Al-Chab
From Hama the Orontes River flows northwest for 50km and then into the Al-Ghab plain, a vast green valley stretching between Jebel Ansariyya to the west and Jebel az-Za-wiyya to the east. It’s said that in ancient times the pharaoh Thutmose III came here to hunt elephants, and a thousand years later Hannibal was here teaching the Syrians how to use elephants in war.
Under the Seleucids the plain must have been both rich and fertile as it supported large cities such as Apamea, but as the population dwindled (see Dead Cities in the Aleppo chapter) the untended land degenerated into swamp. However, with World Bank help, in recent times this low-lying area of some 40 sq km has, been drained and had irrigation ditches dug, returning it to its former status as one of the most fertile areas in Syria.
The view over the Al-Ghab from the ruins of the ancient city of Apamea is great, but by far the best - and most uplifting panorama in all of Syria - is from the top of the Jebel Ansariyya. It’s impossible to get up there without your own transport (forget hitching: hardly any traffic comes this way) but if you are driving, or being driven, from Apamea to Qala’at Salah ad-Din via Slunfeh then you will take this route.