| Syria Home Page |
| You are where history's voice can be heard, where the soil holds the imprints of the world's oldest civilizations, some dating back to the fourth millennium BC. The names of sites that evoke the story of mankind at its very beginnings: Mari, Ebla, Ugarit, Amrit, Apamea, Doura-Europos, Palmyra, Bosra, Damascus, Aleppo, Hama, Latakia are but examples amongst many. Agriculture first appeared in Syria thousands of years ago, when man discovered the possibility of growing hundreds of new plants from seed. This discovery made it possible for civilization, as we know it, to begin. Men abandoned their caves and began building houses, and establishing settled communities. They embarked on journeys of self-discovery, observing the heavens and singing the earliest-known hymns. Ancient Syria is a testament to achievement. The secrets of metallurgy were discovered, making it possible to hammer bronze and copper into shapes that would serve domestic, military and aesthetic uses. At Mari (Tel Hariri) numerous palaces, temples were discovered many of whose walls were decorated with murals reflecting advanced cultural and commercial activity. The kingdom of Ugarit (Ras Shamra) offered mankind its first alphabet. At Ebla (Tell Mardikh), a royal palace was discovered containing one of the largest and most comprehensive archives of the ancient world, dealing with matters of industry, diplomacy, trade, art and agriculture. Ebla's power spread from the Anatolian mountains in the north to Sinai in the south. It became world-famous for two industries, the manufacture of silk cloth, and finely-carved wood, inlaid with ivory and mother of pearl. Today these industries still prosper, with Syrian brocade and inlaid marquetry still being fashioned according to the artisanal tradition of ancient Ebla. |
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