In May 2009, I visited the Great Colonnade at Apamea, one of the longest streets in the Roman world. During this trip, I stayed in room 203 of the Baron Hotel, Aleppo, the oldest hotel in Syria, the same room where Agatha Christie wrote the first part of "Murder on the Orient Express." The Baron Hotel organized a car and driver to take me and another guest on a day tour to visit Serjilla and Al-Bara, two of the Dead Cities, and Apamea.