In Damascus
Bosra is another ancient city in Syria. During the Roman times, it was the regional capital and a stopover for caravans on the way to Mecca. Today, it is a huge archaeological site containing Roman, Byzantine, and Muslim ruins. It takes 2 hours to get to Bosra from Damascus. The road goes so close to the border that it is possible to see Jordan from it.
Visiting the ruins required a coordinated approval from the government agency and the local authorities. This area has not seen many tourists after the war. The residents are slowly warming up to the idea that they can have visitors again. While we wore our regular clothes everywhere in Syria, we were asked to dress modestly, i.e. no bare arms and legs, for Bosra where the Muslim community is more conservative. A young local man was with us at the site all the time to keep an eye on us. However, he acted more like a host who wanted to show his guests around.
The archaeological site is a mix of Roman remains, early Christian ruins, and more recent mosques. Every next wave of the settlers adapted the area to their needs until it became unlivable.
The most amazing structure in ancient Bosra is the 2nd-century Roman theater that is quite well-preserved. Our guides asked us to walk into it one by one with our eyes closed and to open them once we were inside, so we would be more impressed by the its splendor. We did not disappoint them by our exclamations of awe and astonishment. The theater is so big that it could sit more than 15,000 people.
When we returned to Damascus, everyone tried to retire early. The following day was our last in Syria. We were going to Palmyra, then back to Damascus and after that, to the border, hopefully to make it safely across it to Lebanon and for most of us to catch the flight out of Beirut next morning.