Syria, Damascus And Beyond
 

For sure Syria is off the beaten path but after eight years of war it is looking to rebuild itself and it's tourism industry. Although it is still difficult or maybe even impossible for some to get a visa to visit Syria, a few friends and I are fortunate to do so. This report will be the highlights of my experience.

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About to cross Syrian border from Lebanon

Whoa DMB Syria!!......unreal . Waiting for your ground report.Interesting.Your photos will be something to look forward to.Thx

Looks like you got a colourful welcome from Bashar al-Assad ;)

I had an interesting visit to Syria in 2009. I would not want to see what the country looks like now.

Destruction.. but rebuilding
 

I'm sure Syria was much better than before but here there is hope that the future will return it to the Syria of the past.

Just before 8am I take a short walk from my hotel in Beirut and load up in a van with others for our trip to the Syrian border. While we have made some previous arrangements there are still some unknowns for our adventure. However, we have been promised by our guide that getting into Syria from Lebanon will be no problem.


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Looking Down On Beriut

It's a beautiful Lebanese morning as we begin our whining ascent along a mountainous road above the city. We make a money exchange and breakfast stop before about three hours later we are at the border.


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Lebanese Broder Crossing To Syria

A simple Lebanese exit process and we enter “no man's land”. In reality it's not really a “no man's land” as there is a huge and popular Duty Free with excellent prices for mostly adult beverages.


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Syrian Border Crossing

Entering Syrian Immigration area the process does not go as quick as between us there are different nationaliities and combination of passports. This only presents a small delay because the code for my country is apparently not in the Syrian border crossing system and neither is the visa fee. However, in about 30 minutes we all have stamps in our passports and I am out only $100.00 before I am officially allowed to enter Syria.


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Hello Damascus

You are quite the adventurer, DMBT! Looking forward to more.

In our new set of wheels we're headed truly to.. The Road To Damascus.


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Hotel with open garden and roof top for nice views of Damascus

​​​​​Our hotel is located right next to the original.."Road To Damascus" where Saul was blinded by Jesus and converted to Christianity.


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Still celebrating Christmas in February

Even though it's February, at the hotel they are still celebrating their Christian tradition.
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Roman Gate

Just a few minutes from our hotel still stands an ancient Roman gate which marks part of the original road to Damascus. Our initial exploration of this historical city begins along this road as we take a walk towards what is now known as the "Underground Church".


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Paul Being Baptized

The Underground Church is where it is believed Saul who became Paul was baptized into the Christian faith. There is some discrepancies as to whether the original building was actually underground or if the city has just been built up around it. Since earlier Christians faced persecution the underground theory is more popular as maybe they would have wanted to worship in secret.

As we descend into the windowless chapel we are greeted by the sounds of worship as a singing rehearsal is in progress. It is no surprise to me that the acoustics in the building is amazing.