Yesterday we left Allepo and went to Hama , the town of the famed ancient norias (water wheels). It is famous throughout the Middle East.






There are approximately six water wheels up to 20m in diameter that scoop water from the Orontes River and tipping it into mini aqueducts, where it travels to irrigation channels watering the surrounding fields.


Because both the water wheels and the blocks on which they are mounted are wooden, the friction when they turn produces a mournful groaning. These water wheels have graced the town for centuries.



It is Good Friday today in Syria. Will update tomorrow.

__________


Wikipedia notes:

Its population numbers 410,000 inhabitants, making it the fifth-largest city in Syria, after Damascus, Aleppo, Homs and Latakia.

Hama is an important agricultural and industrial center in Syria, with 3,680 square kilometres (over a third of the governorate's area) under cultivation. The governorate produces over half of the national crop of potatoes and pistachio nuts, as well as growing a variety of other vegetables and supporting a healthy livestock ranching industry besides.

The city proper is renowned for its 16 norias used for watering the gardens, which—it is claimed—date back to 1100 BC. Though historically used for purpose of irrigation, nowadays the norias are almost entirely aesthetic and traditional.