History at Home

Bosra, Syria

In the South of Syria, very close to the border with Jordan there's a town that literally lives amidst, from and within the ruins of its predecessors.
The Romans have built here a city around 2 millenia ago from black basalt rock. True to the Roman lifestyle the city had not just a market and streets, dwellings and temples but also a Roman bath and a theatre along with many churches and a cathedral. Entertainment and culture were important to the Romans.
Bosra was once the capital of the Province of Arabia and garrison for a Roman legion. But history has put its deep merciless mark on it, wiping out most of its former glory.

Of all the above the Roman amphitheatre has fared best along the centuries as it got fortified and enclosed by an Arab fortress. It thus became a citadel in the 12th century. It is an impressive sight.

The remains of the Roman city lie scattered on a wide area, embedded in the town. People have inhabited them, have reused the blocks of masonry to build their own homes and mosques and it's extremely interesting to walk around. It's not uncommon to see goats or a cow exiting a dwelling built of the black basalt blocks.
The small gardens behind the stone walls are filled with the fragrance of jasmin. Young children are playing on the narrow slab paved lanes. There are lots of pretty picturesque details to notice and to counterweigh the fate of other spots and corners converted, sadly, into garbage dumps and piles of rubbish.

Extremely beautiful is also the Mosque of Omar built in the 12th century amidst the Roman ruins, opposite the Roman bath.

The children walk to school on the colonnaded Roman main street. On the way back the boys are in no rush to get home and enjoy jumping on the ruined walls. Life goes on. Fearing the ghosts of the past is not the recipe for survival and so the people have adjusted.

There are capitels and blocks of friezes lying around half buried in the soil. Scattered columns rise lonesome farther from the best preserved ruins. There are lots of bits and pieces that you could play with in this oversize puzzle.

It's a fascinating place altogether.