The Dead Cities
What caused their demise is the subject of some debate. It appears that when in the 7th century AD the trade routes changed as the Byzantine Empire gave way to the Umayyad Caliphate in this region, these cities were gradually abandoned.
However, many of the buildings were constructed very solidly out of the local limestone, and so remain standing, sometimes to several storeys in height, giving an eerie feeling of recent abandonment.
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Byzantine church, near Aleppo (Duncan Mackenzie, 1911) PEF/P/MACK No. 306 |
| This photograph shows the extraordinary state of preservation of many of the ruins of the ‘Dead Cities’ of Syria. Fortunately, many of the structures remain well preserved to this day. | |
