire the Umayyad Mosque of Damascus, the oldest temple in the city, built in the 8th century over an old Roman temple and a Byzantine basilica. Walk its marble courtyard, observe the golden mosaics depicting paradise and visit the shrine where the head of John the Baptist is venerated. Muslims consider it the fourth holiest mosque in Islam, and inside, visitors and worshippers at prayer share the space. Wear discreet clothing; the entrance lends women robes to cover themselves.

Cross the concentric walls of Krak des Chevaliers, the world's best-preserved Crusader castle, raised on a hill near Homs. Climb its crenellated towers, walk the vaulted passages defending the inner enclosure and pause in the airy Gothic courtyard, where light enters through pointed arches. From the upper battlements you take in the valley separating the interior from the Syrian coast — a strategic passage for centuries. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2006, the fortress shows how the Hospitallers reinforced a military structure until it became the reference of medieval defensive architecture.

Walk the bank of the Orontes in Hama and listen to the century-old groan of its giant wooden norias, which have been turning since the 13th century to raise the water up to 20 meters. Observe up close the largest wheels of their kind in the world — some still working — while the creak of the wooden axles marks the city's rhythm. Use the riverside cafés to watch them at sunset, when the water falls from the buckets in constant cascades and locals stroll the nearby gardens, keeping a unique medieval irrigation system alive.

Walk the best-preserved Roman theatre on Earth, sheltered by an Ayyubid citadel that wrapped around it for centuries. Follow the streets paved in black basalt of what was a Nabataean capital, where columns, baths and ancient gates can still be recognized among the present-day houses. The ensemble was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980, and every corner of the old town mixes Roman, Byzantine and Islamic remnants in one walk.