Ruins
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Apamea Ancient Ruins
Located overlooking the fertile Orontes River valley in northwestern Syria, Apamea was one of the grandest cities of the Seleucid and Roman empires. Founded in 300 BCE by Seleucus I Nicator and named after his Persian wife Apama, the city grew into a major military base boasting a famous herd of five hundred war elephants and thousands of cavalry horses. Famous for its magnificent Great Colonnade, one of the longest monumental avenues in the classical world, the vast archaeological site is celebrated in local lore for ghostly legionnaires, phantom war elephants, and spectral voices among fallen columns.