---
type: Place
title: Homs
description: The epicentre of the Syrian uprising — destruction still standing in the city centre, a ruined citadel, and the best shawarma Harry says he has ever eaten.
tags: [homs, syria, conflict, ruins, food]
coordinates: {lat: 34.7333, lng: 36.7167}
timestamp: 2026-08-05T12:00:00Z
---

# Homs

A city in western [Syria](/countries/syria.md), between
[Damascus](/places/damascus.md) and [Aleppo](/places/aleppo.md), and the place
Harry stops on the way north.

Homs was the epicentre of the uprising against the Assad government, and it
shows. **Destruction is still standing right in the city centre**, which Harry
says is rare — most cities clear the middle first — and much of the city was
flattened.

- **The citadel**, on the hill above the city, was a significant historical site
  and was destroyed between 2011 and 2014 in the fighting between government
  forces and rebels. What's left is a ruin, and Harry treats it as the symbol of
  what happened to the country.
- **Hotels here are expensive**, which is why he pushed on to Aleppo the same
  day.
- **The shawarma is the thing.** He calls the one he ate here the biggest and the
  best he has ever had.

Asked how life is now, after Assad, the people he speaks to say better.

## Source

- [Hitchhiking with Rebels through the New Syria](/videos/wF17Hx5ul7o.md) —
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wF17Hx5ul7o