The city is 200km to the north of Damascus . It is a very ancient city, which has flourished continually since ancient times , and has known the successive civilizations of the Fertile Crescent.
Hama has a long heroic history in defending Syria against foreign invasions
One of the outstanding battles was that of Qarqar , where the Assyrian army was defeated in 853 B.C. Unfortunately , few of its ancient relics have been preserved.
However, Hama is well known for its enormous waterwheels (‘norias’) on the Orontes , which are as old as Hama itself.
