TRAVELLING TO SYRIA - advice please!

Here is a page for the weather of towns in Syria (as well as any other countries).

syria weather

What, Syria now!
Don't you ever stand still, you crazy globe trotting woman?









I'm SO jealous, Clary! Lucky you!

Never let the grass grow under your feet, Olga. A rolling stone gathers no moss, but then, who needs moss?

And sf, thanks for the weather site. Hot; very hot. Latakia on the coast might be a good idea

Certainly not you, Clary!

Why Syria? I don't know all that much about it.


(I KNEW that last post would draw a response! )

Syria: not a normal tourist destination, so free of the packages and the good-time Brits with their beer and bellies on display. A Muslim country so a good idea to go with 2 relatively large lads, as a respectable (!) widow. Huge and important ancient sites, beautiful old towns... and, in the end, why not?

Why not, indeed?
Something very different, Clary.

I'll say it is not a "normal" destination. Only thing I know... a friend who met & married a Syrian, then moved there. She found herself on her hands and knees one morning scrubbing her MiL's stone floor for the umpteenth time and realized she may have made a wrong turning.


What makes your sons want to go there? Those same ancient sites?

Interesting Syrian Travel Journal

MiLs have something in common the world over, then! Indian ones would do that, and Chinese...

1) They haven't been there 2) They liked Morocco but were very hassled by the Moroccans and wondered if it might be better with a Mum in tow (and now Mum's friend as well, it seems) 3) the ancient sites and 4) it's 'different'

I liked Piffka's travel journal link a lot.

may I suggest kevlar knickers?

I spent a week in Damascus in March, 1986. Loved it. Things have probably changed somewhat since I was there. (For one thing, Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini has gone to his rewards; Hafezz Aassad had posters with Ayatollah's picture plastered all over the walls. Any space left unplastered was reserved for pictures of himself. I understand the son is slightly less of an egomaniac.) Do visit the Umayyad Mosque, second largest and third holiest in all of Islam. While there, walk up the Street called Straight (it's the Souq al-Hamadi for a portion, but I believed the Street proper starts right outside the Mosque, if memory serves properly). It'll take you near the place where St. Paul is said to have hidden out while sightless and where he regained his sight after embracing Christianity. It's maintained as small museum-cum-shrine now. A little firther up the Street Called Straight, heading east, you'll come to the Bab Sharqi or Eastern Gate. This also has Pauline connections. Here you will find the spot from which Paul -- still known as Saul of Tarsus -- was lowered to the ground in a basket to ecape from angry Jewish crowds which wanted to stone him for having become apostate and embracing Christianity. It's a lovely morning's or afternoon's walk.

Across the way from the Eastern Gate, outside the walls of the Old City, is what's left of the old Jewish Cemetary. I understand that a portion of it was paved over to make way for new autoways. There used to be a colorful Kurdish farmers' street market in the southwest corner of the Old City. Don't know if that's still there, but you could buy fresh produce for a few pennies back then.

Where are you staying in Damascus? I stayed at the Sheraton which is a very nice Western-style hotel but not all that close to the center of things. It's close to the War Ministry (I suppose it's called the Minitsry of Defense now) and you have to cross the street and not walk directly in front of it when passing by.

Unless things have changed drastically, you'll find the Syrians extremely friendly people. It helps if you speak French (it helps more if you speak Arabic, of course). Since Syria was part of the French Mandate between the two World Wars, more people are semi-fluent in French than in English, at least the older generation. The youngsters are probably all learning English now. At any rate, I had no problems communicating in one or the other of those European languages. Ran into only one surly taxi driver who was miffed that I spoke no Arabic!

Have a great visit, Clary!

Please be careful.

You must be so flexible to be able to go to a place, where you can be told what to wear and how to behave.

I wonder if being Western might be enough to endanger your life.

Please check closely with the State Department for advisories.

If you go, I hope you have a wonderful, safe trip.

As for how you dress, no worries, mate. My most vivid memory of downtown Damascus is the image of three Syrian women, standing at a bus stop, waiting for their bus. One was dressed in the traditional burkha, totally veiled as a devout Muslim woman is supposed to be; a second, in her 20s, was wearing jeans, an old army field jacket and carrying an AK-47 slung over her shoulder. A third, also in her 20s, was dressed for the office -- miniskirt, high heels, etc. It's an image I treasure. There is a large Christian minority in Damascus and a smaller Jewish minority. People are friendly. I doubt you'll need those kevlar knickers; I saw many tourists, visiting the Christian holy shrines, most of them German-speaking.

I never got to Haleb (Aleppo) or Latakia. Next trip maybe. If you go, pls let us know how you liked the seashore at Latakia. BTW, Syria is one of the few places in the Near East where you can get fresh seafood -- I mean fresh -- in most any decent restaurant. Ptrices are incredibly reasonable by Western standards. Lash is quite right, though, in suggesting that you be careful what you wear in certain places. At the Umayyad Mosque I recommended earlier -- or any mosque, for that matter -- pls make sure your head and arms are covered. They'll insist on that anyway before they let you in. You don't have to wear a veil. Jeans or slacks, I believe, are OK. But if you scrunch down in the courtyard or squat down, or anything like that, make sure you don't expose the soles of your feet to view. This goes for your sons, too. Terribly rude in a place of Muslim worship. Feet nicely tucked under yer bum, if you please.

That's really interesting and good to hear, M A. I certainly will not be asking State Depts or any other govt bodies about travelling there! I have travelled in other Muslim countries, and am old anyway, so it won't be such a challenge as it might be. Long skirts, trousers, sleeves etc of course. But it has all moved on a bit since I went to Morocco in 1967, or Pakistan in 1984. They are used to seeing Western women on TV.
The soles of feet thing - similar in Asia. When my Chinese students saw a pic of US students with feet on desks, showing soles to teacher, there was an audible intake of breath at their temerity.

I'm oh so very jealous of you, Clary!

you can do it/if you really want it

Clary, You brave soul - going to Syria in September/October. Maybe not the worst time of year, but I can find better climate and scenery at destinations that doesn't have the killing fields next door. At any rate, have a grand journey.

I am very fond of both Clary and Cicerone and observe that they are very different travellers. I delight in all of their journeys. Ok, ok, that sounds a bit precious, but it is true, you are both our feet...

Jeez - Syria - I am impressed!

I was deported from South Yemen, and haven't had the urge to go back in that direction again!

I've had to tone down my travel for this year, and thought I might brave New Zealand! You only have to worry about the bloody French government blowing things up, there!