Introduction to Syria
This is a report from our trip to Syria which we made in September 1995. It was actually a part of a trip where we went from Istanbul to Damascus.
In Syria, this was the itinerary we did:
- Aleppo (=Halab): 1 day
- Hamah: 3 days including trip to Crac des Chevaliers and Aphamia
- Tartous: 1 day
- Palmyra: 3 days
- Damascus: 3 days including trips to Bosra, Maalula and Sydnaya
The trip was fully updated in 9/99 with a report from Mania De Praetere, and in 10/2000 by Dirk Wijckmans. Thank you !!!
Travel guides
Lonely Planet We used the LP as it was the only guidebook available at the time. We did manage to find our way with it although it could be a bit more detailed. Prices were a bit outdated but that's normal. The Jordan section was included in this book. However, they've now split up the 2 books, and the information has become more detailed since.
Order the Lonely Planet Syria now for only 14.36 US$ If you plan to visit more countries in the Middle East, the LP on the Middle East is propbably a more economical (and less heavy) option. It has info on Turkey, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Syria, UAE and Yemen. It has 912 pages, edition 1/2000.
Order the Lonely Planet Middle East now for only 19.96 US$ Rough Guide In the mean time, there's strong competition from Rough Guides. I didn't read the book myself, but many people on the LP site said it was better then the LP book. Edition 11/98
Order the Rough Guide Syria now for only 15.16 US$
Other books If you want to read a nice book which gives you an insight in Syrian society, and especially the place of women in it, then read "The gates of Damascus" by Lieve Joris. She is a Belgian travel writer who has also written other books like Mali Blues. Her books have now been translated in English by Lonely Planet.
Order "The Gates of Damascus" now for only 8.76 US$ 
If you can't make up your mind, click on the Amazon.com logo and search for more books
Wegwijzer
For those of you speaking dutch, it is definitely worth considering becoming member of "Wegwijzer". This is a non-commercial organisation based in Bruges, Belgium. They have an incredible amount of info coming from guidebooks, leaflets but also reports from members. Since 2001 you can now get a lot of these reports online!! Membership is only 25 Euro a year, and this includes a good magazine they publish every 2 months. Have a look at
www.wegwijzer.be. I myself am a member since almost 20 years now.
Links
An interesting site, especially if you plan to tour the Middle East with your own car, is
this one. The site has a lot of practical info on how to prepare your trip, insurance, visa etc... No practical info on sights though. It also has an impressive number of links.
Go on to "General info 1"
