Allow the maximum time for your visit to Bosra, which is 24 km. from Sweida, and in particular to its wonderfully
preserved theater which has become again, after fifteen centuries of silence, a place where people meet to enjoy
themselves, laugh or cry according to theater performances given during the annual artistic festival. A city possessing
such a theater was certainly no small place. Located on the caravan road linking Syria with Arabia through the
Nabatene, Bosra came out of obscurity under the Seleucides. When this dynasty of Greek origin weakened, it became
an outpost for the Nabateans, an Arab tribe which emerged from the desert to trade with the world, with Petra as
the fabulous capital, and show the way to the Palmyranians.
Before Muhammad received the supernatural revelation of the divine message which was to set Arabia aglow with a
new monotheistic faith, the future elected by Allah was informed there of his destiny in a prophetic way by a Christian
monk called Bahira.
The theater, magnificently restored by the Directorate of Antiques of Syria, was transformed into a fortress early in the 13th century by the Ayoubides in order to protect the Damascus road from the Crusaders and stop their incursions into the rich plains of the Hauran. A mosque was then erected on the place of the stage while the periphery of the hemicycle and the building of the stage were reinforced by towers.
The archaeological interest of Bosra is not limited to this theater. An arch of triumph with three openings fairly well preserved, thermae and Islamic monuments such as the mosque of Omar, reconstructed in the early 12th century, are equally worthy of your attention.
On your return to Damascus, either back via Sweida or by the Deraa highway, a detour to Ezraa will allow you to visit one of the most venerable Byzantine churches of Syria. Dedicated to Saint George, it was erected in 410 on the place of a pagan temple.
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