retiredinflorida

I have been ot Morocco many many years ago, and I get the impression that Syria is somewhat similar to Morocco in terms of souks, architerture (except Syria has Roman ruins and Morocco doesn't), etc. Could fodorites who have been to both Syria and Morocco please comment.

I am hoping to go to Syria, sooner or later and I've found it very difficult to get information for Syria. What are the must sees I'm interested in Crac de Cavaliers, Aleppo and Damascus.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

retiredinflorida

Also, could fodorites who have been to Syria give me some indication of what meals, transport, taxis, etc cost.

thursdaysd

FYI - Morocco does have Roman ruins - notably Volubilis, also some in Rabat. Syria's sound much more extensive, though. I'll be in Syria in October, so can't answer your questions yet. I'm using Lonely Planet for planning purposes, but there's a Rough Guide available as well.

thit_cho

I have visited both, but visited Morocco in 1994 and Syria in May, so my memories of Syria are much more recent. I also used the Lonely Planet Syria and Lebanon, and I think it was reissued earlier this year.

I did a basic loop, mostly by public bus. My itinerary was:

Amman, Jordan to Damascus (by public bus)
Damascus to Palmyra (by public bus)
Palmyra to Homs (by public bus), arranged taxi at Homs bus station to take me to and from Krak des Chevaliers (I paid less than $20 for the roundtrip, with one hour of waiting time)
Homs to Aleppo (by public bus)
Aleppo to Apamea and Dead Cities -- private taxi (I shared it with another guest also staying at the Hotel Baron)
Aleppo to Beirut (by public bus).

Its very inexpensive to travel around Syria -- buses were only a few dollars (around $3.00 from Damascus to Palmyra, for example). I probably ate at some of the priciest restaurants, and I don't think I paid more than $10 for a meal (but I also had meals for much less).

thit_cho

There is also a Bradt guide to Syria, and it has much more information on the sites than Lonely Planet -- but I don't find Bradt's maps as helpful or restaurant/hotel reviews as LP.

retiredinflorida

Thank you, thursdaysd and thit_cho. thursdaysd, I didn't know that there were any Roman ruins in Morocco, I certainly don't remember seeing any. I have been reading the Lonely Planet guide. thit_cho, I will look for at Bradt guide.

thursdaysd

Pix of Moroccan Roman ruins here - kwilhelm.smugmug.com/Travel/667854 Unfortunately, they got knocked about rather badly in the Lisbon earthquake.