In any other place these impressive medieval structures would attract many visitors. In Hama, around 200 km north of Damascus, they go largely unnoticed, apart from the occasional tour group passing on its way between the Syrian capital and Aleppo. Yet these giant wheels, mainly dating from the 15th century, dot the city and the banks of the Orontes river and provide a unique backdrop.
The norias, as they are called, were the ingenious way to lift the water from the Orontes river to the higher levels of the surrounding aqueducts and land. Although there were once many more, now only 17 norias survive and are in various state of disrepair.
We stopped in Hama on our way to Aleppo, and parked up our little hire car on the main road. As elsewhere in Syria we attracted some curious glances as we got out, and made our way to the river banks. Having seen the wheels in pictures beforehand I was very interested to visit this city. I found the norias to be even more impressive than expected for their size and their locations, although a little sad for their state of repair.
Hama is a nice place to pass a few hours in any case, and has a little maze of an old town; a few winding alleys that hug the western river bank. This was once a lot larger, but in the brutal government-led bombardment of 1982, later known as the Hama massacre, the old city was almost completely destroyed in a battle to flush out a rebellious group of insurgents. No evidence of this recent bloody history is seen, and any mention of the subject is strictly taboo in Syria.
We wandered into a big old house that is now a restaurant and enjoyed a big lunch. Clearly geared up for passing tourists they even produced an English menu for us.
It was only a short stop before we drove on to the Dead Cities of the north (a series of long abandoned settlements – but that will make another post!) Hama is a good stopping point if you are passing through, and without doubt the site of a set of unique historical attractions.
