101 Km from Damascus, Deraa has an antique theatre and
the Al Omar Mosque, Lawrence of Arabian eas made prisoner here
by a Turkish garrison during an intelligence mission in 1918.
A pile of roughly-hewn blocks of
stone, black houses amid black rocks, Bosra seems to have fallen
asleep. The vast plain of the Hauran all around - golden with
wheat and barely from May on wards - only serves to emphasize
Bosra’s isolation. The place remains a prisoner of its glorious
past.
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Mentioned in the list of Tutmose
III and in the letters of Al Amarna (in the archives of the Pharaoh
Ahkhenaton, 1334 BC), Bosra, also referred to in the Bible, became
one of the leading Nabatean cities (1st century) before being
made the capital of the Province of Arabia by its Roman conquerors
(106 AD). As a crossroads on the caravan routes and residence
of the Imperial Legate, the city flourished and many fine buildings
were erected. It still continued to expand and flourish after
the decline of the Roman Empire. As the seat of an archbishop,
Bosra played an important role in the history of early Christianity
- as well as having links with the beginnings of Islam. According
to tradition, the uncle of Muhammad greatly enjoyed his conversation
here with a Nestorian monk named Bahira, who is said to have predicated
the prophetic vocation of his nephew.
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Bosra was the first city in Syria
to become Muslim. Her square minarets are no doubt the oldest,
still standing, in whole of Islam. The significance of the city
as an important halt on the way to Mecca, and the prosperity that
this brought, lasted until the 17th century. By then the region
was becoming unsafe and the pilgrims began to take a less dangerous
route further west.
