Monday afternoon I Fed Ex'ed my (US) passport and accompanying docs. to the Syrian Embassy in Washington. This afternoon (Wednesday), almost exactly 48 hours later, Fed Ex delivered my passport complete with a 15 day multiple entry visa good through Feb 3rd next year!

Unbelievable. I think the only time I've had faster visa service was in Moscow, when my Mongolian visa (for a UK passport) was handled while I waited. Anyway, if you're thinking of heading to Syria now might be a good time to apply for a visa - presumably they're not getting a lot of traffic.

Great news, I'm anxious to hear about your trip when you return. I've heard a lot of nice things about Syria.

P_M - I'm looking forward to it! Depending on how things work out, there may be posts from the road. I'm thinking of starting a blog for this trip instead of my usual email list.

thursdaysd, Syria is on my to do list. Enjoy your trip.

Are you using a tour service or winging it solo?

You'll see that Syria is a very pro-tourism destination, so I'm not surprised they quickly processed your visa. Hhopefully some other countries -- like Libya, Algeria, Sudan and Angola -- will learn this lesson and make their visas simpler to acquire. I have looked into all four of these visas, and not only do they make you jump through hoops, even if you make it through the hoops they don't guarantee that you'll get the visa.

Hey nimbus - you're back! Did you make it to Iran??

I'm intending to do this trip on my own, might arrange a day tour or car and driver here and there.