Fourat Cham Palace Deir Ez Zor, Syria, Deirezzor

Hotel: Fourat Cham Palace Deir Ez Zor

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Fourat Cham Palace Deir Ez Zor
Syria

Time Info:
Check in: 02:00 PM
Check out: 12:00 PM

Hotel description
The luxury hotel is located at the city entrance, right on the banks of the Euphrates river. It has 200 guest rooms and suites, 2 restaurants, a snack bar, a lobby bar and “Jet-Set dance club” Banquet and meeting facilities for up to 350 guests. Large out door swimming pool, tennis courts, fitness center, squash, sauna, business center and bakery.

Dining:
· Louisiana Restaurant: occidental cuisine - all week days
· Four season restaurant: oriental and occidental cuisine - all week days
· Le Terrace (open in summer): barbeque – overlooking Euphrates view
· Coffee shop
· Jet Set dance club
· Snack bar
· Lobby bar

Location:

Deir Ezzor city is 320 km south-east of Aleppo. Deir Ezzor is the most important urban center in the east of Syria. Its river is the Euphrates, lifeline of the region and fount of civilization throughout the ages. As a green oasis on the Euphrates riverbank, Deir Ezzor and the Euphrates valley date back a long way. Starting in the 3rd century BC, Deir Ezzor was a part of the Akkadian empire under the King Sargon I from 2700 to 2550 BC. It then fell into the hands of Hammurabi the famous king who setup the first steps of law. Then it went through the Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Persians. After the defeat of the Persians it became part of the Hellenistic empire under Alexander the Great then it became part of the Seleucid empire.In the Roman period it flourished as a trading point between the Mediterranean and the Indian subcontinent. During Zenobia's power it became part of the Palmyrean kingdom. Islamic conquest of the area took place in the 4th century Hegira and it was ruled by the Hamdanids of Aleppo, then the Ayyubids and Mamelukes successively.

Doura Europos -Salihiye: This ancient site, was originally named Doura, which in Old Semitic meant fortress. When the Seleucids took over, one of Seleucus I's generals founded a colony here and added the name Europos to it. Europos was the name of the town that Seleucus was born in, back in Macedonia.During this time in the 300's BC, Doura Europos functioned as a defensive town guarding the route between Seleucia on the Tigris river and Apamea on the Orontes river. In 141 BC Doura Europos was taken over by the Parthians and flourished greatly during the stable years of the first century BC when Rome and Parthia were not at war. With the rise in prosperity of Palmyra, Doura Europos grew and became richer depending on the Palmyrean trade route.In 165 AD Rome took over the city and strengthened its fortification and defensive structures against the threat of the Sassanians, a more powerful Persian dynasty. In 256 AD the Sassanians managed to break through the Roman barracks and they destroyed this city forever.It was discovered in the 1920's by some British soldiers who used the wall for protection against a small fight with some bedouins, and Doura Europos has since then changed the perspective on Christian and Judaic art.Doura Europos is a typical Hellenistic city plan, a rectangular grid. There is a Decumanus running from west to east that starts at the Palmyra Gate. Found in Doura Europos was the first known place of Christian worship in Syria, a chapel that had been changed from a normal residence in 240 AD. Its walls were covered with many Biblical scenes, some of its pieces are at Yale University. Another important place of worship was the Synagogue, which was probably built at the end of the 2nd century AD.

Halabiye: This site, on the right bank of the mid Euphrates River, is approximately 100 km south of Al Raqqa and 66 km north of Deir Ezzor. Having been one of the most fortified of Byzantine defensive projects it is now a beautifully preserved site.
The site of Halabiye was first built when the kingdom of Palmyra took over the area in 266 AD. Under Zenobia it was fortified as a defensive structure to guard Palmyrean control on the Euphrates valley. However, the Romans, in retaliation to Zenobia's rebellion, took it over when they occupied Palmyra.
Under the Romans it was rebuilt and fortified twice, once under Diocletian in an effort to strengthen his defenses in this area. The other period of expansion was under the Byzantine Emperor Justinian (527 - 565), in an effort to fortify this city against Persian threat.
In 610 AD the Sassanian Persians occupied most of Syria, sacking Halabiye on their way. Later on about 15 years later the Arabs took over most of the east and as the Euphrates was no longer a frontier for them, Halabiye was of little use and it was abandoned forever.
What is left now of Halabiye is a complex plan of ruins including a number of tower tombs on the riverside, the cardo maximus, some baths, 2 basilicas, and a forum. The walls to this city are quite well preserved and are interrupted by towers every few meters. Furthest away from the river is a praetorium which was soldiers' barracks, and a citadel which was originally Byzantine but was rebuilt and altered by the Arabs.

Zalabiye: Halabiye's twin city is that of Zalabiye which is located 2 km downstream on the opposite side of the Euphrates. Zalabiye shares all of Halabiye's steps through history.

Al Resafa - Sergiopolis: This site dates back to the 9th century BC when the Assyrians built a military camp here. It later became a minor center on the trade routes between the Euphrates, Damascus and Palmyra. In the Roman period it was used to build a fortress on the frontline, to guard against the threat of the Sassanians. It later became a center for Christian pilgrimmage due to the Martyrdom of Saint Sergius who was a Roman officer who had converted to Christianity. Sergius was executed by the Roman forces under Diocletian. He became the patron saint of the region and it was named Sergiopolis. It was taken from the Romans by the Sassanians in the 7th century and then it fell into Umayyad hands, under Caliph Hisham. Caliph Hisham was very interested in architectural structures and art, and Resafa was restored. It was destroyed by the Abbassids and then finally by the Mongols in 1247 who left it an abandoned city in the desert. Of the most fantastic remains of Al Resafa is the beautiful wall that was erected by the Byzantine emperor Anastase. It is of Gypsum stone and is shiny and bright white. Al Resafa has four gates (one in the center of each wall), although the northern one is the main entrance (just a few minutes away is the Arab chieftains hall). It has three openings and is guarded by 2 square bastions, and this is where the Cardo Maximus (Main Street of the city) starts. Further along it is the Martyrion or Metropolitan church, and the saint Sergius Basilica. West of the Basilicas are the remains of a rectangular building which could have been the residence of Caliph Hisham, until his palace was ready. There are also the remains of a Byzantine caravanserai, and a group of cisterns that used to hold enormous amounts of water. They are quite well preserved and the southernmost is 58 meters long, 22 meters wide and used to hold water up to 13 meters deep.

Mari - Tell Hariri At a distance of 120 Km southeast of Deir Ezzor, is Tell Hariri, one of the many hills that can be found in this area. Since 1933 the tell has been an excavation site for the ancient dead city of Mari, one of the oldest cities in the world. This royal state resembling that of Ebla, had flourished for more than a millennium. Starting in 2900 BC, the state of Mari was already trading in tin (which would be manufactured into bronze), and had an extensive irrigation system to strengthen its agriculture. With the production of tin and strong ties with Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean, Mari was considered an important trading point. After 2340 BC Mari was mastered by the Akkadians of Agadeh and the Sumerians of Ur. Both the Akkadians and the Sumerians would appoint kings or princes that would govern the state of Mari, these governing leaders were called the Shakkanakkou. The Amorites came a little later from Mesopotamia and founded many kingdoms, of the most important was Babylon. In 1760 Mari fell to the most powerful of the Babylonian kingdom, Hammurabi. Hammurabi destroyed the kingdom and looted the palace and Mari was left abandoned. The knocking down of the brick walls meant that the rooms would be filled with earth and this is why everything is so well preserved. As for the site itself, it constitutes mainly of a royal palace that is almost 100 meters long on all sides. The palace, which is said to be the residence of the last of the Mari kings, Zimri Lim, has two courtyards, an audience chamber or shrine dedicated to Ishtar (Goddess of fertility), a few religious buildings, slaves quarters, royal living quarters and a throne room. The throne room is the largest of the rooms in the palace and the throne is situated on the west wall. The room to the west of this is where the 17 000 tablets were found inscribed in cuneiform signs, that were used by the Babylonians. Outside the palace are a group of temples (to the east) and the temple of Ishtar (west), which probably dates back to 2500 BC. Andre Parrot, a French archaeologist, did most of the important excavating on this site (died in 1980). He is known said that Syria was the birthplace of civilization. Most of the Artifacts found at Tell Hariri of this ancient kingdom are now in the Aleppo, Damascus, and Louvre museums.

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