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As Tourist In Damascus, The Capital Of Syria

In October 2017, was I lucky to be granted a 10-day tourist visa to Syria, almost two years before every other “traveller decided to travel to Syria”.

Friends and family told me I had to be insane and that I must have a death wish to want to visit Syria in 2017. Everyone knows there is a brutal war raging in the country that is heading into its 7th year now.

The people I told about my plans were all saying the chance of entering Syria was around zero and, if I did manage to enter, I would most likely end up getting killed or kidnapped.

So when I finally managed to secure a tourist visa to Syria, I booked the first flight possible to Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, since there are currently no easy flight connections to Damascus and Syria.

It´s now really easy to visit Syria, click here to read about travel guide about how to get the visa in less 48hours.

Damascus,Syria
Streets are full of people and Shisha houses are full.

Over the 10 days, I travelled around Syria, I visited DamascusAleppo (Read About my visit to Aleppo by clicking here)Homs with the countryside around it, and the Mediterranean coast before I went back to Lebanon for my flight back home to Europe.

I went to Syria with an open mind and with no political intentions at all.

How´s Damascus these days, after the war

To obtain a visa for Syria these days, you will have to get a recommendation from someone with contacts inside the country, fill out some paperwork, wait for around 9 – 10 weeks to get an answer, and pray that you will get accepted.

Most people don´t even receive an answer.

Damascus
Local families in the street, all souvenir shops are open.

I left my hotel in Beirut in the afternoon with a shared taxi heading for Damascus and I would be lying if said I wasn’t excited about my trip into Syria.

The trip between the two capitals is no more than 120KM /75Miles, a journey that used to take only around 2 hours to travel between before the war, including immigration procedures.

With the circumstances these days I would be happy if I could just make it across the border and into Syria at all.

Leaving Beirut proved to be the most time-consuming on my whole trip to Damascus since I got stuck in the notorious Beirut traffic jam when leaving the city centre.

When entering the immigration office on the Lebanese side of the border I noticed early on that myself and the 5 other westerners I was travelling with was not the only foreigners crossing the border.

There were another 9 Europeans together with the tens of locals exiting Lebanon at the same time as me (the border is open 24/7). Exiting and get stamped out of Lebanon only took a few minutes.

Here´s a short video from my trip to Syria, filmed with GoPro.

The first thing I noticed when entering the Syrian side of the border is how organized and calm everything was. People are lined up in queues.

There are no soldiers around and only a few welcoming border guards. To make a long story short, the Immigration on the Syrian side took only around 20 minutes before I was stamped into the country and ready to go.

I entered Syria just in time to hear the 7 PM call to prayer from the Mosques in the distance.

When leaving the border to head towards Damascus there are a few military checkpoints to go through.

None of them was any problem at all and every single soldier greeted me and my friends with a big smile, a handshake, and a “Welcome to Syria My Friend.”

The first thing to notice when arriving in Damascus is all the street life going on; young couples holding hands in the streets, shops open everywhere, shawarma stalls next to tea and coffee stalls and, in general, the streets are full of people like in any other country.

There are no signs of war going on except the few relaxed soldiers sitting on a street corner.

Damascus
Traditional Resturant in an old home.

I only went for a fast dinner and a few beers in a traditional restaurant full of people before heading to bed.

I wanted to be fully rested and up early to explore the streets of Damascus the next morning.

After waking up early to walk around of the oldest cities in the world, I left my hotel in the old city and you quickly notice the smell of fresh bread.

The milkman is on his bike delivering milk around the old narrow streets and the fruit and vegetable stalls are full of fresh fruit and vegetables.

Established between 10,000 to 8,000 BC, Damascus is credited with being the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world.

Things To do in Damascus

When walking around the old city, you start to wonder if there is even a war going on. There´s absolutely no damage here. All shops are open and the streets are bustling with life.

There are a few military checkpoints here and there but you don´t really notice them.

Even here the soldiers are happy to see tourists. Shopkeepers are overwhelmed with happiness when they see that tourists are back in town.

Syria, Damascus
A milkman in the old streets of Damascus

You are completely free to travel around Damascus on your own. You can take photos of everything you want except for military checkpoints and government buildings.

It´s very easy to forget that you’re in a country that ravaged by war when visiting Damascus but then you suddenly hear rocket hitting the terrorist-infested Jobar district only two km away in a straight line from where I’m staying and enjoying life.

Between 10 – 30 rockets, I could hear a day.

Just like before the war, there is plenty to see in Old Damascus – The Umayyad Mosque, the 4th holiest place in Islam, take a walk around The Souq al-Hamidiyya (old market), visit The Damascus Citadel or just get lost in the narrow streets filled with a century after century with history.

Umayyad Mosque,Damascus
Umayyad Mosque, the 4th holiest place in Islam
Umayyad Mosque one of the holiest sites Islam and a must visit in Syria.
Umayyad Mosque, The Mosque was a Christian Temple before it becomes a Mosque in 634.
Damascus
The Entrance to The Souq al-Hamidiyya is an old Roman temple.
Damascus
The old bazaar is crowded with people, here you can everything

If you get tired of walking around the streets, just walk into an art gallery to have a look at modern art in Syria, relax in a local Hooka cafe while looking at bustling street life or listen to a local storyteller. Everything here is just like it was before 2011.

Damascus
A local art gallery

But like before 2011, so is the Old Town of Damascus the place you to stay to explore.

The only real reason to head into to a modern part of Damascus is if you need to do some proper shopping at a western-style shopping mall or to visit a supermarket just as well-stocked as any supermarket back in Europe or America. Everything is available here.

Damascus, Syria
Food Selections are just like Europe
Damascus,Syria
European Cheese
Syria,Damascus
Jack Daniels, or Jagermeister? Alcohol shops are everywhere in Syria.

Overall, Damascus is so completely opposite of what the media has been telling us for the last 7 years. So I wonder if the journalists have actually ever been here themselves.

Christian churches are located right next to  Mosques. Both are filled with people. Even the Jewish Synagogue in the Old City of Damascus is still open.

You will see Christian weddings around the city and Priests walking around in public. And in general, are Damascus residents enjoying life.

Damascus
A beautiful girl looking at her friend taking wedding photo.
Damascus,Syria,Christian
A Christian Wedding, You see Christian Weddings every day.

In the afternoon, the bars and pubs are filled with locals that enjoy a few beers and drinks together with watching European football on big screens.

And all of them are welcoming to you as a tourist. I went out drinking with the locals to 2 am before walking back to my hotel on my own.

Damacus
Locals Out dancing.
Syria is much more than you would expect from the media
Locals out enjoying live music

I was lucky enough to walk around and explore Damascus for 3 full days. Never did I experience any hostile or unfriendly people.
Everyone was so happy to see that tourists are back in town.

Visiting Damascus in 2017 as a tourist feels just like being home in Norway or walking around Barcelona or any big western city. Damascus is very safe and ready to welcome tourists back.

After 3 Peacefull days in Damascus was it time to leave the capital and travel north to Aleppo. Click here to read.

Click here! to read about my visit to the world´s most impressive castle, KRAK DES CHEVALIERS & THE VALLEY OF CHRISTIANS.

Travel report from Damascus the capital of Syria from 2017
Travel report from Damascus the capital of Syria from 2017

 

Friends and family told me I had to be insane and that I must have a death wish to want to visit Syria. But in the end so was Syria amazing and everything western media write a complete lie
Friends and family told me I had to be insane and that I must have a death wish to want to visit Syria. But in the end so was Syria amazing and everything western media write a complete lie
Click here to cancel reply.

Sergio

Monday 6th of June 2022

Hi! I'd love to have more updated info on how to get to a reliable agency for Visa management/advise. Not really thinking on travelling soon, but why not in a close future. I went to Syria in '97 and lived there as a kid in '81, so Syria will always be on my bucket list.

Christian L.

Thursday 9th of June 2022

Ayoub from Marrota Travel; [email protected] +963954840021 WhatsApp.

Sawsan Joumaa +963933753839 WhatsApp

is the two best local guides which I highly recommed

Chuck

Sunday 24th of October 2021

Well being naive is the beauty of travel. War is hell if your the soldier or collateral damage.

Christian L.

Monday 25th of October 2021

Being a soldier is also a big honor for many, to protect their home country against foreign invasion. How else would thousands of American soldiers fight a war in Syria, Iraq in Afghanistan if they didn't belive the lies they have been told for years

Chuck

Saturday 23rd of October 2021

10 to 20 rockets a day. Just in Damascus. And they weren’t firing those rockets at people?

bobby

Wednesday 2nd of June 2021

You must be just a plain idiot. You have no shame on doing Bashar propaganda? You think you are so well informed with your Syrian "friends" when you are just a pawn. But hey, you have your stamp. I truly believe people like you that praise themselves on visiting countries at war are amongst the most disgusting human beings.

Christian L.

Friday 30th of July 2021

Have you been to Syria yourshelf? Or do you just get your information from FoxNews?

oiiioo

Saturday 13th of March 2021

I was lucky enough to study Arabic in Damascus back in the 90s, before tourism changed the city. It was the most beautiful city I have ever visited. I rented a room in a Christian family in the Bab Touma area. In the summer I would sleep on the roof and wake up to the morning prayer from the Umayyad Mosque. We would have power cuts in the old city almost every night (I could watch sections of the city turn black from my roof), and all the shops and cafes would lit candles. So beautiful. I would lover to go back, but I know it would be very different now. The Souq looks similar on the photos, but there were no cars on the square in front of the Roman temple.

Christian L.

Friday 30th of July 2021

Actually, almost nothing has changed in Damascus, if you did go back, you will recognize this amazing city straight way.