Images Bedouin riding a camel Caravans in the desert following the "Silk Road"

After the fall of Petra in Jordan (3rd century A.D.), Palmyra took over its role as trade centre of the Middle-East on the Silk Road. The traders coming from the East, from China, Pakistan, Afghanistan or Iran, stopped off and sold their goods in Palmyra on their way towards Mesopotamia and the Euphrates’ region. The other caravans came from the West towards Aleppo, continuing towards Palmyra. Another road was the one coming from Damascus and the South. Goods were travelling both East and West, whilst most of the merchants came from Damascus, Aleppo and the Western regions.