Al-Dumayr

Dumeir
ضمير
Dumayr

Temple of Zeus Hypsistos, Dumeir
Dumeir

Location in Syria

Coordinates: 33°38′31″N 36°41′34″E / 33.64194°N 36.69278°E / 33.64194; 36.69278
Country  Syria
Governorate Rif Dimashq Governorate
District Duma District
Elevation 675 m (2,215 ft)
Population (2004)
  Total 24,223
Time zone EET (UTC+3)
  Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+2)

Dumeir, also Dumair, Damir and Dumayr (Arabic: ضمير or الضمير) is a city located 40 kilometers north-east of Damascus, Syria.

The Syrian Arab Air Force Al-Dumayr Military Airport is located here.

Archaeology

The Roman Temple of Dumeir lies in the center of the old town. It was dedicated to Zeus Hypsistos in 245 AD in the reign of the Roman Emperor Philip the Arab. However, there is an earlier reference to the building in a lawsuit in 216. An altar dedicated to the Semitic deity, Baalshamin in 94 AD, now in the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, indicates that a Nabatean religious building previously stood on the site.

The shape is highly unusual, and construction may have commenced as a public fountain or staging post, but in its final form it is clearly a temple. It was fortified in the Arab period, the arch on the rear wall being filled in with stones and defensive devices.

The temple has been restored as the result of much research and reconstruction work.[1]

See also

External links

References

  1. Burns, Ross (2009). The Monuments of Syria (3rd ed.). I. B. Taurus. pp. 147–148.

Coordinates: 33°38′31″N 36°41′34″E / 33.64194°N 36.69278°E / 33.64194; 36.69278

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