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Syria and the Middle East

Not so many eastbound overlanders make the excursion from Turkey down into Syria and Jordan, most probably because, along with the high cost of fuel there, they think they’ve experienced enough of the region’s culture and history, and are in a hurry to get to cheaper lands.

They’re probably right, but if you’re interested in the origins of civilisation and the early years of Islam and Christianity, then the region is knee deep in both. Be warned though, some countries here levy taxes on entry and even exit and are no longer as cheap as you may imagine. The lowland plains are also baking hot here in summer, though the mountains along the Lebanese and Israeli borders may offer some respite.

Syria

Highlights include near-hassle free wandering around the old cities and souks of Aleppo and Damascus (one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities), the Roman ruins of Palmyra, the Crusader castle of Krak de Chevaliers (even if it’s as popular as the Tower of London) and, like Turkey, the great food.

At the border

Visits to Syria have been eased lately with adoption of simple 30-day visas instead of the previous 15-day versions which required renewing to stay longer. Single-entry visas are usually valid for three months from issue (double that for multiple entry), so it’s best not to leave it until you get to the border unless you don’t mind taking the chance.

If applicable, on entry you must pay a diesel vehicle tax of around $100 a week, presumably to compensate for the quarter of the nation’s fuel that gets smuggled up into Turkey. Fuel was once heavily subsidised, but a litre of diesel now costs 20SYP (Syrian pounds) with petrol about 50SYP or $1.10. A month’s motor insurance comes to $60 plus SYP500 road tax and another SYP500 exit tax (about $11). Prices are given in dollars, but in Syria the euro and the dollar are readily exchangeable.

Money, guidebooks, internet and police
ATMs exist in the bigger towns, though it can take a few cards to get one ATM to cough up some cash. Other recent price rises have seen Syria become quite an expensive destination; public transport excepted, the cost of living can be at least half that of the EU.

Covering Lebanon as well, we found the Lonely Planet guide book a bit skimpy, but with great city maps. Out on the treeless eastern desert plain which leads to the Euphrates and the Iraqi border, there are more roads than most maps show, so just ask a local. Here in the Middle East, even if they’re wearing a cap and epaulettes, people are most accommodating and hospitable, as is the way in many of the less affluent or touristed Muslim lands.

With all organised tourism drawn to a few focal points, the constant petty overcharging can get tiresome. Prices printed in Arabic on the same menu can be less than those given in English! Internet access can be pretty pricey too; a few dollars an hour if they can get away with it, though it’s usually fast.

In a conspicuous foreign vehicle, depending on how you comport yourself and where you camp, you may attract courteous police curiosity which can be read by you as suspicion. It can be the same for backpackers simply getting on a train or a bus from one town to the next where the plainclothes police may hold onto your passport for a few minutes or ask to check up on you. This can be all be a bit of a shock in Syria if you’ve come from the west and can initially freak you out. Hold your nerve and get used to it. It’s a reminder that you’re moving into the overland zone, as often as not, paranoid police states that don’t treat their own citizens any better – in most cases much worse. As long as you’re not a Mossad agent, you have nothing to fear.

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