جولة 3 درعا _ بصری .. كتاب في ربوع سورية

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From the northern end of the city of Daraa, a road extends east to Bosra branching from the Daraa-Damascus road, via Al-Jumhuriya Street. Once we leave Daraa east for a distance of 4 km, we reach the village of Naima, which appears at its western entrance to have a modern architecture in the form of villas scattered among the agricultural fields, while the clustered old village is concentrated A little to the east and to the left of the road as it rises to the edge of a relatively high hill that gives it beauty, and after passing this hill to the east, the terrain becomes more rugged, and its agricultural investment decreases due to the large number of basalt rock masses, and with the appearance of olive groves and grapevines scattered clearly on both sides of the road until that Bosra.

After Daraa, about 7 km to the east, we pass the new international road (Damascus-Jordan) to enter, after about 2 km, the beautiful town of Sidon, in its building, which is adorned with greenery scattered among it, especially olive trees, and the largest part of its construction takes the form of modern villas scattered on both sides of the road within 500 meters and extending to the village on The length of the road is about 2 km, and the basalt stone buildings are few.

After Sidon, about 3 km, we pass the village of Kahil, which extends on both sides of the road, and in which the old basalt houses are still clearly visible, and the rows of basalt stones preserved for it and for other houses that protect the tree gardens of the house and form the outer border of the house. One does not feel the strangeness and loneliness of the road.

At the middle of Bosra Road, an asphalt road branches north to the town of Al-Musayfirah (3 km), and another south to the village of Giza (6 km). Al-Musayfirah was famous in its modern history for the battle that the Syrian revolutionaries fought against the forces
The French in 1925 AD, which was called the Battle of Al-Musayfirah, in which the revolutionaries achieved a victory over the French.

About 14 km before Bosra, we pass through the village of Al-Sahwa (Sahwa Al-Qamh), most of its houses are concentrated south of the road, and about a third of its houses are old, basalt, and the rest are modern, concrete. At its eastern end, an asphalt road extends south for a distance of 6 km to the village of Ghasam. From this kilometer distance, the majestic mountain massif of Jabal al-Arab appears to us from the east, especially if we look east, north, east. After the oversight, about 4 km, an asphalt road branches off, going north-east to As-Suwayda (25 km), and at a distance of about 3 km from it, the village of Kharba appears.

And as soon as we approached Busra, about eight kilometers, the ruggedness of the land, its height, and the blocks of basalt stones increased, and we passed the northern outskirts of the village of Ma’rabah (6 km before Busra), with scattered houses scattered on a relatively high edge overlooking the valley of the Zaydi Al-Saili River, which descends southeast at the western beginnings of the village. Maarabah, and olive groves are spread among the houses of the village, and the diameter of this village is about 700 m. Thus, we are close to reaching the historical town of Busra, and the urbanization does not leave us on the right of the road between Maarabah and Busra, so we reach the town of Busra after we have traveled a distance of 40 km from Daraa, and the first thing we We walk through it, which is the modern town, to reach the old historical city, after a distance of about 1.5 km from the modern houses.

It is Bosra Al-Sham: the city of ancient history in southern Syria, for a wide mass of archaeological monuments. Rather, it can be said that it is one of the most ancient cities in Syria in which there are many archaeological buildings, and it varies. In that, Jean Hero says, Bosra Al-Sham; A pile of stone blocks, black houses amidst black rocks.

Bosra seems asleep, and the vast Hauran plain around it, with its golden fields of wheat and barley, tries in vain to deny this impression. Bosra remains a prisoner of its ancient past. Bosra is an exceptional city that did not know how to digest the ruins of its great history. There are magnificent minarets and columns in the middle of the houses, and huge arches rise in the middle of narrow streets. The reservoirs that were designed for Troy appear to be a capital, other than the town now.” Consistent with the size

Bosra is located on a flat land in which basalt stone blocks abound, at an altitude of about 825 meters above sea level. From it, the beholder sees the heights of Jabal al-Arab in the east and northeast, as the image of Jabal al-Sheikh appears to the west as a bright line under the rays of the rising sun. It connects Bosra to Damascus through a paved road through Daraa with a length of 141 km, or through As-Suwayda passing through al-Quraya with a length of 137 km. Bosra is the terminus of a narrow gauge railway. Bosra is now divided into three sections:

The historical city in the northeast, the old town with a basalt stone architecture that is roofed either with stone or with wood and iron bridges located south and southwest of the historic city and the modern town with constructions built either of cement or basalt stones and roofed with reinforced concrete. An area of ​​about 35 square kilometers.

The current appearance of the town is characterized by confusion and scattering of housing, and it does not have a main market as it was before, and the reason is that the residents left a large part of the ancient city due to the expropriation by the Department of Antiquities, in addition to the failure to implement the housing plan for the town, and therefore the residents build their homes randomly, which affected the The area of ​​agricultural lands, where urbanization dominated a large part of it.
And Bosra, the historic city, is deeply rooted in history, without any evidence confirming the beginning of its habitation. The archaeological discoveries in it and in many regions of the world have provided abundant information indicating the presence of the Canaanites in it, as well as the Egyptian pharaohs, the Arameans, the Greeks, the Nabataeans, the Romans, the Ghassanid Arabs, the Byzantines, and then the Muslim Arabs.

Bosra is the first Syrian Islamic city to erect square-shaped minarets in its sky, which are among the oldest existing Islamic minarets to this day. And Bosra, the city that the Prophet Muhammad God visited in his childhood (9 years) in the company of his uncle Abu Talib in the year 582 AD, and he saw him during that monk Buhaira, who predicted the prophecy to him. He also visited it in his youth (25) years old, as a trade for Khadija bint Khuwaylid.

Bosra Al-Sham derives its greatness from its diverse Nabatean, Roman and Islamic monuments, which still exist, telling the story of a luminous history full of creativity and activity. The discovered antiquities are the historical city, which was walled like all ancient cities, and constitutes a target for tourists to visit. We mention: 1 - Bab Al-Madina: known as Bab Al-Hawa; It is the first archaeological building to receive the visitor coming through Damascus - Daraa - Bosra. By passing it, he finds himself walking in the great street, on both sides of which some old columns stand. 2 - The Triumphal Arch: which is called Bab Al Qandil; It consists of three arches, the largest of which is the middle arch. 3- Al-Saqaya: It is the facade of the Al-Saqaya building that used to supply the streams and the residents

with water. It is located at the intersection of the Great Street with the Omari Mosque Road, of which four great Corinthian columns remain. 4- The bed of the king's daughter: or what is called by the name of Kulaibah, and it is located north of the castle. E - the commercial market.