Celebrating
25 years: 1984–2009

Nepal Australia Friendship Association

International Campaign to Ban Landmines

Neutralise your carbon emissions and help slow global warming

Back Track Adventures is a wholly AUSTRALIAN OWNED AND OPERATED Adventure Travel company

Kokoda Track | Shaggy Ridge | Everest | Annapurna | Great Himalayan Trail
Nepal Photography Tour | Borneo | Southern Africa Safari | Kilimanjaro
Morocco | Egypt Jordan Syria | Inca Empire | Italy in Spring and Autumn
Calendar | Gradings

Egypt, Jordan and Syria 2011

Trip Overview | Itinerary Overview | Itinerary Detail

Below is a detailed overview of the Egypt Syria Jordan holiday. For a more detailed itinerary, please download our trip brochure, or contact us to request a printed brochure to be posted to you. Click here to view anitinerary overview for this holday.

The option is available to travel to all 3 destinations, of a combination as detailed below.

Highlights of Egypt | Best of Jordan | Wonders of Syria

Highlights of Egypt

DAY 1 - ARRIVE CAIRO - Today is only an arrival day so there are no activities planned. The balance of the day is free to explore Cairo. There will be a tour briefing this evening in the hotel. No meals included.

Cairo, the Triumphant City, known officially as al-Q?hirah is one of the world's largest urban areas and offers many sites to see. It is the administrative capital of Egypt and, close by, is the Great Pyramids of Giza on the very edge of the city. There are also ancient temples, tombs, Christian churches, magnificent Muslim monuments, and of course, the Egyptian Antiquities Museum all either within or near the city. Cairo is an amazing city; powerful, modern and ancient. It’s full of life and movement almost 24 hours every day, with the noisy honking of horns, children playing in the streets and merchants selling their wares and services. There are no more famous ancient sites within Egypt, or for that matter elsewhere in the world, than the Great Pyramids at Giza. They are, without question, the icon most associated with Egypt. They have been the main destination for tourists, and a source of imaginative thought to the world for over three thousand years.

DAY 2 - CAIRO - After breakfast our guide will take us to the nearby Egyptian Museum. The museum contains over 100,000 items from Ancient Egypt including the relics from Tutankhamen’s tomb.

In the afternoon we journey out to Giza to see the Great Pyramids, the last remnant of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The pyramid complex also contains the Sphinx, temples and Royal Tombs. Meals included: breakfast and dinner.

DAY 3 - CAIRO - Today is free to explore Cairo. A short distance from our hotel is the medieval, Islamic part of Cairo featuring the great Khan al-Khalili bazaar and Al-Azhar, the world’s oldest surviving university and Mosque.

In the evening we depart by comfortable sleeper train for the overnight journey to Aswan. Meals included: breakfast and dinner.

DAY 4 - ASWAN - We arrive into Aswan and transfer to our hotel.

After checking into our hotel, we join a boat tour out to Phillae Island to view the Temple of Isis, a beautiful structure rescued and relocated from the rising waters of the Nile.

The afternoon is free to explore Aswan. Meals included: breakfast and dinner.

Aswan, Egypt's sunniest southern city and ancient frontier town located about 81 miles south of Luxor, has a distinctively African atmosphere. Its ancient Egyptian name was Syene. Small enough to walk around and graced with the most beautiful setting on the Nile, the pace of life is slow and relaxing. Days can be spent strolling up and down the broad Corniche watching the sailboats etch the sky with their tall masts or sitting in floating restaurants listening to Nubian music while eating freshly caught fish.

In Aswan the Nile is at its most beautiful, flowing through amber desert and granite rocks, around emerald islands covered in palm groves and tropical plants. Explore the souk, full of the scent and color of spices and perfumes. View the spectacular sunsets while having tea on the terrace of the Old Cataract Hotel (so named due to the nearby first cataract of the Nile). Aswan has been a favorite winter resort since the beginning of the nineteenth century and it's still a perfect place to get away from it all.

Every night Nubian dancers and musicians perform in the Cultural Center, just off the Corniche. Folklore troupes recreate scenes from village life and perform the famous Nubian mock stick-fight dances.

DAY 5 - ABU SIMBEL/NILE CRUISE -An early start for the drive to the Great Temple of Abu Simbel (a flight option is available). The massive size of these monolithic structures is all the more amazing because they were moved to escape the rising waters of the Aswan Dam and reassembled at their present site.

Not only are the two temples at Abu Simbel among the most magnificent monuments in the world but their removal and reconstruction was an historic event in itself. When the temples (280 km from Aswan) were threatened by submersion in Lake Nasser due to the construction of the High Dam, the Egyptian Government secured the support of UNESCO and launched a world wide appeal. During the salvage operation which began in 1964 and continued until 1968, the two temples were dismantled and raised over 60 meters up the sandstone cliff where they had been built more than 3,000 years before. Here they were reassembled, in the exact same relationship to each other and the sun, and covered with an artificial mountain. Most of the joins in the stone have now been filled by antiquity experts, but inside the temples it is still possible to see where the blocks were cut. You can also go inside the man made dome and see an exhibition of photographs showing the different stages of the massive removal project.

In the afternoon we board the Nile cruise boat and set off down the Nile River.

Our boat is a comfortable 4 star class vessel. Cruising on the Nile is a memorable experience. We stop and go ashore at two notable attractions; the Temple of Sobek at Komombo and the Temple of Horus at Edfu. There’s ample time for reading, relaxation and simply watching the world go by. Meals included: breakfast and dinner.  

DAY 6 - NILE CRUISE - Meals included: breakfast, lunch and dinner.

DAY 7 - NILE CRUISE - On arrival into Luxor we go ashore to visit the spectacular temple complex of Karnak, constructed over a period of 1500 years and dedicated to Thebian gods and pharaohs. Meals included: breakfast, lunch and dinner.

DAY 8 LUXOR - Leaving our cruise boat we transfer to our accommodation.

Today we cross to the west bank of the Nile and visit the necropolis of ancient Thebes. To see all of this sprawling site would take days. We concentrate on the Valley of the Kings, the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon. The afternoon is free to do your own exploration. Meals included: breakfast and dinner.

This area is really dominated by the Luxor/Karnak/Thebes open-air museum, filled with awe inspiring monuments of ancient civilization as well as some of the best preserved. As Wese,t it was the capital of Egypt during the New Kingdom; as Thebes it was described by Homer as "the hundred-gated city." Its later name, al-Uqsur, means "City of the Palaces."
Testaments to a desire for immortality, built for eternity in sandstone and granite, the temples, tombs and palaces still stand, surrounded by souks and luxury hotels. On the east bank of the Nile, in the City of the Living, Luxor and Karnak Temples greet the sunrise. The sunset on the west bank throws shadows through the City of the Dead: the Tombs of the Nobles, the Valley of the Kings, Queen Hatshepsut's temple.

Today, you can walk through history; past statues with the heads of gods and animals, beneath carved lotus buds and papyrus. Ride in a horse-drawn caleche, sail in a felucca, take a sunset cruise or see the city from a hot-air balloon.

DAY 9 - AL KHARGA - We rise early to meet our desert safari crew and load up the 4WD vehicles. It’s a long drive across country to our desert camp near the oasis of Al Kharga. Meals included: breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Kharga used to be the last but one stop on The Forty Days Road, the infamous slave-trade route between North Africa and the tropical south. Today, it is the biggest New Valley oasis and its modern city houses 60,000 people, including 1,000 Nubians who moved here after the creation of Lake Nasser. Outside the main center is the Temple of Hibis, built on the site of an 18th dynasty settlement of Saites. One of the few Persian monuments in Egypt, the 6th century BC temple is well-preserved with painted vultures and huge reliefs of Darius greeting Egyptian gods on the outer walls. Ten kilometers away, the Necropolis of al-Bagawat contains 263 mud-brick chapels with Coptic murals, including the Chapel of Peace with images of Adam and Eve and the Ark on its dome. The Chapel of the Exodus has frescoes of pharaonic troops pursuing the Jews led by Moses, out of Egypt. Pharaonic monuments include the al-Hhuwaytah Temple which dates from 522 BC and the Temple of Amenebis.

DAY 10 - DAKHLA
Our next stop is the charming oasis town of Dakhla, with its palm groves and the medieval mud brick citadel of Al Qasr. There will also be the opportunity to bathe in the hot sulphur springs before heading to our desert camp for another night under the stars. Meals included: breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The Dakhla Oasis lies to the northwest of Kharga and is also about 310 km to the southeast of Farafra. This oasis consists of 14 settlements and has a population of about 70,000 people. Dakhla is the farthest oasis out of Cairo and is considered one of Egypt's most beautiful oases.

Dakhla sits in a depression surrounded by pink cliffs. There are about 30,000 acres of cultivated land. Most of its 70,000 or so residents are farmers who constantly fight the battle of the dunes that threaten their fields and orchards. The fields and gardens are filled mostly with mulberry trees, date palms, figs and other citrus fruits. Dakhla has retained most of its culture and charm even though it has increased in size by about double and government funding and technical training has revitalized the economy. Dakhla is the only place in Egypt where new buffalo driven water wheels are constructed. They are made of palm timber and clay jars and are called saqiyas.

Research has found that the Oasis has been inhabited since prehistoric times, and that there was once a huge lake here. There are Neolithic rock paintings that indicate that the lake was frequented by elephants, buffaloes and ostriches. As the lake dried up, the inhabitants migrated to the Nile valley and were probably some of its first settlers.

Dakhla Oasis is dominated on its northern horizon by a wall of rose-colored rock. Fertile cultivated areas growing rice, peanuts and fruit are dotted between sand dunes along the roads from Farafra and Kharga in this area of outstanding natural beauty. The capital, Mut, named after the ancient goddess of the Theban Triad, houses the Museum of the Inheritance, a traditional house, with an intricate wooden combination lock. Rooms, with sculpted clay figures, are arranged to show different aspects of Dakhlan culture and family life. Al-Kasr, about 35 km. from Mut, was originally a Roman settlement which later became the medieval capital of Dakhla. The old town is a labyrinth of mud-walled alleys narrowly separating houses with elaborately- carved wooden lintels; there is also an Ayyubid mosque. Climb to the rooftop of the 10th century madrassa (school) for wonderful views of the surrounding area. Bir al-Gabel, a palm-fringed salt lake where you can camp and picnic, is on the road back to Mut

DAY 11 - FARAFRA - Today is a major highlight of our Western Desert safari. We branch off the main highway and venture into the White Desert; a vast stretch of land that is actually made of chalk that has been exposed to the elements. The erosion of soft particles has resulted in eerie protrusions of rock. The beautiful forms that fill the White Desert includes shapes of domes, minarets and animals Meals included: breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Farafra, known as Ta-iht or the Land of the Cow in pharaonic times, is a single village. The most isolated of the New Valley Oases it is renowned for its strong traditions and piety. According to folklore, the villagers once lost track of time and had to send a rider to Dakhla so they could hold the Friday prayers on the right day. The oldest part of the village, on a hillside, is next to peaceful walled palm groves; a short ride away there are hot sulphur springs at Bir Setta and swimming at El-Mufid Lake.

Mostly inhabited by Bedouins, the small mud-brick houses all have wooden doorways with medieval peg locks. As in other oases, many of Farafra houses are painted blue (to ward off the Evil Eye) but here some are also decorated with landscapes, birds and animals, the handiwork of local artist, Badr. A combination house, museum and studio exhibiting his paintings and ceramics is situated in a garden full of sculptures made from objects found in the surrounding desert. Another local, known as Mr. Socks, sells beautiful hand-knitted camel-hair sweaters, socks and scarves.

DAY 12 - CAIRO - We drive back to Cairo, stopping at Bahariya oasis for lunch. We expect to arrive in Cairo late afternoon. Meals included: breakfast and dinner.

DAY 13 - AMMAN - Passengers who are only doing the Egypt section of the tour will leave the tour this morning and checkout from the hotel after breakfast.

Best of Jordan

Those passengers continuing on will be transferred to Cairo International Airport for the flight to Amman in Jordan.

On arrival in Amman you will be met and transferred to the joining hotel. Meals included: breakfast and dinner.

Amman, the capital of Jordan, is a fascinating city of contrasts – a unique blend of old and new, ideally situated on a hilly area between the desert and the fertile Jordan Valley. In the commercial heart of the city, ultra-modern buildings, hotels, smart restaurants, art galleries and boutiques rub shoulders comfortably with traditional coffee shops and tiny artisans' workshops. Everywhere there is evidence of the city’s much older past. Due to Amman’s modern-day prosperity and temperate climate, almost half of Jordan’s population is concentrated in the Amman area. The residential suburbs consist of mainly tree-lined street and avenues flanked by elegant, almost uniformly white houses, in accordance with a municipal law, which states that all buildings must be faced with local stone.

The downtown area is much older and more traditional with smaller businesses producing and selling everything from fabulous jewelry to everyday household items. The people of Amman are multi-cultural, multi-denominational, well educated and extremely hospitable. They welcome visitors and take pride in showing them around their fascinating and vibrant city. T

he Jordan Archeological Museum boasts an excellent collection of antiquities ranging from prehistoric times to the 15th century, including an exhibit of the Dead Sea Scrolls and four Iron Age anthropomorphic coffins. In Graeco-Roman times, Amman was known as Philadelphia, it was named after the Roman emperor Philadelphus. Prior to Philadelphia it was known as Rabbath-Ammon. Amman consists of an old and more traditional part called "City Centre" or "Downtown" (in Arabic 'Balad'), and a modern more vibrant western style "West Amman". Amman is one of the oldest continuously occupied cities in the world.

After checking into our accommodation we will drive to Jerash, a remarkably well preserved Roman city.

A close second to Petra on the list of favourite destinations in Jordan, the ancient city of Jerash boasts an unbroken chain of human occupation dating back more than 6,500 years. The city's golden age came under Roman rule and the site is now generally acknowledged to be one of the best preserved Roman provincial towns in the world. Hidden for centuries in sand before being excavated and restored over the past 70 years, Jerash reveals a fine example of the grand, formal provincial Roman urbanism that is found throughout the Middle East, comprising paved and colonnaded streets, soaring hilltop temples, handsome theatres, spacious public squares and plazas, baths, fountains and city walls pierced by towers and gates. Beneath its external Graeco - Roman veneer, Jerash also preserves a subtle blend of east and west. Its architecture, religion and languages reflect a process by which two powerful cultures meshed and coexisted, The Graeco - Roman world of the Mediterranean basin and the ancient traditions of the Arab Orient.

DAY 14 - AQABA - We leave early this morning for the drive south. Our first overnight stop is the port city of Aqaba, famous as a centre for diving and snorkeling. On arrival we proceed straight to our hotel.

This afternoon we drive a short distance to Club Murjan diving centre for a session of snorkeling and diving. If you’re not that way inclined there’s a good beach and swimming pool to relax by. Meals included: breakfast and dinner.

Famed for its preserved coral reefs and unique sea life, this Red Sea port city was, in ancient times, the main port for shipments from the Red Sea to the Far East. The Mamalis Fort, one of the main historical land marks of Aqaba, is square in shape and flanked by semicircular towers. The fort is marked with various inscriptions marking the latter period of the Islamic dynasty. The museum houses a collection of artifacts collected in the region, including pottery and coins. Aqaba also hosts the house of Sharif Hussein Bin Ali, the great grandfather of King Abdullah II. Other places of interest include the mud brick building thought to be the earliest church in the region.

DAY 15 - WADI RUM - Only one hour drive from Aqaba, Wadi Rum offers outstanding desert scenery. We camp overnight as guests of the Bedouin and explore the spectacular rock formations. Meals included: breakfast and dinner.

This is a stupendous, timeless place, virtually untouched by humanity and its destructive forces. Here, it is the weather and winds that have carved the imposing, towering skyscrapers, so elegantly described by T.E. Lawrence as “vast, echoing and god-like” .Visitors can enjoy the tranquility of the boundless empty spaces, explore the canyons and water holes to discover 4000 year old rock drawings and the many other spectacular treasures this vast wilderness holds in store.

Also known as ‘The Valley of the Moon’, this is the place where Prince Faisal Bin Hussein and T.E. Lawrence based their headquarters during the Arab Revolt against the Ottomans in World War 1, and their exploits are intrinsically woven into the history of this amazing area.

The Bedouin people that inhabit the area still maintain their semi-nomadic lifestyle. They are hospitable and offer a friendly welcome to visitors, often inviting them to sit and enjoy a coffee or even a meal.

DAY 16 - SIQ BARID - Continuing on from Wadi Rum, our journey takes us north to our camp near Siq Barid or Little Petra. We overnight at the comfortable Ammarian Camp set amongst towering rock formations. In the afternoon we hike through narrow canyons to Little Petra and view buildings carved into sheer rock walls. This is a mere foretaste of what’s to come. Meals included: breakfast and dinner.

DAY 17 - PETRA - We rise early and after a short drive we hike to Petra, arriving at the “backdoor” to see the largest building in Petra, Al-Deir (the Monastery).

For many, Petra will be the highlight of their travels in the Middle East. It’s hard to imagine a more spectacular setting; a long, narrow canyon entrance opens up to a wide valley bordered by steep rock walls festooned with massive tombs and buildings carved into the sandstone.

We spend all day exploring Petra, accompanied by a knowledgeable, English speaking guide.

Tonight we move into a comfortable hotel. Meals included: breakfast and dinner.

The ancient city of Petra is one of Jordan's national treasures and by far its best known tourist attraction. Located approximately three hours south of Amman, Petra is the legacy of the Nabataens, an industrious Arab people who settled in southern Jordan more than 2000 years ago. Admired then for its refined culture, massive architecture and ingenious complex of dams and water channels, Petra is now a UNESCO world heritage site that enchants visitors from all corners of the globe. Much of Petra's appeal comes from its spectacular setting deep inside a narrow desert gorge. The site is accessed by walking through a kilometre long chasm (or siq), the walls of which soar 200 metres upwards. Petra's most famous monument, the Treasury, appears dramatically at the end of the siq. Used in the final sequence of the film "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", the towering facade of the Treasury is only one of myriad archaeological wonders to be explored at Petra. Various walks and climbs reveal literally hundreds of buildings, tombs, baths, funerary halls, temples, arched gateways, colonnaded streets and haunting rock drawings - as well as a 3000 seat open air theatre , a gigantic first century Monastery and a modern archeological museum, all of which can be explored at leisure.

DAY 18 - AMMAN - Our first visit on the drive back to Amman is the famous crusader fortress of Karak. Before reaching Amman we stop on the shores of the Dead Sea. Here there’s an option to swim in water so high in salinity, it’s impossible to sink. We return to Amman and check into our hotel. Meals included: breakfast and dinner.

Karak. The fort itself is a dark maze of stone-vaulted halls and endless passageways. The castle in itself is more imposing than beautiful, though it is all the more impressive as an example of the Crusaders' architectural military genius. Karak's most famous occupant was Reynald de Chatillon, whose reputation for treachery, betrayal and brutality is unsurpassed. When Baldwin II died, his son, a 13-year-old leper, sued for peace with Saladin. The Leper King, however, died without an heir, and in stepped Reynald, who succeeded in winning the hand of Stephanie, the wealthy widow of Karak's assassinated regent. He promptly broke the truce with Saladin, who returned with a huge army, ready for war. Reynald and King Guy of Jerusalem led the Crusader forces and suffered a massive defeat. Reynald was taken prisoner and beheaded by Saladin himself, marking the beginning of the decline in Crusader fortunes. The castle was enlarged with a new west wing added by the Ayyubids and Mameluks.

The Dead Sea. At 410 meters below sea level, the Dead Sea is the lowest place on earth. Jordan’s Dead Sea coast is one of the most spectacular natural and spiritual landscapes in the world and it remains as enticing to international visitors today as it was to kings, emperors, traders, and prophets in antiquity. The main attraction of the Dead Sea is of course the soothing, abnormally salty water. The salt content of the water is 31.5% making the water so buoyant that it is impossible for the visitor to sink. The water also contains 21 minerals including high levels of magnesium, sodium, potassium, and bromine and 12 of these minerals are found in no other body of water in the world.

DAY 19 - DAMASCUS - Passengers who are only doing the Jordan section of the tour will leave the tour this morning and checkout from the hotel after breakfast.

Wonders of Syria

Those passengers continuing on will drive over the Jordan/Syria border to Damascus via the Roman ruins of Bosra.

The most interesting part of Bosra is the famous Roman theatre built in the second century A.D., which seats 15 thousand spectators, and is considered one of the most beautiful and well-preserved of Roman amphitheatres in the world. Engineered in such a way that human voices can be heard from the stage in all parts of the theatre without the need to shout. The stage is 45 metres long and 8 metres deep. Every summer, it hosts Arab and international performers who entertain audiences during the Bosra Art Festival against a majestic background of Roman columns and arches.

Those joining the tour in Damascus will meet in the joining hotel.

Damascus is one of the world’s oldest continually inhabited cities. The art and architecture found here is the result of Damascus being occupied by invading Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Mongols and other civilizations. Be prepared for an amazing experience. Meals included: breakfast.

The Souqs. The old covered souqs of Damascus have a unique flavour you can savor with eyes closed. As you walk about in the warm darkness of these streets with their fragrant scents, spices, and colourful merchandise spilling out of the shops onto the pavements, you enter the strange world of exotic legend. This Great Mosque stands at the heart of the Old city at the end of Souq al-Hamidiyeh.

The Omayyad Mosque. It was built by the Omayyad Caliph al-Walid ibn Abdul Malek in 705 A.D. when Damascus was the capital of the Arab Islamic Empire. It was constructed on the site of what has always been a place of worship: first, a temple for Hadad, the Aramean god of the ancient Syrians three thousand years ago; then, a pagan temple (the temple of Jupiter the Damascene) during the Roman era. It was later turned into a church called John the Baptist when Christianity spread in the fourth century. Following the Islamic conquest in 635, Muslims and Christians agreed to partition it between them, and they began to perform their rituals side by side.

DAY 20 - DAMASCUS - We set out to explore the Old City where we visit the Umayad Mosque; after Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem’s Dome of the Rock, this is Islam’s fourth sacred site. During today we will wander through the covered market of Souq al-Hamidiyya and the outstanding National Museum.

There will be ample opportunity for shopping, sampling the delicious local cuisine from an array of eateries and just relaxing. Meals included: breakfast .

DAY 21 - PALMYRA- This morning we set of for Palmyra. Already an ancient site before its heyday under the Greeks and Romans, the ruins of Palmyra are Syria’s prime tourist attraction. We walk through the remains of Palmyra’s impressive past; we explore the Temple of Bel, the baths of Diocletian and the old market place. At sunset the ruins are at their most beautiful. Meals included: breakfast.

Palmyra is 150 miles (243km) north-east of Damascus, and is Syria’s most famous tourist attraction. Situated at an oasis in the desert, this ruined city is at a considerable distance from any other water source, as it is 150km from the Orontes River in the west and 200km from the Euphrates in the east. The ruins have been extensively excavated and painstakingly restored. An elusive and highly romanticized goal of travelers over the centuries, even today a visit to Palmyra is an experience, which alone makes the trip to Syria worthwhile.

Palmyra’s local name is Tadmor and it has been a settlement since Neolithic times. From about 1000B.C. for about one millennium it was an Assyrian caravan town and later became an important outpost of the Greek Empire for about two hundred years. In 217A.D. it was annexed by Rome and enjoyed a period of astonishing wealth, gained from taxation on the flourishing caravan trade. The Romans called it Palmyra, “the place of Palms”. In 1089A.D. Palmyra was totally destroyed by an earthquake.

The city’s most famous ruler was the warrior Queen Zenobia, said to be a descendant of the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra. Half Greek and half Arab, this astonishing woman ruled Palmyra from 266A.D. after the death of her husband. Powerful and ambitious, she set her armies to fight against the Roman Empire itself and managed to capture Syria, Egypt, Arabia and Anatolia. The Romans couldn’t bear her challenge and in 271 A.D she was defeated by the forces of Aurelian. Zenobia was taken prisoner and the city was sacked by the Roman army.

This is a vast site, but with an easily visible layout.

The Temple of Bel on the eastern edge of the site has a huge courtyard, which is 200 metres square. The Great Colonnade lined with columns, was once the city’s main street. The Monumental Arch at one end of the colonnade has been partially restored. The Theatre, Market Place and Banqueting Hall are located on the southern side of the colonnaded street. Other buildings, such as baths and temples are scattered on either side of the main street.

The city’s museum, situated between the ruins and the new town, contains many statues and objects, which have been excavated from the site.

DAY 22 - KRAK des CHEVALIERS - Today we drive to the magnificent Crusader fortress of Krac des Chevaliers, called by Lawrence of Arabia “the finest castle in the world”. The walls of this well preserved castle were never breached despite numerous sieges and attacks.

We stay in comfortable accommodation situated in a valley below Krac. Meals included: breakfast.

Krac des Chevaliers. The most famous medieval citadel in the world, Krac des Chevaliers is 65 km west of Homs and 75 kms south-east of Tartus. It is 650 m above sea-level. It was built in order to control the so-called "Homs Gap", the gateway to Syria. It was through this passage that Syria communicated with the Mediterranean.