Entry requirements | Organizing your trip | Visiting | Eating | Paying | Speaking |

Entry requirements

Passport and visa service

Visa information from the Ministry of Tourism
Visa HQ

Diplomatic representations

Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic in France
Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic in England
Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic in the USA
Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic in Canada
Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic in Greece
Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic in China

For more information

Embassy of Syria in Greece
61, rue Diamandidou
154 52 Psychico
Phone: 2106725577, 2106722324
Fax: 2106716402
syrembas@otenet.gr

Organizing your trip

Means of transport recommended in town

Recommendation

Taxis can be recognized by their yellow color. Most taxi drivers speak some English. In order to make yourself understood, ask someone to write the different destinations of your journey in Arabic on a piece of paper. To avoid unpleasant surprises, ask the driver to turn on the meter (adadd). There are many urban buses or "services" and they are very inexpensive. However, it is always difficult to know their destinations.

Maps of urban networks

Maporama
Mapblast
UT Library on line

Means of transport recommended in the rest of the country

Recommendation

Travel within Syria is usually carried out by bus. They run at various time, are very inexpensive, punctual and numerous, and they cover just about all of the country. From your arrival at the train station, you will be directed by the commercial agents to the counter serving your destination.

Rail companies

Syrian Railways

Flight from Greece

No aircraft company operates direct flight from Athens to Damascus. Different aircraft companies such as Turkish Airlines, Alitalia, Royal Jordanian airlines and Egypt Air operate regular flights between Greece and Syria. To find out air connections from Greece to Syria click here

Traveling by yourself

Recommendation

The transportation network is in a very uneven condition (it is in the process of being improved) and the traffic is very unorganized. The Highway Code is not always respected and accidents are frequent. In the event of an accident, it is advisable to ask for the protection of the police and to leave the place of the accident. The other means of transportation inside the country's territory are collective taxis or individual taxis, buses and minibuses (commonly called "services").

Road maps

Syria road map

Find an itinerary

Visiting

Different forms of tourism

Historical

-In Damascus: old fortified city with the Bab-as-Salama gate and the Touma gate. There is also the Qala' At fortress of Damascus and the Umayyad Mosque.
- Latakia: it is the main port of Syria. The tourist sector shows remarkable dynamism. The beaches must be seen. Located 16 kilometers from Latakia, there is a famous historic site: Ras-Shamra (headquarters of the monarchy of Ugarit).
- Aleppo: it is the second biggest city in the country. It is mainly an industrial and commercial area. Do not forget to visit Aleppo's old citadel, the great Jami'a Zakariyyeh mosque as well as the Meoline.
-Crac (Castle) of the Knights: a 13 tower fortress.
-Palmyra: Ruins of temples. Well-known tourist site located right in the desert.

Cultural

Damascus swords and daggers; hookahs; gold and silver jewelry; silk; mosaic pictures; pottery; ceramics; metalwork.

Nature

Syria is divided between mountains (in the south and north west), steppes (in the east and north east), valleys (in the center) and plains (along the coast). Even if the desert covers 48% of the country, with a few lush oases, such as Palmyra and Sakhne, the landscapes have an infinite variety: basalt rock in the Hawran and the Jebel Druze, fields of wheat or barley in the fertile crescent, snowy crests in the Jebel Ansarije, the green banks of the Euphrates against a background of sand....

Religious

- The Mosque of Umayyad Mosque in Damascus. The Sayyida Zainab Shiite Mosque in the outskirts of Damascus (important pilgrimage center for the Shiite community);
- The Deir Mar Musa Monastery, located  two hours from Damascus;
- The church of Qalbe Loze, located in a small Druze village in the Jebel al-Ala, on the road to Arim in the Belus Massif.
- Qal'at Sem'an (Saint Simeon): a very active ancient pilgrimage center.
- The great Jami'a Zakariyyeh Mosque in Aleppo.

Thermal

There are many period style Turkish baths (Hammam) in Syria (among them Amoonah in the old city of Damascus and Nouredinne in the core of  the "sourk" of  Bouzerieh in Damascus).

Beach

The Syrian coast runs for more than 175 km It has countless beaches: Ras Al Bassit, located 40 km north of Latakia (it is one of the most beautiful sites on the Mediterranean coast); Baniyas, located 55 km south of Latakia; Tartous, the second Syrian port on the Mediterranean, located 90 km south of Latakia; Arwad, Syria's only island, visible from Tartous in front of which it is located.

Winter sports

It snows often in the Lebanese border (near Bludan), but it does not really allow to practice any winter sports.

Outdoor activities

Hiking or pony trekking, especially in the Jebel Samaan region, north west of Aleppo.

Shopping

Hand blown glass in Damascus; crafts in the bazaars of Aleppo; musical instruments; very famous brocades; spices (zhourat); pistachios; soap from Aleppo; tax-free electronic goods.

Tourism organizations

Ministry of Tourism in Syria

Eating

Food specialties

The Syrian specialties are very close to the Lebanese, Greek and Turkish ones. The dishes are usually very spicy and very varied. Some of the cooking specialties are:

- Mezzes, cold or hot appetizers like hummus (mashed chickpeas), muttabal (eggplant's caviar), baba ghanouge (a combination of minced vegetables seasoned with a pomegranate sauce), Kubbehs (round-shaped flour cooked dough stuffed with beef, onion and nuts), Yabrak (vine leaves stuffed with rice and shredded beef), etc.

- Brochettes (the kebab with cherries, a specialty of Aleppo), grilled meats, kefte, mloukhia (spinach), etc.

Drinks

You will automatically be given mineral water at table. There are many carbonated drinks as well, but American sodas are banned: so you will have to taste the local equivalents. In towns, many shops offer delicious fresh fruit juices. Lan is a very liquid yogurt served as a drink with mezze dishes. Coffee is Turkish-style kawa. Sometimes they serve green coffee flavored with cardamom. Tea is popular in Arab cafés, sometimes flavored with cinnamon, cardamom or various flowers. There are two brands of beer: Barada and Al-Sharq. Syria has always produced wine in its southern province. Arak is the aperitif flavored with aniseed, known as ouzo in Greece and raki in Turkey.

Dietary taboos

Alcohol is not subject to any restrictions except during the period of Ramadan when it is forbidden to drink alcoholic beverages in public places even for non-Muslims.

Paying

Domestic currency

Syrian Pound

ISO Code

SYP

To obtain domestic currency

The local currency is the Syrian pound or SYP.

Possible means of payment

The ATM services are slowly developing in Syria. Currently they are only available in Damascus, Aleppo and Latakia. In order to use the ATM for Visa or MasterCard, you must make sure that the the logo of  these cards appears on the screen, which means that the machine accepts them.
Using traveler's checks is very difficult. The majority of banks and private exchange desks refuse to take them. Those who accept  them will ask you for a proof of purchase. Euros and dollars are accepted everywhere.

Exchange rate on

Automatic Teller Machines (ATM)

To find out the locations of ATMs in in Syria, click on the link to your credit card: Visa, Mastercard or American Express

Speaking

Official language

Arabic

Other languages spoken

Kurdish (spoken in the north and north east), Armenian (mainly in Aleppo), Turkish (east of the Euphrates) and Aramaic (biblical language spoken north of Damascus). French is spoken rarely, English prevails in large cities.

Business language

Arabic, French and English.

Getting some knowledge

Hello : Salam Ailikoum ou Marhaba (plus familier) ou  Sabah el kheir

Good Evening : Masa el kheir

Good Night : Tisbahu al khayr

Bye/See you later: Maa Salama

Bon appétit : Sahten   Response: Aala albek

Please : iza bitrid

Thank You : shukran/islamou

How are you ? : kifak ?

I'm fine : mnih/tamam

I don't want anything : Ma biddi chi

What's your name? : chou ismak ?

It's very hot : fi choub ktir

It's expensive: ghali

Yes: Naam

No: La

Free translation tools

Arjeeb - Free English-Arabic-English translation of texts and web pages
Ectaco - Free Arabic-English-Arabic dictionary
Translated - Free Greek-Arabic-Greek translator
TV5 - Free Greek-Arabic-Greek translator
lexicool - Free Greek-Arabic-Greek dictionary

We can translate your foreign-language documents.

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