Syria Travel Overview
Syria, Arab Republic
Important facts
Capital: Damascus (See more on ITYPEMBA.COM)
Official language: Arabic
Currency: lb
Continent: West Asia
Arabic course and buildings of antiquity
According to Countryaah, Syria is a modern country in the Middle East that welcomes tourists.
Syria travel information
Like no other country in the Middle East, Syria’s history is linked to ancient Europe. The country, which is partly separated from Lebanon from the Mediterranean Sea, was repeatedly the target of the crusaders. The reason for these bloody disputes in the Middle Ages were the few Christian communities, some of which still exist today.
In addition to Iraq and Turkey, Syria also borders Israel and Jordan. The country is hot like most of the Middle Eastern countries. However, it also has some mountains over 3000 metersand temperatures below zero are not uncommon in the plateaus.
Highlights of Syria
The ancient cities like Damascus and Aleppo are a must on any trip to Syria. Other destinations that you should plan in your Syria vacation are: the city of Bosra, famous for the Roman amphitheater, which has world cultural heritage status, the oasis city of Tadmu and the city of Apamea, which has a place of interest especially for fans of ancient architecture. There you will find an almost 2.5 kilometer long columned street. The amphitheater in Tadmur is somewhat better preserved.
Travel to Syria
Syria is a hospitable country that is constantly modernizing. It is not a haven for aggressive Islamists, but has learned over the years to deal with its diversity. In addition to mosques, you will find beautiful monasteries of the Syrian Coptic Church in the country. Christianity and Judaism are minority religions in Syria, but they still exist in the country where these religions originated.
The nice thing about Syria’s old buildings is that they are not only a large open-air museum, but are still in use today. This applies not only to the bazaar and citadels of Aleppo, but also to the mosque of Damascus.
You can also go on a beach holiday in Syria! What seems a bit unusual for the Islamic world is possible in Lattakia. This place on the Mediterranean is very popular with the Syrians themselves.
And one more thing: Syrian Arabic is considered to be that which is close to Standard Arabic, a language that is mainly written and is mostly spoken only for religious purposes. If you’ve ever considered learning Arabic, take a language course in Syria!
Currency
Currency (sub-unit)
Pounds (100 piastres)
ISO 4217 code
SYP / 760
Geography
Continent: Asia
Region: west
Geo coordinates: N 34 ° 48 ‘7.5 ” E 38 ° 59’ 48.5″
Highest mountain: Mount Hermon (2,814 m)
Total area: 185,180 km²
Mainland: 184,050 km²
National border: 2,253 km
Coastline: 193 km
Politics
Dependency: France until 1946 (mandate)
UN member since: 1945
Other political affiliation: Arab League
Form of government: Socialist republic
Economy
Export goods: Cotton, grain
BSP: $ 31,898,700,000
GDP: $ 33,244,600,000
GDP purchasing power parity: $ 79.8 billion
Economic growth: 4.8%
GDP share of agriculture: 23.4%
GDP share of industry: 24.2%
GDP share of services: 52.4%
Inflation rate: 6.2%
Unemployment: 12.8%
State budget revenue: $ 4294967295
State budget expenditure: $ 4294967295
National debt: 43.6%
Export: $ 6,892,000,000
Import: $ 6,507,000,000
Gold and currency reserves: $ 5,788,000,000
Electricity consumption: 32,140 million KWh
Gas reserves: 240,700 million m³
Gas production: 9,560 million m³
Gas consumption: 9,560 million m³
Oil reserves: 2,500 million m³
Oil production: 467,000 million m³
Oil consumption: 252,000 million m³
Cultivation area: 29.23%
Bovine: 826,000 pieces
Sheep: 13,200,000 pieces
Fishing: 14,700 t
Demographic data
Residents: 18,881,400
Residents in cities: 9,782,000
Average age: 20.7 years
0-14 years: 37%
15-64 years: 59.7%
> 65 years: 3.3%
Population growth: 2.3%
Birth rate: 27.76 / 1,000 residents
Death rate: 4.81 / 1,000 residents
Ratio men / women: 1.05
Fertility: 3.4 children / woman
Infant mortality: 28.61 ‰
Life expectancy men: 69.01 years
Life expectancy women: 71.7 years
Country codes and abbreviations
ISO 3166 Alpha 2: SY
ISO 3166 Alpha 3: SYR
ISO 3166 numeric: 760
Top Level Domain: sy
IOC country code: SYR
UN / LOCODE: SY
Source: Abbreviationfinder
Communication
Telephone connections: 2,670,000
Cell Phones: 1,270,000
Radios: 5,260,000
TV: 4,640,000
Computer: 610,000
Internet users: 940,000
Transportation
Railway lines: 2,711 km
Paved roads: 18,714 km
of which expressways: 1,001 km
Cars: 170,000
Merchant fleet (ships over 1,000 GRT): 108
Pipelines: 4,483
Health
Number of doctors: 28,080
Daily food intake: 3,080 kcal / resident
HIV- infected people: 600
Education
Illiteracy: 22%
History
Foundation: 2500 BC Chr.
Last sovereign since: -1946 BC Chr.
Religion
Main religious group: Muslims
Crime
Prison inmates: 16,500
Military
Armed forces (troop strength): 317,000
Main battle tank: 4,700
Battleships: 2
Submarines: 3
Warplanes: 460
Helicopter: 190
Defense Spending: $ 2,246,000,000
GETTING THERE
Arriving by plane
For Syria’s national airline Syrian Arab Airlines (RB) (Internet: www.syriaair.com) there is a flight and landing ban in the EU. EU citizens are only allowed to buy flight tickets from Syrian Arab Airlines (RB) when leaving Syria.
Air passes
With the Star Alliance’s Middle East Airpass, travelers can explore Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria and the United Arab Emirates on up to ten flights. More information is available on the Star Alliance website, www.staralliance.com.
Departure fee
£ 200, travelers in transit and children under 10 are excluded.
Arrival by car
The most important international roads lead from Istanbul via the E5 to Ankara, Adana and Iskenderun (Turkey) on to Syria. Coming from Europe, take the Bab-al-Hawa road from Antakya, which leads to Aleppo and at Kassab to Latakia. The best roads going south come from Aqaba on the Red Sea (Jordan). Long-distance bus: Daily bus connections between Istanbul and Aleppo and between Beirut and Aleppo and Damascus. For more information see Documents and traffic regulations (tourist traffic – national) .
Arriving by train
Syrian Railways (Internet: www.cfssyria.org) runs once a week from Damascus to Tehran (Iran) and from Damascus to Istanbul (Turkey).
Arrival by ship
Latakia, Tartus and Banias are the main port cities.
There are car ferries to Bodrum (Turkey). Beirut (Lebanon). is served from Alexandria, Cyprus and Greece. From there, Damascus can be reached in a couple of hours by land.