SYRIA

Visas, Embassies & Border Crossings

A Syrian visa in Ankara, Turkey costs 16,400,000 Tl for New Zealanders; Australians free. Expect it to take two full days. It is open until noon first day where they take your passport, payment, letter of recommendation from your embassy (New Zealand costs US$10; Canadian was CDN$50 per recommendation for this service), and two photos. You get your passport back the next day. Do not try to get your visa at the Turkey/Syrian border - you'll be turned away.
Danielle Seminiuk, Canada (Mar 99)

As I was walking past the New Zealand Consulate, I saw a sign that said : "As of 18 Sept 1998, the Syrian Embassy in Amman (Jordan) will not be issuing tourist or transit visas to New Zealand nationals unless they have been resident in Jordan for one year. There is nothing the New Zealand Consulate can do to help."

You are no longer given a yellow slip when you register for a visa extension. They do not even ask you to fill anything in. They just write down a few details in a ledger and stamp your passport. Takes about five minutes and costs nothing.
Andy Bolgar, UK (Dec 98)

It is true that Syria does not issue multiple entry visas anymore but they DO issue something called a 'double-entry visa'. An earlier postcard (Feb '98) says you need to buy two single entry visas. Not true, the price of a double entry visa is the same as a single entry ($61 for US citizens). The double entry is ideal for travelling to and from Lebanon while in Syria.
David S. Patel, USA (Dec 98)

The cost of a single entry Syrian visa, for UK passport holders (applying in the UK) is now ú32. You do not need to give an address in Syria if you are a tourist and your postal order should be made payable to "The Embassy of the Syrian Arab Republic". Applications take between five and ten days by post.
Simon Wheeler (Sept 98)

The new address for the Syrian embassy in Turkey is 40 Sedat Simari Sokak, Cankaya, Ankara, ( 312 440 9658.
Christine Kimbrough & Shoshanna Matney

There is a Syrian Arab Consulate in Melbourne, Australia at 57 Cardigan Street, Carlton. tel: 9347 8445. Open Tuesday and Wednesday. Cost is A$25 with one photo and passport and is issued on the spot.
Arthur Braun - Australia (Apr 98)

As of Feb 1, 1998, a single-entry visa for American citizens to Syria is US$61. There is no longer any such thing as a multiple entry visa, you just have to buy two single entries (I was told at the Syrian embassy in Washington, DC).
Karri Goeldner (Feb 98)

From Petra we wanted to travel directly to Damascus, provided that we managed to get a Syrian visa at the border. A lot of people do, since there is no Syrian embassy in the Netherlands, but at Abdali bus station in Amman a host of drivers and assorted bus station dwellers warned us not to go to the border because the Syrian officials tended to send people back to Amman, claiming that there is a Syrian embassy in Jordan and the rule of not being able to visit an embassy isn't valid anymore. With the help and transport of a very nice taxi-driver we first went to the Syrian embassy to find out that when you apply (well) before 11 am, a visa will be issued the same day. We had to rush to the Dutch embassy for the obligatory letter of recommendation and return to the Syrian one to apply for the visa.

When you want to travel from Syria to Lebanon and back, it is possible to get some sort of re-entry permit at the immigration office on Fura Avenue (close to Martyr's Square). It takes some time, a few signatures and walking up and down the stairs, but it really states that one's allowed to travel to Lebanon and come back to Syria (in Arabic.) Whether or not it is a substitute for a re-entry visa is not clear; non-officials who read it said it was, but when we entered Syria from Lebanon at Abboudieh we were asked to pay US$20 each, which was reduced to US$10 after heavy discussing from our bus driver. All our fellow travellers wanted to see the stamps in our passports. Nobody understood. Lebanese visas can be easily obtained at the border, though.
Jamil van der Linde - The Netherlands (Jan 98)

Syria is a great place to travel to with children. We were always welcomed by people and offered sweets, gifts and camel rides. In restaurants, waiters would play with my son for hours. I would recommend Syria as the place to start if you are considering travelling with a family.
Paul Wern (Feb 99)

The Airport bus in Damascus has risen in cost to a shocking Syrian pound 15.
Kieran Donovan, UK (Nov 98)

In the desert north east of Nask (70 miles north of Damascus) is a small monastery called Deir Marmoosa. It has a spectacular setting built as it is on the foundation of a Roman Guard Tower at the opening of a canyon that drops precipitously to the desert floor.

Overnight guests are most welcome here for a small donation of food or cash or some volunteer work in excavation and restoration. The monastery's chapel was built 1300 years ago and its frescoes date back to the 11th century. Then, later, the structure was abandoned for hundred of years.

Father Paulo of Marmoosa, originally from Italy, is very kind and speaks fluent Arabic and good English. The isolation of this place is wonderful, especially after being in bustling Damascus. One can sit outside in the evening and watch the sun set across the desert valley then enjoy an astounding display of stars after dark The accommodations are rustic, the food basic, but the experience cannot be equalled.
Major Erik Bouwmeester (July 98)

We travelled around Syria and Jordan principally by service taxi more minibus taxi. This was a fabulous way to travel but I think it would have been impossible without having an Arabic speaker to explain where one wants to go and negotiate the price. Also we had problems with other drivers fiercely competing for our business; on one occasion resulting in a violent fight and police intervention. It was very stressful for our Arabic speaker and one wonders how travellers with little or no Arabic would have fared.
Indira Rosenthal (June 1998)

Starting May 1st 1998 the Syrian government has increased the entrance fees of sites and museums by no less than 50%! Several of the previously free sites are now Sú150 or 300.
(June 98)

Damascus to Palmyra. According to the person at the tourist office in Damascus, both the luxury coaches and state "Karnak" coaches now leave from a bus station way out to the east of town. Unfortunately no-one seemed to know where the bus station was. I eventually made it there by paying a shark minibus driver who asked every car driver he pulled up beside where the station was.
Karl Jeffery (May 98)

Since May 1st, the government has increased all entry fees by 50% so all sites that previously were Sú are now Sú300 and the ones that were Sú100 are now Sú150.

There is a new museum in Deir er-Zur. The old one is closed and the new one is simply excellent with a good overview of the history of writing. There are many copies but the overall value for money of the museum is excellent.
Patrick Wullaert (May 98)

The Ministry of Interior is 200 m from one of Assad's houses therefore definitely do not pull out your camera in that area. A New Zealand girl did so, got arrested, camera taken from her. Then they developed the film, gave her the other pictures, put a new film in the camera and gave it back to her. Syrian hospitality.
Jenni Fleming (Apr 98)

Student cards are definitely not next to useless in Syria. With our ISIC cards we got big discounts on all the archeological sites and museums. For the 200 SP entry sites we had to pay only 25 SP and for the 100 SP entry sites, just 15 SP. Quite a big difference.
Edo Plantinga - The Netherlands (Mar 98)

The National Museum in Damascus is closed on Tuesday - we saw a sign in French, so I guess it's officially closed on that day.
Edo Plantinga - The Netherlands (Mar 98)

The site of 'Ain Dara is open again.
Edo Plantinga - The Netherlands (Mar 98)

The Commerical Bank of Syria was the only bank in Deir-el-sur that would change cash dollars into SP - cash DM, American Express, Thomas Cook travellers cheques, VISA was no good.
Carsten Hyld Iversen - Denmark (Mar 98)

There is now a new museum (funded by the Germans, I believe) that concentrates on archaeological digs in north-eastern Syria. Along with interesting artifacts, including an ancient mousetrap with instructions, there are many informative panels with information in a number of languages, including comprehensible English. It is one of the few museums in Syria that attempted to put the rise and fall of civilisations in some perspective. While Deir ez-Zur will likely remain simply a jumping off point for expeditions to Mari or Palmyra, I would highly recommend this new museum to anyone with the time available.
Robin Mackay - Canada (Dec 97)