Everyone who is thinking of visiting Syria should go there! Our experiences definetely speak for this country and its people, who are very friendly and helpful.
After all the bad news in the past time we first though about skipping Syria – but we are happy we went through.
We arrived at the border quite tired and later then planned. It already turned dark when we got through. Searching for a place to sleep when it’s dark is not so much fun. The border procedure took around two hours. Unfortunately the turkish side didn’t again – as when we entered Turkey from Bulgaria – put an exit stamp in our passports so we had to drive back through the nomansland. The problem is that noone tell you really where to go for the papers and stamps. At the first check we were waved through. After that you should go to the police office to get the stamp. But no sign tells you the direction.
After all this we now know what kind of stamp we have to get and for what we have to ask for. Learning by doing.
Last stop before the Syrian border.
To enter Syria we payed 125 Euros for insurance and customs. It also includes some kind of Diesel tax.
The whole procedure was fairly easy and without major problems. As the people at the border don’t really speak english the communication is a bit difficult but in general they are all very friendly. We got unwanted help from a syrian man, who turned out a bit annoying and unfriendly when it came to bargain about the bakshish. We payed him around 10 Euros in total. I think you an also manage without, but these persons are so smart in approaching you that before you can realize it, you already ”hired” them.
Best is to have some small change which makes it easier to bargain. The interesting thing with the 125 Euros is that after paying them you get two piles of Syrian Pounds back which you have to hand over to the person at the right and left counter.
My visa that I already got in Germany was a transit visa which they said is only valid for three days. So better check in the home country how long the visa is valid. Even though I was quite sure that my visa was for a 7-days stay in Syria the discussion at the counter was helpless. We had to be out of Syria in three days. I would have had the possibility to buy a new one for 8 Euros, but we decided to accept the facts and instead stay in Jordan a bit longer.
In Syria we searched for a sleeping place as soon as possible because we were really tired now. As it was dark we couldn’t tell what the surrounding looked like and it was hard to spot a good place for the night. In a foreign country, night driving is really dangerous especially when the driving style is something you really have to get used to. At the first possibilty we got off the highway onto a smaller road and stopped on a small dirt road which you couldn’t really see from the street.
Now, I just wanted to get some sleep and to relax from this day but it wasn’t over. After half an hour or so, two young guys drove around our car on a small moped. After knocking on the window they told us on arabicenglish that we can’t stay here and that we have to move. They were friendly but how do you judge a person when its pitch black outside.
They said we should follow them to their home and we could sleep there. While following them with the car, I had mixed feelings even though they seemed to be nice. You never know.
In the village more young men in our age welcomed us. Originally I thought we’d just park our car in front of their house and keep on sleeping. But now the car was parked safely in their garage and it wasn’t bedtime at all. Inside the house there were about 30 Syrian men from the family sitting on cushions and welcoming us to Syria. We made one loop shaking hands to everyone. It is pretty exciting sitting in a circle of foreign people who stare at you and you don’t know their language and they almost don’t know english. But it worked perfectly and we had great fun. They were so friendly and really interested in us, we drank Cay tee, learned card games and had a great evening together.
After work at Mustafas house.
Syrian dinner with local bread heated on the oven .
We were in a completely different world. Communicating was easier when Idleb joined the circle, who was an english teacher.
So we didn’t spent the night in the car but in Idlebs house where we had a delicious breakfast with his father and the other brothers. All the sadness about the 3-days visa was gone after this night.
We decided we want to spend the little time we had now in Syria to see the ruins of Palmyra, which are around 330km south east from Aleppo. Idlebs father changed some Euros for us so at least we could get diesel now. We spent 10 Euros for one tank of around 75 litres! Idleb came with us until Homs where we said goodbye to him and thanked him for all the warmth and hospitality.
The drive to Palmyra and from there to the jordan border can mainly be described as a sandlandscape. Along the road, which you can see for miles to the horizon, ther are right-turn and left-turn warning signs, probably just to get some action into the driving. There are no real curves. The mountains and the countryside along the road go in a beige colour which turn more and more into a red-brown tone the further you look in the distance. The highlights, beside the beautiful desert are shepherds and totally overloaded trucks. I think they deserve a special gallery.
From Palmyra it is not very far to Iraq, just 150 km and for a very short moment we thought about taking a detour. But decided to better enjoy Wadi Rum in Jordan instead.
How about a detour to Iraq?
Palmyra is a beautiful ruine which I can imagine must have been a really nice place when it still existed in the 15th century. It was a Oasis back then, a trading city for people coming from the east and the last city before the desert started. To this time of the year it is quiet and there is not a single japanese tourist.
We arrived just when the sun began to set, so the ruines were nicely lit up in the evening light. Idleb told us, that cars in Syria are really expensive and even used cars are as expensive as new ones which is really hard to believe. In Palmyra time seems to have stand still because alomst all cars are from the 60s. Old Mercedes and american cars, old Scania busses who look like breaking apart in the next minute probably drive around there for ages. Really faszinating.
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