In May 2009, the Baron Hotel in Aleppo 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. Since the other guest was continuing to Hama, we visited a few of the remaining 17 original norias (water wheels) before I returned to Aleppo.

The norias move water from a lower to a higher elevation and do not provide mechanical power to any other process, unlike the water wheels at mills.