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Forbidden Syria - yours to discover….

The Middle East is a grand epic, a cradle of civilisations and a beautiful, complicated land that's home to some of the planet's most hospitable people. The Middle East is quite simply extraordinary, one of the world's most fascinating & rewarding travel destinations. It was here that some of the most significant civilisations of antiquity rose & fell and where the 3 great monotheistic religions - Judaism, Christianity & Islam - were born. Left behind is an astonishing open-air museum of ancient cities & historic buildings, the stones of which still resonate with the sounds of the faithful.  

There is more to Syria than the tragic war that the world has gotten to come know of - 8000 year old history that includes ancient civilizations & powerful empires; quaint streets paved with cobbled stones; mosques & churches that have withstood centuries of war & destruction; homes & buildings with exquisite architecture; beautiful beaches & pristine nature; cosmopolitan restaurants & nightlife. A rich cultural tapestry & a newfound sense of personal freedom, the hallmarks of any truly great journey. Come as an explorer, seek out adventure, cut your own trail. Challenge yourself & you may develop an appreciation for this ‘recently’ maligned civilization.

Vast Landscapes |Glimpse of the Future | History Writ Large | Cities & Wilderness

The Middle East is a grand epic, a cradle of civilisations and a beautiful, complicated land that's home to some of the planet's most hospitable people.

In the Middle East, history is not something you read about in books. Here, it is a story written on the stones that litter the region, from the flagstones of old Roman roads to the building blocks of ancient Egypt, & the delicately carved tombs & temples from Petra to Persepolis. This is where humankind first built cities & learned to write, and it was from here that Judaism, Christianity & Islam all arose. Wherever you find yourself, the past is always present because here, perhaps more than anywhere else on earth, history is the heart & soul of the land.

The Middle East’s cities read like a roll-call of historical heavyweights, some of the world's most significant cities - Jerusalem, Beirut, Cairo, İstanbul, Damascus, Teheran, Baghdad & Esfahan... Aside from ranking among the oldest continuously inhabited cities on earth, these ancient-modern metropolises are places to take the pulse of a region.

The ruins of the once similarly epic cities of history - Petra, Persepolis, Ephesus, Palmyra, Baalbek, Leptis Magna & the bounty of ancient Egypt, also mark the passage of centuries in a region where the ancient world lives & breathes. The landscapes of the region are equally spellbinding, from the unrivalled seas of sand dunes & palm-fringed lakes in Libya’s Sahara desert to the stunning mountains of the north and the underwater world of the Red Sea.

It is in the Middle East's cities, too, that you find the stirring, aspirational architecture that so distinguishes the three great monotheistic faiths. There they sit alongside the more secular charms of bazaars & coffee shops that seem to embody all the mystery & storytelling magic of a land that gave us “The Thousand & One Nights”.

Beyond city limits, the Middle East is a land of mighty rivers (the Nile, Euphrates), even mightier deserts (the Sahara, the Empty Quarter and peerless Wadi Rum) & green landscapes of exceptional beauty. Exploring these wilderness areas - from snow-capped summits in Turkey, Iran & Lebanon to the kaleidoscopic waters of the Red Sea - lies at the heart of the region's appeal. The message is simple: forget the cliches that masquerade as Middle Eastern truth - a visit here is one of the most varied & soulful travel experiences on earth.

Above all else, however, your most enduring memory of the Middle East is likely to be its people. Their gracious welcome, many kindnesses and boundless hospitality speak of an altogether more civilised age. At some point on your visit to the Middle East, you will be sitting in a coffeehouse or looking lost in a labyrinth of narrow lanes when someone will strike up a conversation and, within minutes, invite you home to meet their family & share a meal. Or someone will simply approach and say with unmistakable warmth, ‘Welcome’. These spontaneous, disarming & utterly genuine words of welcome can occur anywhere across the region. And when they do, they can suddenly (& forever) change the way you see the Middle East (or as the western Media will have you believe).

From the gravitas of the Sahara to the blue tiles of Esfahan, this is a region for discerning travellers, for those looking for the story behind the headline, and where the bridges between ancient & modern civilisations are everywhere evident. If you believe what the media tells you and decide not to visit, you would be missing out on the journey of a lifetime.

And now, let us talk about the magic of Syrian Arab Republic that will cast a spell on many who visit this charming yet reviled (for political reasons) destination.

Syria is home to some of the oldest, most advanced civilisations in the world & only a few years ago, it was consistently featured as a tourist hotspot in various international travel magazines including CondeNast. A country of fertile plains, high mountains & deserts, Syria is home to diverse ethnic & religious groups, including Syrian Arabs, Greeks, Armenians, Assyrians, Kurds, Circassians, Mandeans & Turks.

Here's a newsflash: contrary to what the US State Department may wish the world to think, Syria is not populated by terrorists, zealots & other bogeymen.

Syria has always been a melting pot of civilization for centuries, through Assyrian, Jewish, Greek, Roman, Christian & Muslim periods which overlap, mingle & find expression in art, architecture & other cultural forms. Syria seems to be a very intriguing place, especially for lovers of history

Since Bashar al-Assad took over the reins from his father in 2001, modernisation has been on the national agenda. This is no Levantine backwater - Syria was a modern, efficient & very proud nation with an administration that was becoming more liberal & outward looking by the day. It needs & deserves travellers to bear witness to this fact.

Prior to the engineered revolution in 2011, Syria was a peaceful developing country with a booming economy & people enjoying a high standard of living with universal health care, free education & a culture of harmonious co-existence between Muslims (Sunni, Shiites, Ismailis, Alawites), Christians (Greek & Orthodox Armenians & Druze) & a community of no more than 4,000 Syrian Jews, although, since then they have gradually emigrated to different places, mainly western countries (from where they initially came after Spain expelled them in 1492 & then after the War). In August 2019, BBC Arabic visited some of the last remaining Jews living in Damascus & found around 50.

A rich cultural heritage including over 6 UNESCO World Heritage sites, built over 5,000 years has all but disappeared under the rubble of civil & political chaos and much (not all) of the carefully integrated civilisations lay waste in what was once one of the richest & most diverse countries in the Middle East. Fortunately, all this strife doesn't mean that Syria has lost sight of its past.

But the good news is, Syria is gradually moving towards stabilisation & one can see the transformation to normal life in most places. The cultural heritage is being meticulously restored. The country has more than its fair share of significant historical sites, all of which are respectfully maintained by the authorities.

Syria is historic, with both Damascus & Aleppo claiming to be the oldest cities in the world. With so much history it’s no wonder tourists are intrigued. Then with the turbulent recent history & with it being so heavily featured (negatively all the time) in the western news, you want to see for yourself what it is like, if you are able to do your own research & ignore the political narratives.

Located at the crossroads of several trade routes from the 2^nd millennium B.C., Aleppo, one of the world’s oldest cities and Syria’s largest & most densely populated, was ruled successively by the Hittites, Assyrians, Arabs, Mongols, Mamelukes & Ottomans.

The Old City of Aleppo, is composed of the ancient city within the walls & the old cell-like quarters outside the walls approximately holds an area of 350 hectares (860 acres; 3.5 km2), housing about 120,000 residents. Famous for its large mansions, narrow alleys, covered souqs & ancient caravanserais, the Ancient City of Aleppo was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986.

It was an ancient commercial & industrial centre on the Silk Road, famous for its Citadel which is located in the centre & is one of the largest, in-city citadels of the world.  Its products, including the Laurel tree (its leaves are used to flavour countless Mediterranean dishes), Aleppo soap & Olive oils, spread to distant areas & was considered one of the most expensive & luxurious gifts on the Silk route. In the city centre, lies the well-preserved labyrinth of medieval storehouses, caravanserais, hammams, shops, schools & ornate courtyards that make up the Old Souk, housing vendors of pastries, spices, antiques & crafts, much of it dating to the 17^th century.

Today, this sprawling cultural landmark has been ravaged by fire & deadly air strikes, destroying countless businesses & archaic structures.

Syria’s most alluring city, Damascus, the capital commonly known as ash-Sham (nicknamed as the City of Jasmine), has been inhabited for over 4000 years, making it the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in the world.

The ancient city holds more than 125 monuments from different periods of its history & its name comes from the ancient technique of weaving pattern onto cloth (Damask) as it was once a major centre of textile where merchants travelling on the Silk Road would stop & trade in silken cloth. Best of all is the fact that these monuments are often woven into the fabric of daily life - the locals worship in the mosques, shop in the souqs, drink tea in the houses & picnic in the ruins.

Talking about picnics brings us to the ‘piece de resistance’ when it comes to a Syrian sojourn - the food. The national cuisine is simply superb, so come with a big appetite. You're bound to be replete in so many ways when you finally tear yourself away.

In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major cultural & religious centre of the Levant, famed for its ancient souks, old city, old Damascene houses, the Umayyad era Mosque & many of the oldest churches in the world, most notably the Chapel of Saint Paul. The city also has many ‘preserved’ remains from the Roman period, such as the Temple of Jupiter.

It was on the road to Damascus that St. Paul is said to have received a dazzling vision, which altered his path from Judaism to Christianity.  Romantic notions of the old orient - filled with its winding bazaars, haggling merchants, conical mounds of fragrant spices, towers of unctuous soap blocks made from famed Syrian olives grown in its fertile valleys & of course, countless ancient minarets & opulent Damascene houses - do not disappoint & fill the traveller’s imagination with tales of 1001 nights.

There is more to Syria than the tragic war that the world has gotten to come know of  -  a 8000 year old history that includes ancient civilizations & powerful empires; quaint streets paved with cobbled stones; mosques & churches that have withstood centuries of war & destruction; homes & buildings with exquisite architecture; beautiful beaches & pristine nature; and cosmopolitan restaurants & nightlife

The Syrian Arab Republic revels in its antiquity, having been inhabited for tens of thousands of years - & in the variation & cultural riches that such antiquity has brought it. This is a country that preserves scores of relics documenting the rise and fall of different civilizations.

For people wanting to truly travel, to have a genuine adventure, to see parts of the world that haven’t been exposed to mass tourism, and to be one of the few (if not THE) only tourists in the country, then Syria is the place to explore.

As a consequence of this rich & diverse history, Syria’s people have a reputation for tolerance & kindness (yet now this history, and the peace built upon it, is threatened as never before by looting, vandalism, unauthorized excavation or construction & varying degrees of damage in the crossfire of civil war).          In fact, Syrians are among the most friendly & hospitable people in the world, and most visitors end up developing a lifelong infatuation with its gentle charms.

Take the plunge now & yep….. a unique experience is just the beginning……. a warm welcome, historical secrets awaits you and The Journeys is ready to take you on well, a journey (or journeys) of discovery.

Come……be inspired & discover the World with us

Currently, we are not offering any Tours to Syrian Arab Republic. However, religious “Shia Pilgrimage” tours can still be arranged on a case to case basis. Please contact us in the interim if you want to explore options & we will be happy to offer suggestions based on your personal preferences………