Turkey: Ancient Dara
The ruins of the ancient city of Dara lie way off the tourist routes in Turkey, its mere kilometers from here to the Syrian border. So hardly anybody comes here, but it’s a total hidden gem. Dara was founded in 506 as Anastasiopolis, and during the Roman times, this was the easternmost outpost of the Roman Empire, right on the edge with Persia, and as such it had the utmost strategic importance during Roman-Persian wars of 530-604. The city stretched for over 9km and had extensive walls and fortifications, as well as storage facility to provide the army with water and food during the military endeavors and guarding the Roman borders against Persian attacks. This is in the middle of a hot and inhospitable desert, and most of the dwellings are actually cave dwellings dug from the rocks – you can explore inside and be a amazed by the amazing cave engineering and indoor spaces. Most of the wall has been destroyed, but the Agora, some arches, and aqueducts are still intact. The entire place looks like an alien planet and remnants of some alien civilization, totally cool and empty of any tourism.
