1 - DONALD ROSE
3/20/2008
PALMYRA IS TRULY A GREAT SITE, BUT SO IS EBLA,RUSAFA-SERGIOPOLIS, ETC. I HAVE BEEN TO SYRIA THREE TIMES WITH MY WIFE (HER PARENTS CAME FROM DAMASCUS) AND WE VISITED ALL OVER SYRIA WITH HER RELATIVES. MY WIFE IS FLUENT IN ARABIC, BUT HER RELATIVES ALL SPEAK ENGLISH TO PERFECT THEIR USE OF THE LANGUAGE!. THE BEST BOOK ABOUT THE ART AND ARCHAEOLOGY OF ANCIENT SYRIA IS, IN MY OPINION "EBLA TO DAMASCUS: PUBLISHED BY THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTE, WASHINGON D.C. "MIRROR TO DAMASCUS BY COLIN THUBRON" PUBLISHED BY LITTLE, BROWN AND COMPANY, BOSTON IS ALSO A GREAT BOOK AND I USED IT IN SYRIA AS WE TRAVELED THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.