Apamea

Apamea was one of the great cities of Hellenistic Syria, founded around 300 BC by Seleucus I and named for his wife, and its centrepiece survives: the cardo, a colonnaded street running close to two kilometres with hundreds of columns re-erected along it, many carved with the twisted fluting that is Apamea's signature. The city stood above the Orontes valley and held half a million people at its height. Looting in the 2010s damaged the site badly and much of what was below ground was lost.

What you actually see

• The great colonnade - nearly two kilometres of re-erected columns.
• The twisted fluting - the spiral-carved shafts particular to Apamea.
• The cardo paving - the Roman street surface underfoot.
• The Orontes view - the valley the city commanded.

When to go

March to May and October to November are mild. Summer on the open site is very hot. Spring puts grass and flowers between the columns.

Honest expectations

The site suffered heavy looting in the 2010s and the ground is pitted with dig holes; the museum in the nearby khan has been closed for years. Access arrangements change and must be checked locally. There are no facilities.

Nearby

Qalaat al-Mudiq castle is beside the site, and Hama is southeast.