Halabiye

Halabiye is the ancient Zenobia, refortified under Justinian in the sixth century, and its plan is dramatic: two long walls run straight up from the Euphrates bank to a citadel on the hill, enclosing a triangle of ruined streets, with towers stepping up the slope and the river running below. It guarded a narrowing of the Euphrates, and its twin fort Zalabiye faced it across the water. The gypsum masonry is the same luminous stone as Resafa.

What you actually see

• The climbing walls - twin fortification lines running uphill from the river.
• The citadel - the strongpoint at the apex of the triangle.
• The praetorium - the great tower-building surviving several storeys high.
• The Euphrates narrows - the stretch of river the fortress controlled.

When to go

March to April and October to November are mild. Summer is very hot. The climb to the citadel is best early.

Honest expectations

The climb is steep and rough and the masonry is unstable in places. There are no facilities and access needs local arrangement. Erosion from the river side has taken part of the lower town.

Nearby

Zalabiye faces it across the river, and Deir ez-Zor is southeast.