Steven Sklifas - Writer Photographer

Images in this photo gallery are of Aleppo, which is Syria's second-largest city and is among the oldest continuously populated cities in the world. Its major sights are the ancient quarters of its Old City and the monumental Citadel which is a masterpiece of Arab military architecture.

Images in this photo gallery are from the ancient city of Apamea in Syria's Orontes Valley.

The famous Bagdad cafe is a popular and unique place to stop for refreshments. It is located in the Syrian Desert along the highway between Damascus and Palmyra and is directly opposite the jebel Kawhla which is a hauntingly beautiful 1200 metre high black basalt mountain.

Bara is the most extensive of the Byzantine Dead cities in northeastern Syria with the site extending over an area of 2 km by 3 km. The settlement expanded rapidly during the fifth and sixth centuries and enriched itself by becoming the region’s most important olive and wine processing centre. Its demise and abandonment occurred after a massive twelfth-century earthquake.

Images in this gallery are of Bosra and Shaba in the southeast of Syria.

Images in this gallery are from the Damascus, capital of Syria and one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world.

Images of a few of the seventeen historical wooden waterwheels or norias dotted around the central Hama along the banks of the Orontes River, with some of the creaky wheels being up to twenty meters in diameter.

Krak des Chevaliers - Largely built by the Christian Knights Hospitaller who occupied it around the 12th century, the strategically positioned castle lies on a volcanic crater with a view of Homs gap which gave access to the Mediterranean coast and interior of Syria.

Images in this photo gallery are from Palmyra, one of the world's great archaeological sites with architecture that fused Greek-Roman techniques with local traditions and Persian influences. Palmyra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Qalaat Marqab or Marqab citadel is a formidable black basalt Crusader castle that sits upon an extinct volcano peak with commanding views over the Syrian coastal plain and the Mediterranean.

St George Monastery. The Monastery is located in the Wadi al Nasara or Valley of the Christians which has been the centre of Greek Orthodox Christianity in Syria since the early Christian period. The Greek Orthodox monastery was originally founded in the sixth century during the reign of Roman Emperor Justinian. It has two chapels, the modern one dating from 1857 and the older one dating from the thirteenth century, which is reached from a lower courtyard. The facade of the modern church dates from 1857. The magnificent crusader castle Krak des Chevaliers can be viewed in the distance from the church.

Images in this gallery are from Saint Simeon, which includes the Church and Baptistery.

Located in north-western Syria, the almost complete and eerie ghost town of Serjilla is home to extensive semi-intact remains from the Byzantine period. The town was abandoned after the Arab conquest in the seventh.

Images of the coastal resort town of Tartus, Syria’s second port city. Founded by the Phoenicians, control of the settlement passed through the hands of the Greeks and Romans and became a well-known Christian stronghold controlled by the Templar knights. The town’s chief attraction is its old medieval city, which includes a crusader fortress and 13th-century Gothic Cathedral. Syria only has a 183 kilometre long the Mediterranean, so the town is very popular with Syrian families because of its laid-back nature, sandy beaches, and inviting Mediterranean waters.