Maskanah

Maskanah lies near the great bend of the Euphrates, west of Raqqa. Nearby stood Balis, the ancient Barbalissos, a fortified river town where routes from the Syrian interior reached the Euphrates. Medieval geographers described Balis as a port for Syria and a meeting point for caravans. Its walls and minaret overlooked the river plain, while the town endured into the Mamluk period before declining and leaving its fortress in ruins.