Syrian Desert Voyage Tips and guide

The Syrian Desert, or Southeastern Desert, is a vast and sparsely populated region in southeastern Syria. It is the basin of the river Euphrates. It consists of the governorates of Raqqa (Arabic: ‏الرقة), Al-Hasakah (Arabic:الحسكة; Syrian Aramaic: ܓܨܪܛܐ; Kurdish: Hesiça), Deir ez-Zor (Arabic: دير الزور) and parts of the governorates of Homs (Arabic: ‏مُحافظة حمص), Hama (Arabic: ‏محافظة حماة) and Rif Dimashq (Arabic: ریف دمشق).

Large and sparsely populated, the Syrian Desert is home to numerous ruins of former civilizations. Cities are clustered along the Euphrates River with Deir ez-Zor being the largest.

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Map of Syrian Desert

• 35.33333340.151 Deir ez-Zor — a desert town on the Euphrates River bank
• 35.9539.012 Raqqa — Midsized city along the Euphrates, best known for serving as the headquarters of ISIS between 2014 and 2017.
• 36.51166740.7422223 Al-Hasakah — the largest city in Jazira region, with an ethnically diverse population.
• 37.0541.2166674 Qamishli — second largest city in Jazira.
• 37.17805642.1402785 Al-Malikiyah
• 36.53333337.956 Manbij
• 36.89102838.3536117 Kobani — Kurdish-majority town near the Turkish border.
• 35.83444438.5463898 Tabqa
• 36.697538.9566679 Tell Abyad
• 35.02083340.45333310 Mayadin
• 34.68944440.83083311 Hajin

In the province of Al-Hassakeh there are a lot of ancient sites that show up unexpected in the desert.

• 34.55038138.2697911 Palmyra — magnificent ruins of a Roman city, in the middle of the desert. It can be considered the main attraction in Syria. Large parts this irreplaceable heritage were deliberately blown up by ISIS during armed conflict in 2015.
• 34.747540.732 Dura-Europos — Ruins of a Hellenistic, Parthian and Roman border city built on an escarpment 90 metres (300 feet) above the right bank of the Euphrates River.
• 34.54944440.893 Mari — Remains of an ancient Semitic city.
• 35.62777838.7563894 Resafa — Archaeological site of the Byzantine city of Sergiopolis
• 35.0738939.071115 Qasr al-Hayr al-Sharqi — A castle (qasr) in the middle of the Syrian Desert, built by the Umayyad caliph Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik in 728-29 CE.
• 35.0049640.4232256 Citadel of al-Rahba — Ruins of a medieval Arab–Islamic fortress
• 35.68944439.82257 Halabiye — Ruins of ancient city known as Zenobia

Be sure to practice desert safety if traveling to the Southeastern Desert (and war zone safety until the situation improves).

The border with Iraq is open, almost all traffic goes through the 34.397740.97711 Al-Qa'im border crossing . The Turkish border is closed, se to reopen on March 30, 2026. There is a border cross with Iraqi Kurdistan.

• Mosque of Mrs. Aisha, Hajin.  (updated Aug 2018)
• Alkubisa Mosque, Hajin.  (updated Aug 2018)
• Quba Mosque, Mayadin.  (updated Aug 2018)
• Mshawwah Mosque, Mayadin.  (updated Aug 2018)

• Dream Mall, Mayadin.  (updated Aug 2018)

See the warning in Syria.