Al-Lajat

Al-Lajat Area in Daraa…Integrated Museum, Magnificent Nature Reserve

Al-Lajat area in Daraa Province, 101 km to the south of Damascus, embraces great archeological monuments as it constitutes an integrated museum and an important tourist destination.

Al-Lajat area is estimated at 1,000 km² as it expands from the east of Jordan to al-Arab Mountain, and it has a shape of equilateral triangle, each side of which is 45 km and it is 800 m above sea level.

It was called by the Romans (Trakhonites) which means a rugged area, while the Arabs called it Lajat due to using it as forts and shelters by revolutionists during the times of wars.

During its survey works in 2003, the Syrian-French Archeological Expedition unearthed an archeological site dating back to the Copper Stone Age (the Chalcolithic) which dates back to the 5th millennium BC.

Archeologists pointed out that al-Lajat archeological sites and cities had flourished during the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD as it encompasses pagan temples, military headquarters and high towers.

Al-Lajat encompasses 70 villages that are rich in the archeological monuments dating back to the Roman, Byzantine and Islamic eras.

It is also a nature reserve which enjoys a great biological diversity as several tree species grow in it, and it constitutes a sanctuary for a huge number of birds and animals.