Syria Tourism

The National Museum of Damascus is one of the best places to visit in Syria. This museum exhibits great number of artefacts and upon entering the premises, one will notice that the exhibits start from the surrounding garden area itself. Here each of the artefacts is labelled in both Arabic as well as in English. This museums one of the most famous exhibit is the Hypogeum of Yarhai from Palmyra. This is an underground burial chamber which has been reassembled here for better public viewing.

In the cities like Damascus and Aleppo, there are several Bars cum restaurants which serve good Syrian food along with a nice choice of drinks.

Some of the very famous dishes are Shish Kebab and Fattoush which is a kind of salad made with fresh vegetables and bread. Apart from this the cuisine of this country comprises hummus which is a dip made out of chick peas and a nutty sauce. Apart from this there are plenty of savoury dishes which are also widely popular among the tourists. A special mention if Baklava is necessary as this is a sweet dish made out of filo pastry filled with nuts and soaked in syrup made of honey. Coffee is widely preferred by Syrians who like it hot and take it throughout the day.

Apart from Baron Hotel, Mashrabia Pub & Restaurant is quite popular for its décor and cheaper drinks.

The Souq-al-Hamidiyya of Damascus is a covered market which is lined with innumerous shops and emporiums. However, the side streets are lined with thousands of stalls where hawkers sell everything from cheap artefacts to toys. This entire market was restored to its original beauty as it looked back in the 19th century.

The markets or as they call it souqs are the bustling part of the each cities. The souq of Aleppo is one of the oldest one in the whole Middle East region which rune over several hectares. This robust and bustling market has innumerable passageways which run across each other several times. This 13th century market place is still a big crowd attraction on each days of the week, except on the Fridays when the shops are closed and the lanes are empty.

The remains of the Temple of Bell in the city of Palmyra are one of the complete structures left. This temple is dedicated to Bell, who was considered to be one of the most important gods. Inside the temple it has a courtyard and a podium which was used for the purpose of sacrificing animals.

The Towers of Yemliko is a series of free standing towers in the foothills of the city of Palmyra. These towers were built as a multi-storeyed burial towers in which coffins are stacked one upon another. Each such burial chamber is sealed with a stone panel. Some of these panels are even carved with the portraits of the deceased lying inside.

The kids, this country comes straight out of the pages of the history books. Each and every site leaves an indelible mark on the young mind which tells them about the transition this country had to go through at each conquest and invasion, beginning from the very early period of time.

Visit Al-Bara, Bosra, Chapel of St. Paul (Bab Kisan), Damascus and Church of St. Simeon, Syria amongst others if you want to experience the religious flavours of Syria.  One of the most important religious sites of Syria is Umayyad Mosque. Situated in the city of Damascus, this is also the capital city of this country, this mosque was built in AD 705 commissioned by the then caliph Khaled ibn al-Walid. As he dreamt of it, this beautiful mosque is one of the earliest Islamic imperial buildings. This mosque houses the shrine of Hussein who was son of Ali and also grandson of the Prophet, which is why this place attracts thousands of Shiite pilgrims each year.  The Mausoleum of Saladin is also here, who is widely respected as one of the greatest heroes found in the Arab history. This mausoleum was built in 1193. Tourists upon entering this mosque, have to pay some fees and wear special clothes; women are especially required to wear grey robes covering their heads.