Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Burial Towers of Palmyra in the Valley of the Dead
We reached Palmyra at around 5 p.m. It had variously been known as “The Bride the
Desert”, “the Indomitable Town”, “the Town that Repels” and by its Arabic name of “Tad-
mor”. It was a very ancient site and a temple had reputedly stood there 2,000 years before
the Romans constructed their city in the first century A.D. It had occupied a prominent loc-
ation along the caravan route linking the empires of Persia and the Mediterranean powers of
Phoenicia and Roman Syria. The original inhabitants had spoken Western Aramaic, which
was similar to the language of the Nabataeans, from the fabled city of Petra. The Queen of
Palmyra, Queen Zenobia, had famously led an ill-fated uprising against the Romans at the
end of the 3
rd
century A.D. After its fall, the desert with the harsh, dry sun and the arid
climate had reclaimed it and nomadic Bedouin tribesmen had made temporary shelters out
of the ruins.
It was, however a spectacular site and we had a quick tour of the main ruins before moving
to a hill fort above the site to take photographs of the spectacular sunset. Abdulla, our guide
seemed more interested in some young ladies who were travelling independently, than in
his two, paying, male customers. He preened himself, pranced around, chewed his gum,
and shared what pitifully little he knew of the site with them. Meanwhile, we took some
great photos in the perfect warm light of the dusk.
Sunset over Palmyra
