Lebanon The Jeita Grotto is one of the largest cave systems in the Levant and home to the largest known stalactite in the world. Inhabited in ancient times, the Jeita caves were forgotten by the world for millennia before being rediscovered in the 19th century. It is now one of the most popular tourist destinations in Lebanon. There is evidence of human habitation in and … [Read more...]
DEAD SEA
Israel/Jordan The Dead Sea is one of the most famous lakes in the world, thanks to its location at the heart of the Biblical Holy Land. Actually a salt lake, the Dead Sea is located at the lowest point on the surface of the Earth, and is so saline that it cannot support life. Many places of Biblical interest can be found along the shores of the lake, making it a must-see … [Read more...]
MOUNT AQRAA
Syria/Turkey (1,709 m) – Sacred Pagan Site Mount Aqraa on the Mediterranean coast was an incredibly important site in ancient times. Standing at one of the primary terminus points of the Silk Road, it was a landmark for both caravans and maritime travelers. But it was most famous a religious center, and was the site of many temples and shrines from the time of the Canaanites … [Read more...]
BATTLE OF AQABA (AQABA BATTLEFIELD)
Aqaba, Jordan (1917 AD) The Battle of Aqaba, a relatively minor engagement of World War I, has nevertheless loomed large in the public imagination for nearly a century. This is due to the romanticized idea of the great Bedouin cavalry charge which stormed as if from nowhere out of the desert, under the leadership of one of the war’s most famous leaders, T.E. Lawrence. This … [Read more...]
BATTLE OF YARMOUK (YARMOUK BATTLEFIELD)
Kafir-Ul-Ma, Syria (636 AD) The Battle of Yarmouk was the first major clash between the nascent Islamic Caliphate and ancient Byzentine Empire. Because it opened up the Mediterranean world to further Muslim conquests, it was also one of the most important battles of the early Middle Ages. It pitted two of the greatest military leaders of the time against each other: Emperor … [Read more...]
BATTLE OF KADESH (KADESH BATTLEFIELD)
Tel an Nabi Mindu, Syria (c. 1274 BC) The Battle of Kadesh has the distinction of being the first well-documented military engagement in history. Fought between the expanding empires of Egypt under Rameses II and the Hittites under Muwatalli, there are surviving accounts from both sides, including extensive if one-sided details from the famous Egyptian Pharoah himself. Long … [Read more...]
MOSQUES OF AMMAN
Amman, Jordan The last two decades have witnessed a spectacular proliferation of new, modern mosques all across the Islamic world. But it was not in one of the great Muslim cities of antiquity where this trend began, but in the unassuming capital of one of the Middle East’s most unassuming nations: Amman, Jordan. Throughout the 20th century Amman saw the construction of … [Read more...]
MADRASSA AR-ZAHIRIYYA
Damascus, Syria As if the Tomb of Saladin wasn’t enough, Damascus also boasts the gravesite of yet another of the greatest Islamic military commanders of all time: Abu Al-Futah, better known as Baybars, who led the beleagured Muslims of Syria and Egypt to tremendous victories against both the Crusaders and the Mongols. Although Baybars did not restore the Islamic Empire of … [Read more...]
MAUSOLEUM OF SALADIN
Damascus, Syria Between the end of the Rashidun Caliphate and the modern day, there has been no greater Islamic political figure than Saladin Yusuf ibn Ayyub. Saladin, one of the most gifted and respected leaders and military commanders in history, rallied the Islamic world in one of its darkest hours to a tremendous strategic victory over the combined Christian armies of … [Read more...]
AL-OMARI MOSQUE (MASJID AL-OMARI)
Beirut, Lebanon There are few places in the world which have changed hands between Christians and Muslims quite so often as the old Phoenician Coast in the Eastern Mediterranean. As a result there are few places in the world where Christian and Muslim coexistence, peaceful or not, has lasted quite so long. The enduring architectural symbol of this coexistence, if there is … [Read more...]
