Ancient Bosra al-Sham City Welcomes Its Visitors again Following Years of Hiatus because of Terrorism

DARAA–  The Syrian Exploration and Documentation Society volunteers embarked on a hiking tour to the ancient Bosra al-Sham city in Daraa province which restored its historic splendor and started to receive visitors after years of hiatus, according to SANA.

The tour came within the Society’s “Doroub” (routes) program which aims to spotlight Daraa’s major tourism attraction and archaeological sites passing through Sweida province, SANA said.

Entitled “Houran, Gateway to History”, up to 150 volunteers from different Syrian provinces visited the ancient Roman amphitheater and the Monastery of Bohaira, the Monk where they documented the massive destruction inflicted on these archaeological sites due to the sabotage acts committed by terrorist groups. They raised the Syrian flag on the stone stage of its theater, listed by UNESCO as world heritage site, and chanted the Syrian national anthem.

 Then, the participants headed to the tomb of Sultan Pasha al-Atrash, the leader of the great Syrian Revolution against the Ottoman occupation in Sweida province. They were briefed on the details of his struggle life and his prominent achievements as they toured the museum dedicated for him which includes several photos and documents. They also visited the house of sculptor Maarouf Shqeir and his museum for precious antiquities.

A number of volunteers, some of which have traveled about 700 km coming from Aleppo to take part in the first-of-its-kind exploratory visit, told SANA that Houran became a safe and secure area thanks to the heroic sacrifices of the Syrian army.

For his part, Secretary of the Syrian Exploration and Documentation Society, Khaled Nwailati, underlined the significance of this visit which came 10 years after the date of its last activity in Daraa.

In turn, Media Coordinator at the Society, Maher al-Haljoum said the wide participation set a clear evidence on the strength of the Syrian people and their determination to eradicate terrorism.