Syria Pictures
Travel Photos

A camel prowling for riders at the Syria's number one ancient site, Palmyra. The ancient Arab fort of Qala'at ibn Maan is visible in the distant background.

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Syria Pictures: Damascus | Palmyra | Aleppo

Syria's assets:
Combine colourful, amiable [but don't criticise Islam or the government!] locals, stunning architecture in ancient towns, remnants of great civilisations scattered liberally around the arid countryside, five thousand years at the cross-roads of history, great weather if you choose the right time [see below], relatively few other tourists, an astonishingly low-cost environment and this country is a winner for lovers of exotic cultures.

The people:
Syria has acquired an unfortunate reputation for deadly skulduggery through its meddling in the affairs of its tiny neighbour Lebanon and its proximity to Iraq [which resulted in its use by Islamic jihad warriors as a transit point on the road to Baghdad]. However, while there is a fundamentalist sector of the population they don't seem in a hurry to cause trouble on their home ground, be it fear of their strong-arm government, respect for their country or just a common sense decision derived from their observation of the long term damage wreaked upon their neighbours.
Basically Arabs are among the most hospitable people on earth, a habit developed from their nomadic desert days, though Arab countries saturated with foreign tourists - such as Morocco and Egypt - have sadly lost much of this warm-hearted attitude through simple over-exposure.
The country fortunately is still unspoilt and offers endless simple friendliness untainted by the desire to conclude the conversation with the sale of a carpet or some appalling rose-scented perfume.

Taking Pictures in Syria:
A couple of points when taking photos here...while locals are usually very welcoming that doesn't necessarily extend to taking pictures of women, though men seem to enjoy being snapped and won't demand payment. But ask permission when getting photos of females.
Secondly, with the bright skies, bleached deserts and ancient sites, such as the above, try to use the beach or snow setting on your digital camera in order to avoid under-exposure. i.e. when your camera over-compensates for the strong light conditions and your photos end up too dark.

Transport:
Domestic flights from Damascus to Aleppo work well and intercity buses do a good job [and include luxury vehicles] so the main difficulty for individual travellers is getting to sights outside major towns.
Hiring a car and driver for the day is the easy option if the wallet is willing, though they won't necessarily speak English or know much about the sights.
Self-drive car hire is possible though expensive and vehicles may prove unreliable. In addition drivers will need to be flexible and have nerves of steel to deal with poor road conditions, dumb goats, lunatic donkeys, reckless children and drivers with more faith in Allah than in red traffic signals. And most road signs are in Arabic only...
Travel on local microbuses or hitching will take considerable time but provide plenty of people interest and may involve an dose of Syrian hospitality. Hitching is an acceptable means of travel in Syria, though naturally safer done in pairs if possible.
Railways exist but currently the only really acceptable trip is the night train Aleppo-Damascus. Generally trains are old and uncomfortable, run at night or infrequently by day, are poorly organised and stations are inconveniently located outside towns.
Overland passenger truck expeditions through Turkey, Syria, Jordan and Egypt are run by several tour operators. This kind of travel is by no means luxurious, sometimes uses tented accommodation, takes a while - anywhere between a few weeks and six months - and a helping hand may be required, so overlanding generally appeals more to younger travellers. They are very good value, safe, well organised and visit a lot of wonderful locations but depend greatly on the mix of travellers onboard for the difference between a fine trip and a sensational trip.

Travel Health:
The most common problem here is 'Traveller's Tummy' which may combine with heat to severely dehydrate the body.
Avoid raw vegetables, and don't clean your teeth in tap water.
If dehydrated drink a lot of water, preferably with 1 teaspoon of salt and 6 teaspoons of sugar to a litre [2 quarts] of water. The additions will help your body to absorb the fluid. Don't take salt tablets, they can cause stomach irritation and vomiting.

 

Travel Safety:
In spite of some ridiculous government warnings this is not a terrorist hell-hole.
Theft is extremely rare and mugging unknown, though travellers need to keep an eye out for overcharging.
Rare Islamic hardliners prefer to export their trouble; still, you should check with government travel advisories, though they tend towards over-caution.

Cuisine Guide:
Syria serves superb Levantine food at a low price, and though it leans towards meat and oily fried dishes - which are delicious - there's something for everyone and vegetarians will do fine. For example humus, babaghanouj, ful beans, falafel and tabouleh originated in this part of the world, kebabs too, particularly lamb and chicken. Seafood is fair.
Meze [mixed starters such as the dishes above] will be enough food for many travellers.
Alcohol is freely available, with good beer, potent arak [aniseed, like ouzo or pastis] and even decent Lebanese wines.
Hospitality: the biggest problem may be how to politely refuse more food if you have accepted an offer to eat with locals. The general rule is that it's good manners to eat everything offered but that could well be a gut-exploding experience, so if necessary try everything and leave some food on the side of the plate.

Language:
A few key words in the local language, Arabic, will dramatically improve your relations with locals. e.g. minfadlak [please], shukrun [thank you], aiwa [yes], la [no], bikam [how much?], numbers of course, inshallah! [God willing - for when you make future arrangements], and hamdou lillah! [Praise God - when you hear good news]. And no, that doesn't mean that you have to become a Muslim to say that stuff!

When to go to Syria:
Best: March-May and Sept-November.
Worst: June-August [really excessive heat], December-Feb [cold and wet] and Ramadan [Muslim fasting month, Sept 1 - Sept 29 2008; August 22 - September 21, 2009; August 11- September 10, 2010. There's always a lively feast day, Idd al-Fitr, at the end of Ramadan]

Syria Photos © Denzil Watson