The Dead Cities   Over 600 towns spread over a perimeter of 2000 km. It seems as if then Inhabitants just left the site, so much the conservation is exceptional. The olivaries were cultivated according to the system of "murgasa". Settlers get a piece of land and share part the harvest with the land-holder. After the Muslim conquests in the VII century, however, the villages abruptly lost their population since they were no longer able to trade with the Christian west. St. Simeon This site bears the name of the ascetic Saint Simeon (IV century AD), who spent forty-two years of his life on the top of a column and who was known as far as the Occident. After his death, this site became a place of pilgrimage and in the Vth century a sanctuary was built with in the middle the remains of his column. Maarat Al-Nouman Located between the Orontes and the desert, surviving buildings only attest to its history since the coming of Islam The fortress of Ma'arrat An Numan was built by Al-Numan Ibn Bashir Al-Ansari, a companion of the prophet who was made governor of the region by Caliph Muawiya. Located on the strategic Damascus/ Homs / Hama / Aleppo corridor, it has been attacked several times. The Crusaders clearly proved here that they were not driven by piety because in 1099 they brutally massacred the inhabitants after a siege of three weeks and 20.000 people were slaughtered. Ibn Wardan Palace Undoubtedly one of the most beautiful from an archaeological point of view, this fortress. designed to control the nomad Arab population, was constructed under the care of Justinian (564 AD). More
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