Short Breaks in Damascus
The current Foreign Office warnings against travel to Syria mean any short term thoughts must sadly be put on hold. However, as seasoned operators, we are equally well aware that political situations can cool very quickly and, as we have seen recently in Egypt, frequently produce extraordinary opportunities for travel. Who would have thought that in 2011 you could visit the Valley of the Kings with almost no other tourists in sight, as numerous of our clients have done recently? The advantage of a specialist travel company is that we can react and adapt very quickly. As such, if Syria holds an interest, we would be delighted to help you plan an itinerary which could then be put on hold until the first opportunity presents itself.
Damascus is arguably the oldest inhabited city in the world, although Aleppo also claims this title. The city is located in a perfect position as the first stopping point for travellers from the East. Syria’s capital city is a contrasting bustle of ancient and modern where donkeys vie with cars and tower blocks loom over traditional houses. There is still a street called Straight, albeit with wires and television aerials, a labyrinthine souq, a superb national museum, which pulls together the complex array of peoples who have inhabited the area and endless cafes in which to drink coffee and play backgammon. The old part of the city exudes history and culture and also manages to sustain a notion of the Orient as it is filled with hectic bazaars, mosques, minarets and blind alleys.
Boutique hotels are beginning to flourish in parts of the ancient city and restaurants are starting to display signs of refinement with what is one of the world’s most complex cuisines.
To the south of Damascus lie the impressive Roman remains of Bosra while the region to the north of the city is a bastion of Christianity with the hillside town of Maaloula and a handful of remote monasteries.