Photogallery of Hama, Syria

Not far from Aleppo and Damascus, tourists can find a beautiful Syrian city – Hama. This city has a distinctive peculiarity that makes it stand from other cities of the country. This is Norias of Hama – an old irrigation system. It consists of wooden wheels that deliver water. For the reference, the diameter of these wheels is twenty meters. This is not the only interesting fact about this city. Hama definitely deserves the attention of tourists because a picturesque river that flows through the city center, forming a gorgeous green waterfront with cozy gardens. Hama is not as populated as other Syrian cities, so this is a great place to relax in a silent and serene setting. Scientists assume that there was already a settlement in the Hama region during the Neolithic and Iron Age. At that time, the settlement was called Hamat, which is not much different from the current name. Together with Damascus, this town formed the central part of the Aramaic kingdom. When Macedonia attacked Hama, the Syrian region got a new name – Epiphaneia. However, Macedonians couldn’t keep this territory for a long time and soon they had to give the region to a new owner, the Byzantine Empire. The crusaders remained rulers in Hama in the 12th century, but Saladin managed to capture it in the 80s of the 12th century. This wasn’t the last change of a ruler in Hama. At the end of the 13th century, the Mamluks invaded the territory and conquered Hama. They remained the owners of … Read further