In October 2017 was I lucky to be granted a 10-day tourist visa to Syria, almost 2 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.
Streets are full of people and Shisha houses are full.
Over the 10 days, I travelled around Syria, I visited Damascus – Aleppo (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.
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 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.
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´s 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.
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 with 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, the 4th holiest place in Islam
Umayyad Mosque, The Mosque was a Christian Temple before it becomes a Mosque in 634.
The Entrance to The Souq al-Hamidiyya is an old Roman temple.
The old bazar 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.
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.
Food Selections are just like Europe
European Cheese
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 see Christian weddings around the city and Priests walking around in public. And in general, are Damascus residents enjoying life.
A beautiful girl looking at her friend taking wedding photo.
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.
Locals Out dancing.
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.
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
Ines says
I am Tunisian and I have many Syrian friends with whom I have contact for more than five years now..All I can say is that Syrian people are the most friendly people I’ve ever known..you won’t believe how cheerful, generous and kind they are..I love the Syrians so much💝💝( what I like most is their accents and the excessive use of love words in their every day talks😊😊)
Kerstin says
Everything is very open with a precise description of the
issues. It was really informative. Your website
is very helpful. Many thanks for sharing!
Hannah Carim says
Amazing blog. I live in Oman Khasab Musandam. You should check out here if you are planning on your next trip.
Ryan Speakman says
What about for Americans? Is it safe for an American citizen to visit Damascus? Aleppo? Did you meet any American tourists on your trip?
Christian L. says
Hello Ryan.
Yes, I did meet Americans while I travelled around Syria, actually a few of them. They have no problems at all, but they did say the visa took some time to get. If you are going in March should you start the visa process already today
dale north says
This is a terrific post. I think it is important to know that even in times of war, life carries on. I’m also happy to put Syria back on my travel list.
Christian L. says
Hello Dale.
thank you. And I do completely agree, life carries on for the locals in every war zone around the world, and often is it very very different from media says. I will be going back to Damascus soon, the visa has become very very easy to obtain these days. So more and more tourist are going to Syria every week now
Victoria says
Regarding the visa – you mention it takes 10-12 weeks. Do you need to send your passport as well with your initial application? Or can you keep this and send that at a later stage?
I’m considering applying for a tourist visum (long shot but why not right – I have friends living in Damascus atm working there for international organisations) but I don’t want to risk not having a passport for 10-12 weeks (given I travel a lot for work)
Christian L. says
Hello Victoria.
Things changed earlier this month, you can now get the visa in less than 7 days, even in less than 48hours if your lucky (except for Americans and British) You will only have to send a copy of your passport (mail or WhatsApp) to a local approved travel agency. Then when approved will you get a letter then you will show at the border. The price is 300USD. I will not write the contact here in public but send me a private message