Visit Deir Ez-Zor, Syria
Deir Ez-Zor is the biggest city in the north east of Syria, with a population of around one million inhabitants. It is defined by the Euphrates river, which runs through it.
Deir Ez-Zor is the biggest city in the north east of Syria, with a population of around one million inhabitants. It is defined by the Euphrates river, which runs through it - the stuff of legend, gifting its banks green fields and fertility through its freshwater.
The Middle Euphrates runs through much of northern Syria, with tributaries joining it from the Turkish mountains before it continues on to Iraq. Residents are most proud of their suspension bridge, stretching half a kilometre across the Euphrates, built during the French mandate and feasting upon views of the canes that thrive on its banks.
Exploring Deir Ez-Zor and around
Although Deir Ez-Zor is often a place to stay en route to the settlements of Dura Europos and Mari to the east, and the palaces of Halibiyeh and Rasafeh to the west, there is a most revealing little museum to call in upon.
If you do have time to visit the souq, although it is quite uninspiring in itself, it is a chance to see some of the local women wearing far brighter traditional clothing than one finds elsewhere within the country.
Finally, if time permits, it is worth trying to find the Armenian Memorial church and, more importantly, locating the guardian who can show you around this fascinating little bolthole, a memorial to the many Armenians who died in the camps around the town almost 100 years ago.
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