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I spent two weeks in Syria, and had a great time - the people a friendly, there's so much to see, it's easy to get around, and it's really inexpensive.
I started out in Damascus, moved on to Palmyra, then Hama, Lattakia and then Aleppo. If you like Roman ruins then Syria is the place for you - Palmyra and Aphamea both have sites that if you squint you could imagine Romans heading down the colonnaded street doing a bit of shopping as they went. Ruins gives the impression of a few rocks on top of each other - they have complete streets here...
In Hama they have Norias (water wheels) on the Orontes river that creak and groan as they lift water from the river to irrigate the nearby fields, they really are a sight to behold as they can be up to 20 metres in height.
The highlight to a Syrian trip has to be Krak de Chevaliers, a crusader castle in the hills close to Homs. As you approach the castle from the bottom of the valley it really doesn't look much, but as you get up close you realise how vast the place really is. I was lucky to stay in the Bebers Hotel which is on the next hill over from the Krak, and got a room with a great side on view of the castle - I got to see sunset and sunrise over the castle from the comfort of my room (in fact sun rise was seen from the warmth of my bed!) and all for 22USD (including breakfast).
Another memorable part of my visit was the day trip to Serjila part of the so called 'Dead Cities', these are a number of cities in the north of Syria that were abandoned by their occupants as the trade routes dried up. In Serjila there are so many buildings, and a few that are intact. All you'd need to do is re-roof them and you could live in them. All with beautifully carved stonework. It was quite eerie being the only person in this abandoned city - I felt like the people could appear again at any moment.
Aleppo in the North of the country was my final stop, and it vies with Damascus for the title of the Oldest continually inhabited City in the World. They say that there are signs of habitation reaching back 7000 years. The souq is amazing, and is a real working one, not just for tourists, if it isn't sold in Aleppo's souq, you don't need it.
I get asked (a lot) if I felt safe while in Syria, and the answer to that is simple - Yes. Safer than just about any country in Europe or North America. This is the least of your worries when thinking about travelling to Syria, in fact I can't think of a single worry you should have! I'd go back to tomorrow.
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