Palmyra - a great city in the desert

Palmyra was once a flourishing city of the Roman Empire. Based in an oasis in the desert, the city gets its name from the palm trees growing around.

Now it is a small village, all the inhabitants are engaged in service of tourists, most of whom do not stay overnight. In the village, but has all the benefits tsivillizatsii: normal hotel, wi-fi, hot water and beer is on sale illegally.

When we arrived in Palmyra, the sky was cloudy. After a short rain in the desert of Wadi Rum, I was not surprised nothing (my school presentation about the desert winds were dispel most of these deserts). Hoping that the clouds will be in the evening with a good light, but they are gone, so are several daytime staff. It Arc de Triomphe.

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The main street of the Roman city was not direct. At one corner and there was the Arc de Triomphe. It was triangular, so that the street on one side and the other perpendicular to the entrance to the arch. This is a tricky technique invented by the architect to visually straighten the streets.

Almost the entire territory of ancient Palmyra is available at any time. However, the temple of the god Bel area at night is closed. Behind the massive walls there can be only in the afternoon and only denyuzhku. These are the ruins of buildings and galleries around the temple.

It is worth to pause and give some explanation. According to legend, Palmyra was founded by King Solomon as the best bulwark against the attacks of the hordes of Aramaic in his possession. Nebuchadnezzar, when the invasion of Jerusalem, to destroy it, but soon, thanks to its favorable position between the Mediterranean on one side, and the valley of the Euphrates, on the other hand, she was again rebuilt and has become a haven for trade caravans and stowage of goods on their way from the West to the East and back. In Palmyra had their gods, chief among which was the Bal. Him a great temple was built. When the Romans declared Palmyra their colony, they did not destroy the existing temples completely. They simply Bela identified with Jupiter and slightly rebuilt the temple in his own way. Remains of the temple of Bel.

The central street of the city began in the temple of Bel. Its first turn is made at the Arc arch. The second time the street changes its direction by about 300 meters. In this place it was built tetrapylon. Here he is in the photo is illuminated by the setting sun.

Sunset in the ruins.

It may seem strange, but a part of the ruins lit at night. Works well if 30% of projectors (in theory should illuminate the entire central colonnade), but even this was good news :)

Arch of Triumph, the colonnade behind it is the main street. In the distance could be seen on the mountain citadel, built in the 16th century (ie. E. Already in the Islamic era).

View from the Arc de Triomphe in the direction of the temple of Bel.

Again Arch :)

Again temple complex Bela. It may seem that the wall is quite badly damaged and easy to climb through it. However, at the lowest point it is about 3 human growth plumb with tightly adjacent to each other stones. I suspect that this is now the Arabs have tried in order to make denyuzhku. Generally it is seen that the temple was huge.

Classic - arch and the citadel :)

At some point we with Sergei had the idea to climb on some ruins. Wearing a headlamp flashlights, we climbed successfully :) :) Like Far right one can see the lights of a modern settlement.

View from the main street at dawn (about 4 in the morning, cold, by the way, was) in the direction of the arch.

At the top of the columns preserved projections. At first I thought that they held the canopy over the street, fleeing from the sun. It turned out that they were bronze statues of rulers, military leaders and a distinguished citizens. Bronze, as usual, steal and melted, and the projections were. Take a closer look - and they have other photos.

In the oasis of the sun is rising.

Then I realized that I need to run to take the classic look in the morning light ...

Do you know what the coolest thing in the morning shooting? No tourists, no bothersome verblyudovodov and other turistoobsluzhivateley.

We went through the ruins completely alone. Rising sun slowly roast our backs, still dressed in a jacket and termuhu (at night there are about 5, and in the afternoon above + 30!).

Colonnade of the main street leading to tetrapylon. It should be noted that in ancient Palmyra was water. Remains of the ceramic tubes can still be seen in some areas of the street. Located along the colonnade built artisans bath, pulling back side streets.

For example, such a side street. And I'm standing, it seems, in the bath :)

tetrapylon. Once inside the columns at the corners were statues.

Temple of Baal Shamin.

Now, we happen to fail over time, and we are transported to the evening of the same day. In fact, the day we fill up what we ran at night. Sometimes, they ate shawarma. Well, just wandering through the ruins away from tourist groups from France, grandmothers and grandfathers from Germany.

If you climb up the hill to the citadel, you can see the following. Easily visible central street, 2-fold changes direction. In the foreground (where end street) worth of Diocletian's camp. In the background is a small strip of palm trees - this is an oasis. And then - a desert-desert-desert.

View from another mountain. Right Arc de Triomphe, in the center of the remnants of an agora, behind them - amphitheater (it is slightly restored), then the central colonnade, the oasis and the desert again.

If you look from the mountain to the other side, then ... it is such a hilly rocky desert.

So the world that the body is born, lives and dies. Residents of Palmyra, of course, were no exception. It was necessary to do something with the body gone to another world. To do this, the country built towers, in which people were buried. In one turret could be several floors and on each put a lot of coffins. towers decorated interiors often. Such as intricately carved ceiling.

There are very few towers survived completely. Now children play on these stones.

By sunset we return to the city. This agora.

Again 100500 columns. Column-column-column.

I wanted to try to remove the sunset sky. Gone as far as possible, I took telephoto :)

This is the citadel. I mean she did not write anything about. It is possible to rise and go. But there bored, and at the entrance to sell all sorts of tourist junk.

At dawn still want to make a temple of Bel. I had to look, where you can climb a wall. We found some guard booth, and attached to the wall. Climbed. On the roof turned out broken glass, vtsementirovannoe into stones. But it is already Stoch - apparently people climbs. A can with sand in doing their job.