Daraa

Overview

Daraa lies on the basalt plain of the Hauran near the Jordanian border, a region of black-stone villages and Bronze Age tells. The Roman road from Bosra to Damascus passes through.

History

Mentioned in Egyptian inscriptions of Thutmose III as Aṯāra, Daraa was an Aramaean, then Roman frontier town, and a stop on the Ottoman Hejaz Railway built in 1908.

Highlights

• 01Roman Bridge over Wadi Zaydi
• 02Al-Omari Mosque (founded 634 CE)
• 03Ottoman Hejaz Railway station
• 04Hauran black-basalt villages
• 05Bosra (40 km east)

Major Attractions

• 01

  Al-Omari Mosque

  One of the oldest mosques in the world, founded in 634 CE during the caliphate of Umar ibn al-Khattab — austere basalt with a cylindrical minaret.

• 02

  Roman Bridge of Daraa

  A black-basalt single-arch bridge over Wadi Zaydi, still in use after nearly two millennia.

• 03

  Hejaz Railway Station

  Ottoman-era stone station opened in 1908 on the Damascus–Medina pilgrim line, with rolling stock preserved in the yard.

• 04

  Tell al-Ashari

  Bronze Age tell on the city's edge with visible basalt fortification courses.

• 05

  Bosra

  40 km east — UNESCO city of black basalt, dominated by its Roman theatre inside an Ayyubid citadel.

• 06

  Shahba & Qanawat

  Hauran towns north-east of Daraa with Roman theatres, baths, and basalt Decapolis monuments.

Traveller Tips

• ›Daraa governorate has seen significant fighting since 2011 — check current security advisories before independent travel.
• ›Most visitors pass through Daraa en route between Damascus and Bosra; combine the two for a single rich day trip.
• ›Late March and April bring the Hauran's famous wildflower bloom across the basalt plains.

What to Eat

• Mansaf

  Lamb slow-cooked in fermented jameed yogurt, served over rice and shrak bread — the festive dish of the Hauran.

• Freekeh

  Roasted green wheat simmered with chicken or lamb stock; a Hauran granary staple.

• Shrak Bread

  Paper-thin saj bread baked over a domed griddle — eaten with everything.

Other local flavours: Freekeh wheat dishes · Mansaf · Bedouin bread

Where to Stay

• Bosra Cham Palace (Bosra)

  Recommended base in Bosra

  Most visitors stay 40 km east in Bosra, which has the only tourist-grade hotel of the southern plain.

• Daraa city guesthouses

  Basic

  A handful of basic hotels serve the cross-border traffic to Jordan; conditions vary.