My Favorite Place

Now we have come to my favorite place we visited in all of Syria and Lebanon: Bosra. It's - not surprisingly - a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There are three different parts, of sorts. An amazingly, beautifully-preserved Roman ampitheatre, surrounding by a Crusader castle (also unbelievably well-preserved,) surrounded in itself by the ruins of the ancient town. You can see Roman columns and one of the oldest mosques still in use.

I felt like a kid, scrambling over stairs in the ampitheatre and creeping through dungeons (or what we imagined to be dungeons) in the castle. Everything about the place was gorgeous, and I was beside myself.



Well, having been built using the famed engineering skills of the Romans, the amphitheater, besides having its stage, seats, and stairs intact, also retains incredible acoustics. So fantastic and well-preserved is this amphitheater, that a music festival is held here every year, hosting such legends as Fairuz (seriously - this woman is the most famous singer in the Arab speaking world. She's in her 70s, but still retains her much-beloved voice. I hesitate to compare her to a Western singer, because there is no good comparison, but maybe think Cher, except with universal, all-age appeal and a much classier appearance. And a much more classical musical style.)













The two tiny figures sitting at the edge of the theater are Tyler and Mohammed.



In the castle, there is an area with a statue collection. This one is missing its head, making for a great photo op.


Out in the town, most of the ruins are made out of a black volcanic rock. The black ruins, set against the green ground and blue sky made for a beautiful sight.

Below is a link to a Youtube video of Fairuz, for anyone who is interested:lin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmrGq9HVDlk&feature=related