Hama
The city is 200 km to the north of Damascus and 60 km to the east of Banyas. It is a very ancient city, This beautiful city use the Orontes River as its cooling system and the Orontes valley for greenery.
Waterwheels (Noria):
The famous old waterwheels, some as much as 90 ft (27 m) in diameter, bring water up from the Orontes for irrigation.
Aphamia:
The Roman ruins of Aphamea (Afimia) is 60 km northwest of Hama. Apamea was founded around 300 BC by Seleucus, ruler of northern Syria and Mesopotamia following the death of Alexander the Great and named after his Persian wife. This trading town connected Latakia and Palmyra. Besides the Roman ruins Qalaat Mudiq is also an impressive site. Later in its history Aphamea became and important stopping point for pilgrims from from Istanbul to Mecca.
The Castle of Ibn Wardan:
Undoubtedly, one of the most beautiful from the archaeological point of view, the fortress was constructed under the care of Justinius during his last reigning year (564 AD). The complex, palace, church, and military huts, was destined to control the nomad Arab population rather than to ward off the threat of a Persian invasion.
