"Syria" Top 5 Page for this destination Syria by MalenaN

Syria Travel Guide: 3,975 reviews and 10,300 photos

Syria is an exciting country to explore!

Abtin, a village 50 km south of Aleppo.

Many ancient civilisations have lived here and caravan routes have crossed the country for thousands of years. There are great ancient ruins and Arab and crusader castles. In the city the souq with its covered narrow streets and a myriad of things for sale is an interesting place to wander around in. To the west there is the coastal area with beaches and mountains and to the east the desert.

And the people! The Syrian people are very hospitable and I met many wonderful people. They really make the best memories of the visits. The second time I was in Syria I met VT-members Firas (dr.firas), Fouad (fouads) and Rami (albateh). For more photos of these meetings see my Aleppo page and Dayr az Zawr page. Rami and Fouad I met again during my third visit to Syria.

Places I have visited

Umayyad Mosque, Damascus

The first time I visited Syria, in July 2002, I visited the following places:
Aleppo, Abtin, Hama, Musyaf, Krak des Chevaliers, Palmyra, Damascus and Bosra.

The second time I visited Syria was in July 2004. Then I visited :
Deir Ez-Zur, Qala'at ar-Rahba, Mari, Dura Europos, Aleppo, St Simone, Latakia, the Saladin Castle and Ugarit.

When I visited Syria for the third time, in June 2005, I visited Damascus, Qanawat, Seidnayya, Ma'alula and Aleppo.

Last visit to Syria: Jun 2005
Intro Updated Sep 27, 2005
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Reviews (80)

Convent of Our Lady of Seidnayya - Syria

Seidnayya Things to Do (15)

Seidnayya is situated only 26 km north of Damascus and can easily be visited on a daytrip from there, using public... more travel advice

Maalula Things to Do (15)

Maalula is situated about 50 km north of Damascus and can easily be visited on a daytrip, also including Seidnayya. It... more travel advice

From Aleppo to Beirut Transportation (7)

Buses to Beirut from Aleppo cost 300 SP and takes about 6 hours. When I travelled it took 6,5 hours as it took quite... more travel advice

Al - Gawaher, Aleppo Hotels (10)

When I visited Aleppo in 2005 I stayed at Hotel Al - Gawaher, which is situated close to the clock tower (Bab Al-Faraj).... more travel advice

Off The Beaten Path (13)
See All Mari
Local Customs (13)
See All Camels
Restaurants (6)
See All Wanes, Aleppo
Nightlife (2)
See All Dancing Dabke
Sports & Outdoors (2)
See All More swimming pools

Shopping (4)
See All The Souk
Favorites (5)
See All The sea and the beach
What to Pack (2)
See All Bring your swimmingsuit to the coast
Warnings and Dangers (1)
Crossing the street
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Comments (80)

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Yaqui Oct 3, 2012 at 8:44 PM

What a beautiful country. It is a tragedy with the civil war that is going on. I just hope it will all end soon for them. Excellent page!
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  MalenaN Oct 4, 2012 at 8:44 AM
  
  Thank you Dee! yes, it is really horrible what is going on in Syria now. I never thought it was going to go on for so long. It must end soon!
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Nemorino Apr 13, 2012 at 3:31 PM

Great that you met such nice people on both your visits to Aleppo. It’s so nice to see such peaceful looking photos of Syria, in contrast to what is going on there now.
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Aitana Apr 9, 2012 at 11:58 AM

I visited Syria in 2000 and your tips brought back good memories. People seemed very kind and friendly. Awfully, the current situation is quite different, let's hope it will be over soon.
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bct341 Feb 7, 2010 at 7:37 AM

One of the places I really want to go visit. Great tips and photos. Makes me want to go there even more! :)
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plexus77 Dec 7, 2009 at 11:43 AM

Excellent!! Nice pictures! Did you enjoy visiting Syria? It has been quite a long time since I was there.
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jumpingnorman May 20, 2009 at 9:51 PM

I've always been fascinated by Turkey and very nice local custom tips..with you wrapped in that green cloth before entering mosque and men holding hands (same thing in Philippines - you can hold hands with close friends and it does not mean anything)
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Arkeolog Apr 12, 2009 at 9:02 AM

Hi Malena, This is a great page here on Syria. I liked your tips. In may I!ll be in Aleppo, hopefuly:)
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jgemini65 Jul 21, 2008 at 6:38 PM

Good stuff! I have always heard good things about Syria...looks like an adventure!
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Luchonda Nov 18, 2007 at 2:48 AM

Very informative/usefull tips - thx for sharing
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scottishvisitor Jun 27, 2007 at 1:34 PM

You had a tough time with the hotel - what a dreadful experience = hard to imagine how far SYRIA dates back + it has so much history to share + thanks for the tour