Syria is the cradle of civilization; the first civilized humankind lived and settled in Syria leaving behind some of the most important ruins. There are many ancient and exciting locations that give an evaluation for the role of Syria in developing the civilization. These ruins are among the greatest Byzantine architecture to be found anywhere in the ancient world

That so-called Dead Cities are the main attraction of the region around “Al-Bara”, they are series of ancient ghost towns among the limestone hills that lie between the Aleppo-Hama highway in the east and the Orontes (“Aasi”) River in the west. They date from the time when this area was part of the hinterland of the great Byzantine Christian city of Antioch before the fifth century B.C. abandoned ruins of some 700 Byzantine towns, villages and monastic settlements, ranging from single monuments to nearly whole villages complete with houses, churches, baths and even wine presses. Among the sites There are over 2,000 churches, spread over a hilly area measuring about 140km by 30km. UNESCO is currently in the process of declaring the whole area a World Heritage Site, which would make it the sixth in Syria
After the Islamic conquest of the Byzantine world, the political and demographical centre moved from Antioch to Damascus and this region -which depended on Antioch for its prosperity- went into decline. Its inhabitants moved away, leaving behind ghost towns but the great mystery is why the towns were abandoned. Some of the sites, especially Serjilla, have an eerie quality, as though their occupants had just vanished. The most current theory is that these towns and villages were emptied by demographic shifts; trade routes changed and the people moved with them. Other theories include Muslim invasions, Christian persecution, nomad incursions. However, not all the areas are completely abandoned  and some of the “Dead Cities” form a part of present -day villages with people inhabiting the ancient ruins or incorporating oddments of antiquity into the structure of their homes
   
The cities were first "discovered" by the French diplomat and archaeologist Marquis de Vogue who visited the area in 1860. American expeditions in 1899,1901, 1904, and 1905 followed, after which 20th century archaeologists started doing more extensive studies.

The dead cities are very well preserved and tourists can access the sites quite freely despite the ongoing archaeological excavations and some restoration work, though some of the Dead Cities are quite difficult to reach without a guide, most of them are now easily accessible and within the last two or three years many roads have been asphalted. There are several guidebooks with detailed maps that are very useful for finding the lesser known sites.