A town, a river, a bridge.

The town is the only important urban center in the East of Syria. Its position, far from the capital and from the nerve-centers of the country, at the entrance to a vast and developing region, gives it a very considerable local importance and is enhancing its sense of its own identity.

The river is the Euphrates, lifeline of the region and a corridor for civilization throughout the ages. With the filling of Lake Al-Assad it has become possible to regulate its hitherto capricious flow and to make plans for new harvests.

The bridge, or rather bridges - there are five of them, as the locals proudly point out - are the historic reason for the very existence of Der Al Zor. Countless armies, conquerors and merchants have come this way. Der Al Zor is likely to undergo a certain degree of development now as the recent discovery of an oil field here will significantly improve the town’s economy. There are wide concrete structures to carry the cars and lorries of today, but a light suspension footbridge, dating from 1924, with as many stays as an ancient sailing ship, is floodlit in color at night as if to underline the significance of this thousand year old crossing.

This historic, economic and social context gives Der Al Zor an initial interest for the visitor. It is well placed for easy access to highly important archaeological sites (like Doura Europos and Mari). The improvement of arid lands (more than 45,000 hectares have already been irrigated since the filling of the dam), the technical problems raised by the regulation of the flow of the of the Euphrates (fertilizers, salinity, etc.), the introduction of new crops (fruit, groundnuts, rice) which are being studied in an Institute of Agronomy, the development industry in the wake of increased cotton production, … these are some of the topics which any technician, Syrian or foreign, whom the visitor may meet, as he takes his tea in a riverside café, would be happy to discuss. The visitor will also be agreeably surprised by the pleasant appearance of then town. There are decent stone houses( a front garden is de rigueur in the newer areas), fine trees on the river banks, flowers in the public gardens, and well-designed administrative buildings.

The top-quality Furat Cham Palace hotel, enables tourists to come to visit the Euphrates, the birthplace of civilization.

The Cultural Center provides a meeting-place for many young people - and opportunity for friendly rivalry between the sexes in the many activities it offers - painting, modeling, drama and folk-dancing. Its library already has a stock of fifteen thousand books. A theatre and regional museum now complete this coherent center.

Paradoxically, the Euphrates which once surged undermining the high pink cliffs on the right bank, nowadays simply flows gently through the plain … there are not even any boats to be seen. In the evening, the flood of light and color that only a sunset can create, help forget the castles and the dams.

Sixty km upstream, on the right bank, from Deir-ez-Zor stands a most impressive castle. This is Halabiyeh, called Zenobia in Palmyrene times, which for hundreds of years was bitterly contended for. Outer walls, on a triangular plan extending down to the river bank itself (there used to be a ford at this point), rise in a series of closely set square towers to the top of a basalt spur, which is crowned by a massive keep. Inside the ramparts there is nothing but ruins, but the lovely gray stone, flecked with glittering gypsum crystals, lends a fairytale beauty to the silent scene. Slightly downstream from Halabiyeh, on the cliffs on the left bank, stands its counterpart, the castle of Zalabiyeh, whose simpler rectangular curtain wall is rather better preserved. The outline of its towers is clearly visible from Halabiyeh. Since there is no ferry across the river, access to the latter fortress is long and difficult; it can be reached by a track along the left bank, from Der Al Zor.

On the right bank 45 kilometers downstream from Der Al Zor, a legendary castle seems to rise from the pink and ochre cliffs, level with the village of Mayadin. This is Qalaat al-Rahba, an Arab fortress perched on a rocky spur, which looks formidable a distance but on closer inspection turns out to be sadly dilapidated.

The countryside around Mayadin and Ashârâ (the next village) is extremely colorful in July. Melons, particularly watermelons, are almost exclusively cultivated in these parts. Great mountains of them lie piled up in special storage yards; in the near-by cafes deals are concluded for tons at a time - the whole crop runs into millions of tons. If you wish to buy some you have only to ask. The boot of your car will soon be filled to overflowing with green and yellow melons, as big as Rugby balls and as hard and dense as stones.