Country Info
- Damascus
- Capital
- Syrian Pound (SYP)
- Currency
- 16,728,808
- Population
- SY
- Country Code
Syria Slideshow
Syria
Travel Blogs from Syria
The Escape Route
The struggle across the border was not all bad, International SOS and Mike took control, the sunset on our time in Lebanon (for now) and Ele found something that made her ...
How do you say 'Merry Christmas' in Arabic?
... the right thing to do on Christmas. Plus, what a perfect place to me. Reading through Luke, I hear mention of Syria in the Christmas story. This is the biblical landscape. Even the everyday dress of some people is the stereotypical ...
Feet on the ground.
My first day in Syria started with a lot of sleep (hey; I was up until 3), and some down time in my hotel; I hit the ground around 11 AM. The first day was really a mix of culture shock and wayfinding. I spent a couple of hours trying to find a cheaper ...
Arrived in Damascus
We have now reached Damascus, the capital of Syria. It is however Friday today, so everything is closed and there are only a few people in the streets, actually rather nice as heat and large amounts of people can be a little too much. Today I found that ...
Pitstop on the way to Damascus
My original plan was to go directly to Damascus from Aleppo but on Friday night my stomach started turning and in the middle of the night I had full on food poisening. The next morning Marco said he was going to Hama which is halfway to Damascus to see ...
Syrian Hospitality Reigns Supreme!
Hello Everyone! Yesterday Bruce took the whole day off work. We were invited to spend the day at the Shell Club just outside of Damascus. This club was built for the expatriates and guests and has a wonderful pool and lots of leisure activities. ...
Maaloula and Saydanaya...amazing Christian sites!
Hello to all! Bruce informed me earlier this week that he was leaving on Thursday with the full drilling team to do an offsite in DeiraZoir, on location, for 4 days and he was taking Issam with him. Good heavens, I absolutely had to slip in an offsite ...
Bye Bye Bicycles
2010. I haven't had anytime at all to think about it. Everything in 2009 was about starting this trip. House sold, jobs quit, belongings in storage, 10 year anniversary...What could be left for 2010? Actually, I feel that 2009 is ...
Nearly Slipped into Iraq
We decided to head directly into Damascus to the market in the old city section… This I knew was going to be fun, the drivers in Jordan are very Egyptian in style and quite a few blast of the Shorty's horn was heard!! We found a parking spot in a ...
Turkey Please! No, not the bird, the country
... is relatively untouched by the tourist trade that has marred Egypt and other popular destinations. The political and economic climate (Syria is a fairly poor country for the area, and many modern conveniences are either not available or actively banned ...
In Damascus
Took a bus to Damascus, and found a hotel with a dorm room available, as there were no singles. You would think I'm in Bethlehem with the number of places that claimed no availability. Walked around a bit of the Old City, mainly the Christian ...
Home of the Golden Hamster: Part 2
... I will take a picture and post it one here. Friday really was like a shopping spree, though modest since prices in Syria are much more affordable than Jordan. After getting some jewelry and art we had to head back near the Pink House to our ...
Vegetarian heaven (hello falafel!)
... and silent amid herds of goats. Our tour also stopped at the Kurdish town of Brad especially for Samir who had come to Syria to visit the final resting place of St Maron. The village was packed with buses and crowds for the 1600th anniversary of St ...
Communication Ahhhh
... complaining that they cannot see my nuber plates cause theyre dirty. Another couple of hours and 85 Euros later I was in Syria. The assuring feeling of arabic communication started at the boarders and I was given the option to travel under the Egyptian ...
Palmyra and Aleppo
... just stroll through the ruins inside. The view of the city from the outer wall was also worth the price of admission. While the scenery in Syria wasn't all that great, the people and food were fantastic and I'm definitely glad to have ...
The North!
Ok, I know this says I'm in Syria, but actually we're currently staying in the Golan Heights which is another Israeli occupied territory that was conquered after the 1967 Six Day War. We just got here this evening so I don't really know what it's all ...
Marhaba Syria
... the longest inhabited city in the entire world and our first stop was Costa coffee... Two iced lattes later we were ready for Syria proper. Anyone familiar with the Daewoo Matiz may be as surprised as we were that this is the taxi of choice in Syria. ...
First Impressions
... I got here. Mohammed Iskander was there to pick me up, and take me to meet my host family. My first impression about Syria was how Syrian drivers were civilized in contrast to Egypt. Now don’t get me wrong…. Similar to Egypt nobody follows ...
Brev 40, fra Tyrkiet og Syrien
Kaere allesammen, Saa sidder jeg her i Damascus i Syrien. Jeg er rejst over land ind i Syrien for en lille uge siden fra Tyrkiet. Min ferie startede jo allerede d. 27. juni i Istanbul. Men for engangs skyld har der ikke vaeret saa meget at skrive om. ...
Found it by a Fluke
Syria charges tourists with diesel cars $ 100 USD per week and if you overstay the week they charge you the extra $100 USD + $ 100 USD fine. So with this in mind we decided to get towards the border quickly and get out of the country. Off to Aleppo where ...
Pre-Christmas activities
Merry Christmas all! I got up with the crows this morning; too excited to sleep! I realized I had at least 3 hours to kill without waking the troops and decided to clear off the camera and be ready for the next adventure. The American School did ...
Damas
Grand souvenir de damas : ses mosquees veritables lieux de vie pour les habitants. On y joue, y dort, y mange, y echange, y pleure... C'est bien simple, nous y avons passe des heures a observer et converser avec sunnites locaux et chiites damascenes et ...
Bosra and Damascus
After a relatively easy border crossing into Syria, we drove the short distance to Bosra where we slept in a restaurant next to a large Roman theatre and some other ruins. The next morning we explored the ruins before taking off for the ...
An Unexpected World
... as Rome. I just need something that will keep my attention and that is full of life and energy. Would you believe Syria meets all my requirements and then some? I will start by saying the people here are some of the warmest and most ...
Hama to Hallep
... at the busstop to head to Allepo, a 45 minute drive away. The museum had some very impressive pieces in it, from all over Syria. Some had religious designs, some of myths, and some were of animals and wine and the like. Allepo was a nice ...
The Water Wheels of Hama and Crac de Chevailler
So what did we do today. Well, first off we spend almost two hours in a mini bus going out into the middle of nowhere, to see the Crac des Chevaillers, which is an old crussaders castel. In all books it's described as being the castel of the dreams of ...
Waiting... Waiting... Waiting...
... different types of ice cream. After the wonderful dinner we explored around the souk. A souk is an outdoor market that Syria is famous for. There were many shops consisting of many different things such as pottery, painting, food, handicrafts, clothing ...
Apamea and the Dead Cities
Apamea (city of the Seleucid and Roman Empires) and Serjilla, one of the "Dead Cities" (Byzantine-era towns that were mysteriously abandoned) . . ...
Exploring Aleppo
The first night we arrived in Aleppo everyone else sat at the base of the citadel and drank tea and smoked sheesha. I was back at the hostle due to a recent "reversal of fortunes" (hint: its our code for a specific experience). ...